watercolor paintings
Read my artist statement if you want to know what's up with all these robots. If you'd like to peek behind the scenes, click here to see my process.
Email me for prices of the originals, OR fool your friends with a giclée reproduction from my Etsy shop.
Email me for prices of the originals, OR fool your friends with a giclée reproduction from my Etsy shop.
"Common Kingfisher"
Watercolor, 22" x 30" (that's pretty big for me) I revisited an earlier painting (A Robot's Arc), wanting to paint the whole thing bigger, especially after a conversation I had with a recent mother likened this imagery to the mind-boggling changes a woman’s body goes through during pregnancy and childbirth. Can you find all twenty-four animals? |
"Common Kingfisher"
Watercolor, 11.5" x 15.5" For this image, the first in a series of Audubon-style, 1:1 scale paintings of birds (but with dead robots in the background), I chose my all-time favorite bird- the kingfisher. Note: the belted kingfisher is the blue and gray one we see in North America, but the Eurasian common kingfisher, depicted here, is more colorful and vibes better with the bamboo in my backyard. |
Robot Putting on Underwear
Watercolor 17.5" x 22.5" “[So-and-so] puts on their pants just like the rest of us- one leg at a time” is a great expression reminding us that, even though some of us walk around like hot-shots, at the end of the day we’re all just humans. But underwear is even more humanizing- especially if, like I did when researching this painting, you take a moment to Google exactly why we wear underwear. |
These two are part of a series of robots interacting with animals. The colorful vertical beams, as always, re Rabo Karebekian- inspired depictions of the animals' souls.
Left: Soul of a Squirrel, watercolor 18" x 22"
Right: Souls of a Bird and Dog, watercolor 18" x 22" (sold, but prints available)
Left: Soul of a Squirrel, watercolor 18" x 22"
Right: Souls of a Bird and Dog, watercolor 18" x 22" (sold, but prints available)
Reality, Body, Mind + Soul
Watercolor, 22” x 17.5” I know that scientifically my memories, thoughts, and feelings all exist in the tiny .05 cubic feet that is my physical brain. But it feels so much more expansive than that- like reality is in front of me, then there’s my meat and bones and eyeballs, and right behind my eyeballs is the infinite expanse of my mind and soul. |
"Rebranding"
Watercolor, 17.5" x 22" Luxury-brand goods baffle me when similar products cost so much less. I recognize, however, that I am in the minority. Hey- you are good enough as you are! You don’t need to join a club that accepts anybody willing to spend a lot of money! This robot has got it backwards- both figuratively and, if I understand how mirrors work, literally. |
"Animals"
Watercolor, 17" x 21" Based on how many little figurines and lamps and pets we collect, it seems that humans love animals, but I bet if you asked the animals many would disagree. |
"Feedback"
Watercolor, 17" x 21" (sold, but prints available) I know other animals look in mirrors, too. But none of them do it with the frequency or intensity that humans do. |
"Browsing"
Watercolor, 16.5” x 22.5” sold, but prints available here or at Park Ave CDs Collecting vinyl in the age of streaming is illogical on so many levels, but, like many humans these days, I’m totally addicted. I listened to a total of 51 LP records (many of them multiple times) while painting this piece. Many of those records came from my neighborhood record store, Park Ave CDs (a work of art in and of itself), which is where this scene takes place. The robot is holding Remain in Light, a record by my favorite band- Talking Heads. |
"Contemplating God in the Backyard"
Watercolor, 17” x 23” Part of a series of robots trying to wrap their digital brains around matters beyond their comprehension. The binary code here spells out "G O D" again and again. Sometimes, when I think just right about GOD, I can feel a vague resonance. It’s a feeling that I can’t put my finger on- a brief glimpse of something just beyond my comprehension. Kind of like this robot- trying to grasp something analog, though it only has the internal language of binary. Please note that this painting is in no way an endorsement of any particular concept of GOD. I certainly don’t have any inside information. |
The Living Room
Watercolor, 17" x 21" IKEA really does such a good job decorating those little fake rooms. I like to sit in them and pretend I live there. So does this robot, apparently. And it brought its cat, kind of like the way people bring along socks when they go shoe shopping I suppose. |
"A Moment at Target"
Watercolor, 17" x 21" Why are humans fascinated with seeing themselves on televisions like this? I often feel the need to do something in this kind of situation, like make a face or wave my arms, feeling a vague pressure to perform- like there’s an audience somewhere paying close attention. |
You Are Here at Stardust
Watercolor, 15.5” x 22” SOLD (but prints available) The robot is alone with (other) people and reading You Are Here by Thich Nhat Hanh. It’s a short book about how to be more present, and it’s been a game changer for me (I was reading it when I was working on this painting). The past is over! The future isn’t here yet! Breathe in, breathe out- be present. Good stuff! This scene takes place at Stardust Coffee and Video, in Audubon Park in Orlando. Such a cool place, I knew I had to paint a robot there… |
Cats on Cakes
Watercolor, 22” x 30" (that's pretty big for me!) sold, but prints available here Cats and cakes and clouds belong together on many levels, but not at all literally. Incidentally, my cat "Artemis" (not pictured) just jumped up as I was typing this, and she sat in my lap for literally the first time ever, so I'll capture that moment in this caption. I guess I'm like a cake now! |
God Bless You, Kurt Vonnegut
Watercolor, 18.5” x 24.5" (sold, but prints available) The idea of painting living things with vertical colors is borrowed from Rabo Karebekian, an Abstract Expressionist painter and fictional character created by Kurt Vonnegut. There are a few more Vonnegut references in here, too, though some are tangental. |
A Robot's Arc
Watercolor, 19" x 24.5" (SOLD, but prints available) I guess this robot decided to stop being a robot and start being a tree. And just in time, too, since there seems to only be a few animals left. |
NESt
Watercolor, 16" x 20" (sold, but prints available) This is my childhood Nintendo, and the white beam is, in my mind at least, the bird’s soul. |
Three Levels of Existing
Watercolor, 20" x 16" The robot on the sofa is more intelligent, but the vacuuming one seems more productive. |
Corrine Drive
Watercolor, 16" x 20" (sold, but prints available) Audubon Park in Orlando is so cool that it seemed like the perfect place for a giant robot desperate to be creative. |
Robot and Cat #3
Watercolor, 11" x 14" (sold, but prints available) This cat’s name is Couscous. I don’t know much about it other than it belongs to an old friend of mine from college, and that it’s got awesome-looking tummy fur. |
Robot and Cat #4
Watercolor, 11" x 14" (sold but prints available) When I say "sold" I mean "given to my wife as a Christmas present because it's our cat Percy (also seen in Cats on Cakes)." |
Migration
Watercolor, 11" x 14" I’m not sure if the cats are hitchhiking or acting as sentries or are somehow in charge, but this feels to me like a snapshot of a long journey. Regardless, the robot seems to be amenable to the cats’ presence. |
Robot Bares Its Soul on Colonial Drive
Watercolor, 17" x 21" (sold, but prints available) This robot could be baring its soul, but my wife thinks it’s trying to communicate with the cars and buildings, or maybe the people inside them. Either way, it all takes place along Colonial Drive in Orlando, FL. |
Decisions
Watercolor, 16" x 20" (sold, but prints available) In my mind, the robot really wants to do a great job petting the cat. I don’t know where that second arm came from. |
Orange Avenue
Watercolor, 18" x 22" (sold, but prints available) This is downtown Orlando, more or less. When I was taking photos for this painting, there happened to be a guy on one of those two-wheeled hoverboards, holding a sandwich. I included him in the painting and it’s my favorite detail. |
Birds with Souls
Watercolor, 19" x 24" The cat has a soul, too, but we don’t see it because it isn’t really part of the story here- it functions only as a window (for you). |
Robot and Cat #2
Watercolor, 7" x 11" (sold, but prints available) This is/was my cat, Ninja. He was kind of jerk but also kind of awesome. |
Robot and Cat #1
(sold, but prints available) This is/was my cat Mene. She had an extra toe on her front paws (like the "Hemingway" cats down in the Keys). |
Winter
Watercolor, 16" x 20" I’m not sure if this is the ghost of the robot or the ghost of the tree. Or maybe a memory or a projection? |
Spring
Watercolor, 16" x 20" (sold, but prints available) I’d like to think the robot did this to itself. I really like the way the green pops out from the oil-splattered-driveway background. |
Guitarist Playing for a Rat
Watercolor, 16" x 20"
(sold, but prints available)
This was my first watercolor painting! I like the imagery of a robot playing an acoustic guitar instead of an electric one.
Watercolor, 16" x 20"
(sold, but prints available)
This was my first watercolor painting! I like the imagery of a robot playing an acoustic guitar instead of an electric one.