The Roofers
03/2024
I had been watching documentaries on Jean Francois Millet and pouring over his paintings for a few weeks when walking one afternoon in my neighborhood I saw a house being re-roofed. The men on the roof were working so hard and most were stooped over the roof laying the tiles. I immediately saw the same working people of every era gone by in their postures - the hardworking people that inspired Millet, Courbet, and now myself. Here is the first of my series entitled: "The Roofers".
Mixed Media on Watercolor Paper 10" x 10"
Tucson, AZ 04/2024
Ajo Ocotillo With Fighter Jets
Tucson, AZ 04/2024
Oil over Acrylic on Canvas - 24' x 18"
Crystal Lake
Acrylic on Canvas - Triptych - 20" x 10"
In 2017 I was an Artist in Residence at Crystal Lake for the Angeles National Forest and San Gabriel Mountains National Monument AIR Program. I revisited Crystal Lake in 2024 and painted this triptych for the owner of the Crystal Lake Café, Adam Sahar.
Los Angeles, CA / Tucson, AZ 05/2024
Artist In Residence Program (AIR)
06/2018
Blooming Yucca
Angeles National Forest & San Gabriel Mountains National Monument - (Residency May/June 2017) Exhibition at the Heritage Square Museum
Los Angeles, California
Dawn at 5743 Feet
Gouache on Watercolor Paper - 24" x 36"
Gouache on Watercolor Paper - 24" x 36"
Mamihlapinatapai (sometimes spelled mamihlapinatapei) is a word from the Yaghan language of the Tierra del Fuego, listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the "most succinct word", and is considered one of the hardest words to translate. It refers to "a look shared by two people, each wishing that the other will offer something that they both desire but are unwilling to do."
Mamihlapinatapai
Acrylic on Artist Panel - Diptych - 12" x 12" each
02/2012
The Valentine Show, Downtown Contemporary Gallery and Studios Albuquerque, New Mexico
O'Connell Street Bridge Views
Oil on Canvas - 36" x 48" each
New York City / 2005-07
These were inspired by The Irish Times' LIVE webcam views that I woke up to every morning on my computer's home screen over the course of 2 years while living in San Francisco and going to Art School for Computer Graphics in the late 1990s. Each painting is done from the exact same viewpoint (and screenshot) - only the time of day, month and year has changed. I had saved the screenshots in a binder and it wasn't until I was taking studio art at TC Columbia University that I finally started painting them.
This O'Connell series participated in four different exhibitions while I lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico - including the City of Albuquerque's Kimo Theater Gallery - (2011-2013)