I'm in the process of working on the biggest show I've done to date. A solo show entitled 'Between You & Me' which will be opening on September 25th @ Neon Forest Gallery in Orlando. I've been so excited to have been giving this opportunity by the guys over @ Neon Forest. Many thanks to Dustin, Sean and Scott. The gallery will be filled with all completely new works, as well as several installation pieces.

'Between You & Me' centers around the idea of impermanence. This undeniable and inescapable fact of human life that no-one or nothing is ever free from. It's a very overwhelming feeling to know that if everything eventually fades away: love, beauty, faith, family, heatlth, why do we get close to anything or anyone? The works in the show are a collection of memories, nostalgic notions, though never perfect, these captured pieces become a recollection of some kind of tangible truth.

Below are a few close up photos of various works..More info and work to come!

 

Have a small interview in the new Summer Issue of SBC Wakeboard Magazine. Cool little interview about the art process and some wake related stuff..Thanks to Adam Levitt and Bryan Soderlind for the portrait.

Also deep in preparations for a solo show in mid September @ Neon Forest..Updates soon!!

Two group shows I'm involved with are going on this weekend, but unfortunately they are far off, and I can't make the trip for the openings. It's great sending work to new cities and galleries, hoping to meet new people and expose work to people who probably have never run across my work before. One is titled 'Made Out of Beautiful' @ Parlor Gallery in Asbury Park, NJ. The other which I mentioned below is 'Rainbowlogical' @ Corduroy Boutique & Gallery in Portland, Maine. I'll have some images from the openings up on here as soon as I run across them online.

Here are a couple recently mailed off pieces for the show 'Rainbowlogical' up @ Corduroy Boutique & Gallery in Portland, Maine. The show consists of seven artists each assigned a color of the rainbow(I received Orange obviously) and the show will be hung in rainbowlogical order; pretty cool concept huh? Man I wish I could make the trek with these works, I've always wanted to make it up to Maine.. I will soon though..

 

The opening reception 'Welcome to the Forest' @ the newest hub for art in Orlando 'Neon Forest' went great despite the heavy Florida summertime rains. Great show put on by some great people. Have to give a huge thanks to Dustin Orlando, Sean Hartman, Scott Donald for all their hard work with the gallery, and all my friends who made it out to support, it means a lot..

More great shots of the opening night are up here on flickr .......HERE

 

I recently completed a large mural for the grand opening event 'Welcome To The Forest' @ Neon Forest A new art gallery and project space in Orlando. The piece was 8ft by 8ft, mixed mediums on wood. I had a blast working this large. The piece is titled 'Faded Dreams'

'Glue Without Goals'

Some quick instinctual paper scrap glue files.

'Acknowledgements'

Below are the first ten images in an on-going collection of around forty pieces. I ripped all of the acknowledgement and dedication pages out of all of my books, and started combining them with found images from the photo archives. I really quite enjoy the ambiguity behind these juxtapositions. Putting names to faces can be an interesting challenge.Yet a good one.

Super Stoked to have some work in this..Look for a printed book in a few months as well as a group show..

RRR.002 EZINE | 04.22.10 | STRIKE Two
.........................................................................................................................................................
Happy 40th Earth Day! To celebrate this special occasion we'd like to share with
you this ezine from the RRR crew. Once again we've pooled together work that
has been repurposed, reinvestigated and re-worked for your enjoyment. Our
list of artists is growing and we welcome more people to join us. After getting
to know our project, please feel free to spread the word to your friends & family
and don't hesitate to contact us. A printed version of this ezine will be due in
mid summer and will contain more work from our artists; working individually
and in groups. Thank you for your support, enjoy.
More info about the project and the artists at rrrproject.com. 
Link to pdf (HERE)

Did some live art making with Fellow Artists Scott Donald and Dustin Orlando last week in Orlando. Hi-Gloss was an art/fashion event to benefit the opening of a new art space in Orlando, called Neon Forest. Definitely a different experience trying to work with all hell breaking loose behind you, music, cameras, dancing...Good Times.

I recently completed three pieces for the 'Believe The Hype' Show which is taking place this Saturday April 10th @ Eazy Street Gallery in the Wynwood district of Miami. The pieces are of a larger scale with one being 5' by 3' and the other two measuring out @ 4' by 3'.

With these three pieces I went back and re-used some imagery from five years ago. This February marked five years since my Dad passed away, and unfortunately almost exactly five years later my Grandfather has passed away too. I had made the initial works with these images shortly after my Dad's death, and in looking back could feel the more sepia toned melancholy that dominated those months. And now with another huge figure in my life passing on, I wanted to go back and explore again using these images, now combining them with all I have learned in the past five years about art and life. I also had wanted to rebel a bit against the pieces I have made over the past year or so. Now, I don't want to put down anything I have made, but I did feel @ times that I wasn't being true to myself and instead found myself thinking too much perhaps about what others wanted, or what seemed marketable @ the time. These are the works I wanted to make right now, this is what feels right @ this moment..Enjoy..!!

Here are the three pieces from 2005

And some looks @ the new works..2010

'And She Was' 60" x 36" Mixed media on wood

' Enjoy Being No-One, But Yourself' 48" x 36" Mixed Media on wood

'The Most Important Man' 48" x 36" Mixed Media on wood

Some photos from an installation I did today over @ The Urban Outfitters in Ybor City. I titled the piece 'Source Material' because it consisted of hundreds of the ephemeral images that make up the artwork I create. I did have a proper cluster of paintings, but also wanted to explore the freedoms again of getting lost in the installation process. A lot of the time for me the actual process of working is more rewarding than the actual outcome. I can enjoy and relish the subtle nuances that occur in the building up of the layers.

Uploaded some random small works from last night and this morning. I love it when you're digging through the archives and just happen upon the right imagery..Following and Trusting the Process..

A few new various pieces recently. Also updated the Upcoming Shows link with a couple events on the horizon that I am involved with.

One new piece 'A La Mode' added to paintings section..Several more small works are being finished up...soon

 

It has been a rough week.My Grandfather passed away last week, and dealing with death again has been tough. He was sick lately, but was on the mend, only to be taken out by the ol' ticker..Scares me literally because now both my dad and grandfather have succumb to heart attacks.. Although 'Big Ed' was 78 and lived a wonderful adventure filled life, I will miss him dearly..So many good memories with him growing up..

Edward J. McLean 'Grandpop' 1931-2010

On another front, I added a collage page to the column on your left. It will be updated periodically with the small collage works, that don't quite fit in the paint category. First up is a small collage book I put together yesterday. Fourteen pages of mixed media on an altered children's book 'War and Peace'

 

Here are some random small works I have completed over the past couple weeks.

 

Surf Expo- I was invited to be a part of the first Orlando Arts Project @ Surf Expo this past weekend. Spent three days displaying my work and meeting random people and maybe even some potential clients. My awesome girlfriend Katie came down from NYC to hang out and help me out during the event. I also had the opportunity to meet some other awesome artists who were also on display.. Hunter Payne has some awesome and fun illustrations and George Peterson has some amazing wooden sculptures.. Check these guys out.. And a big thanks to Jonathan Pears who came by to snap these pictures of my display.

 

Small Wonders took place on January 9th over @ Lat Zero in Thornton Park. Super cold night but the gallery was packed with people, some huddled around the makeshift fire pit out back. I had one piece in the 10x10 installment up-stairs as well as two large installations of my woodblock collage pieces downstairs. Tons of thanks to Dustin Orlando for all the hard work with the show.

Urban Outfitters had a get together last week, where a bunch of artists were called on to display a piece @ the store on various dressing room doors. Here is my piece titled 'What am I doing?'

Uploading two more pieces recently completed..

New Work! I recently completed some new works for display @ Lambs Eat Ivy in Thornton Park. It was fun working on larger pieces again, building layers, and throwing paint. Special thanks to my girlfriend Katie for the studio assisting. Please stop by the Salon to check out the work and maybe pick up a piece for a Christmas present. More Photos on the Way!

 

Sea Legs Exhibition @ Say It Loud! in Orlando. I really got stoked on the name for the show, and went with what I know and love, my family history with the ocean. There are some previous pieces thrown in there, but I also included family fishing photos, some nautical flag experiments, and lots of personal hidden meanings of objects..Symbols you can gather from objects, words, numbers..Stoked!!

Special thanks to Sean Hartman Scott Donald and Tonya Dickie for all their hard work..

Individual pieces are for sale..CONTACT ME