OPEN STUDIOS 2009

I would like to invite you to my 2009 artist open studios event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on December 05 and 06 from 11 to 5p. This takes place at the Button Factory artist building at 855 Islington street...it's the 23rd year for the building and the fourth for me. This is our annual holiday event where we open our studio doors and invite you all in and includes over 70 artist...painters, photographers, sculptors, woodworkers, jewelers...and even a guy who makes wooden boats by hand. Lots of creative types and some unique holiday gifts. I am in studio #224..second floor, take a left and I'm all the way in the back...I share a studio with Lynn Crocker, the book binder. I'll have wine, beer, water and of course cream soda. My Mom usually bakes something nice too. Please feel free to stop by and say hello.

Here is a link to the Button factory web sight that includes directions and more info..hope to see you.

THE BUTTON FACTORY OPEN STUDIOS

Three Scalliwags

I finished and framed this (16x20") oil painting I'm calling "Three Scalliwags". These dinghy's are moored in Perkins Cove in Ogunquit, Maine. The red one says "Ugly Anne" om it and belongs to a larger boat of the same name. This stuff is gold to me. I love the character and sense of humor that the fisherman who named it must have. There is an honest filth to it that I'm attracted to. I think my recent paintings have this thread of filth weaved into it..everything is a little banged up but still pretty sturdy. Chipped paint and worn surfaces..wonderful textures..good stuff.

This painting will be hanging at my annual open studio the first weekend in December at the Button Factory artist studios in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I'm in studio #224, please feel free to come by and say hello. I'll provide more details in a coming post.

I also want to thank the jury of the Rockport Art Association in Rockport, Massachusetts for welcoming me as an artist member. I'm honored to be part of the rich art culture of Cape Ann. A lot of my painting heroes have roots there and I'm looking forward to taking part in their exhibitions and activities. I currently have about a half dozen paintings on display there as part of the new Members exhibition in the upstairs gallery and a few smaller pieces in the Holiday small works show in the main gallery.

Hope this finds you all well.
regards,
Todd

Smitty

This is an 18x24" oil painting on canvas I'm calling "Smitty". The oarsman is my brother Bobby Smith, (He took his stepfathers last name Smith) he was perfect for what I was looking for in this painting. Sort of a "Middle-aged man and the sea" concept. Sometimes I get these images and ideas in my head and they haunt me until I put them out there in paint. I've wanted to paint Bobby in this kind of image for a while and as a matter-of-fact, I consider this 18x24" canvas a teaser for a much larger canvas I have in mind for 2010. This filthy rogue still haunts my head.

The Oar House

This is an (11x14") oil painting on wood panel that I am calling "The Oar House". The structure is an old shed near the school house on Monhegan Island. I put the oar and life preserver in the painting to help the composition and to support that nautical feel I was after. I also created and exaggerated a lot of the rust stains that are running down the door and clapboards. Rust has that burnt umber/orange hue that sometimes works to add interesting color and design to a painting.