The Experiment

Here's another short animation from my college days. This one is very similar to the previous "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hatrack"
the walking at the beginning is pretty awful but the rest came out ok I think.

Facebook test

I'm trying to figure out how to get my blog posts to automatically show up on my Facebook page.
Here goes.

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hatrack

This is a flip book I made... ohh...25 years ago? it's only 15 seconds long. Animation is time-consuming!
I have a couple more animations from around the same time that I will eventually post as well whenever I get around to scanning them in.
Sorry the quality is not so great.

New Slides!

Just scanned in slides for my latest paintings. They came out pretty nice for the most part. I have to get 2 of them re-shot because there was too much glare. I'm including one (the fox, currently untitled). The other was just too bad.
Click on the individual images to view them larger.






















"Stars Falling down"






















"Direction"























"Commute"

















currently untitled

A dumb comparison

I saw the picture of Jim henson and the Muppets the other day and, for some odd reason, immediately thought of this painting by Heironymous Bosch. Funny.

My drunk Artist Statement

(Or... Thinking About Myself When The Family is Away)

The night I paint is not the real night. It is not informed by photography (references are, if any, daylight shots) nor do I work "Pein Air". I'm sure as hell not Vincent van Gogh.

My night is of the imagination, of a longing for night when life keeps you shackled, oh so surely, to the day. Night is solitude and loneliness, two sides of a coin I keep bright and polished in my pocket.

Being happily married and a father keeps me from fetching out that coin as often as I used to, so I paint what it represents. It is another life, full of uneasiness and mystery, humor and fear, possibility and sadness. It is a life I only dream about, because I choose to be awake. That way lies madness, but there are some pretty pictures to be got out of it.

I win.

Well, me and 4 other people. Anyway I had a painting in the "Around Oregon" art annual in Corvallis. I was honored with a "Juries Choice" recognition. It came with a check for $100 which sure as hell beats a punch in the eye. Thanks Arts Center! thanks Juror!
the show has no obvious link and the space's site is under friggin' construction. Oh well. 100 bucks, right?

Blogged

I got a very nice blog review today.

thanks Eric.

see the post at:
http://www.paintblog.ca/2009/10/05/david-carmack-lewis/

The House Studios

Phoenix, Arizona

For a While I lived solely off my art. Not very well mind you. and my rent was $150 per month. That was because of the House studios, an old crappy house that Robert Anderson turned into a little commune of sorts. for a while it was a strange little idyllic place in the wasteland that was downtown Phoenix. Eventually we all moved on. Then it was an abandoned house once more.
Now it has burned to the ground. There's a painting in this for sure.
















Oct. 2008

















Sept. 2009

















The upstairs of this separate building in back was my studio.

Here's a link to the actual fire.

George Fox University Show

Well the show at George Fox University looked nice. "Trial by fire" was the title. All those fire paintings in one place. Very warm. With ceramics and another 2-d artist (not shown, sorry Kim).
The opening was from 5-6:30 so of course we got there a little after 6. That was because traffic through the hell that is Tigard was unbelievable, i.e. normal for that time of day. Our nerves were a little frayed because the baby woke up long before we got there and started practicing her screaming, which she's getting pretty good at. KJ tried to help by climbing in the back seat with her but that only got us pulled over by the cops.
I was ready for some whiskey but it was a dry opening and anyway, I had to come to work this morning so it's just as well. Our host, artist, university proff and gallery coordinator Tim Timmerman treated us to nice gathering at his house afterward. Thanks Tim.

A Detail

I never took detail shots of my paintings before. But for some reason I liked the way this truck came out in just a few simple brush strokes and you can barely see it in the slide of the whole. Don't know what else to do with it right now so I'm posting it here.















detail






















"Prelude to an Encounter" 2009

Why?

I always used to think I did art because I enjoyed it. But the older I get the more I think I do it to stay sane.

Pallette and Rag

Bear and Squirrel

Seems like the only drawing I get done these days is the occasional idle doodle while at work.
This one made me smile.

















I'm not sure how Bear and Squirrel became friends (or learned to build fires) but they clearly enjoy their camping trips on the weekends. Squirrel especially enjoys toasting marshmallows.

Scar and Kolash

Since I'm hardly doing anything else these days I thought I'd post this drawing for a friend. He's upgrading my linux computer.
I haven't done fantasy or superhero drawings since college so considering the 20+ year lapse I though it turned out OK. Now I just have to add some background figures (it's supposed to be a tavern scene, see) and then ink it.
I know I'm a nerd.

Three Preludes

Because it started as a doodle posted here, I'm posting the end result.
My wife convinced me that it required a more open ended title for my show. So it became "Three Preludes". Which I like.
see posts Aug.20, 2008 and Dec. 8, 2008

Technique

I was just thinking about technique. Something I don't do very much.
I think I can best sum up my technique this way:
Since the age of 4 or 5 I've been trying to learn how to draw. For the past 12 years I've been trying to learn how to draw with oil paint using a no. 8 brush. All through high school I was an obsessive pen and ink cross-hatcher. I'm working in much the same way now but with a blunt instrument on a larger surface (and in color of course).

Near the Airport

...or another 20 minute lunch break sketch.

the night

I think my obsession with night scenes stems in part from a childhood conviction that nothing particularly interesting happens during the day.

Obligatory Raven Sketch

It seems everybody has to sketch a crow or raven at one time or another. Very few can actually capture the presence of these extraordinary birds. I certainly did NOT. but it more or less looks like one.

Old Cottonwood

More and more into trees lately.