Monday, March 28, 2011

The Blank Page.


The above painting was commissioned by a writer. He had seen a painting of a baseball I had created for a friend of his last year. The painting above that painting is the baseball painting. The machine is a 1933 Burroughs Electric Carriage I borrowed from the writer's extensive typewriter collection. I chose this one to paint because of its blocky shape. Now, as I see them together, I think about the natural combination of these two vintage icons. How well they go together and not just because of the delightful geometric juxtaposition. One plays and the other tells the story. In 1933 the great sportswriter Ring Lardner died. He wrote his last baseball story that year titled Lose With a Smile. It's the story of a Brooklyn Dodgers rookie who writes letters to his girl. Did Ring type it on a Burroughs? I don't know but it's likely that some sportswriter wrote about Babe Ruth or Carl Hubbell on one of these things. It's this kind of wondering that creates a sense of longing in me for those good old days that I never even experienced. But I've imagined them. And like the blank page in the typewriter, the imagination is full of possibilities.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Belizian Bananas

I scrawled a dozen sketches of this bunch of bananas hanging from a pole in a bar on Maya Beach in Belize. They are the snack food of choice and I had to scribble this image before each banana was grabbed to be eaten or plunged into a rum drink. This painting is the result and reminds me that great things come from hanging out in bars.
Perhaps, that forbidden treat that Eve plucked may not have been an apple after all...

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Tropical






Theses three paintings are from a series inspired by visits to Belize and Honduras. Each is an oil painting on linen stretched over birch panels. They are 48" x 60" of robust fruit from Central America and currently available. More variations on this theme are on the way.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Sketch Exhibit Encore: Saturday March 19th.






I've decided to encore my First Annual Sketch Exhibit. It's this Saturday March 19th from 11am to 5pm. Can there be too much of a good thing? Not when people get together to talk about art and share in the positive and uplifting discourse that creativity inspires. That's how it was last Saturday: a tremendous gathering of the big hearted and open-minded. So, why not leave the artwork up for one more week?
Come one, come all...
Jay Mercado Studio -- Saturday, March 19, 11a - 5p -- 4754 California Street @ 10th Ave.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Some Not-So Recent Sketches







I think a sketch doesn't have to beautiful. It just has to be drawn. The process is the beautiful part. It's grounding and centering and observing. How many things in life truly rivet our attention? Sketching keeps me in that moment. And those moments become fresh again when I look through old sketchbooks.