Third Zombie Book (as yet untitled) is Finished!

Sort of. I always have to go through a number of edits which will take a couple weeks, anyway. There's a boatload of errors I have to fix, including those of format, spelling, grammar as well as story and character development, continuity, etc. I look forward to this (except for the formatting which is a pain in the butt, as usual).

There are a number of interesting characters in this. Some family dysfunctional issues and backstory. Also, story sites include an aircraft carrier in the Pacific, the estate of a very rich technology entrepreneur in the Southwest, an archeological site in Alaska and the International Space Station.

That's all for now.

Newest Painting - Illusionistic

I've posted the image of my latest painting this winter off to the column on the right. I got the idea from something I did in an introductory college course about forty-five years ago, including something I saw online with squares, then I added a lot of color, and also added some illusions of three dimensions in terms of the solid spheres as well as the more camouflaged ones more hidden within the painting.

Look for these....
There are a total of 11 spheres of different sizes in the painting if you care to find them.  Look for places where the squares seem to bulge. There are also at least five levels of depth, e.g. a large checkered sphere in the middle over the solid orange one which lies over the largest checkered sphere which lies over two other solid spheres. They in turn lie over the rest of the checkered board. There could be more.


Here's the time-lapse of the project...to an almost complete state...

New Book Status Report

50,000 words...yup, that's the status report. 50,000 words. Still a lot of work to do. I'm still working on a new painting with a built-in 3D illusion. So, I've split my time between the two.

Making More Headway on the Zombie Novel

I just passed 46,000 words. The scenes are a little more tense with the character interaction. The Zs are a little different than my other two zombie books. Did you know they can be useful? How so? Slaves, entertainment, security, defense, companionship, experimentation, whatever else? You'll see.

Meanwhile, on the painting front, I'm experimenting with kind of a 3D illusionary painting. Enough said. I'm trying to do a timelapse of it, but at times I have to lift the canvas (it's really an illustration board) and do the detail.  Oh well...

Posting My Two Latest Paintings

This makes 11 for the winter season thus far, about one a week. They're both landscapes, although the black and white one is more like a fantasy scene. I had something a little different in mind, although my idea changed when the painting started on the canvas. The second scene is from a path through the woods at my golf course from the tenth green to the eleventh tee.

New Painting - Treeline

This was fun. I've finished the painting, pretty much. I'll post a final picture of it on the column to the right soon. This was one where I had the idea in my head and was able to execute it in a short period. Some of the others I've finished this winter have been a struggle. That's despite being satisfied with the final result.

Anyway, here is a time-lapse video which captures most of the painting's development. It starts off with the background lighting already completed.

New Untitled Zombie Book Now at 40,000 words

Getting there...Zombies with unZombie-like traits. A villain that could be a hero. A sister who hates her brother. A brother who says he doesn't give a fat fig about what people think. We have an apocalyptic finish.

The New Untitled Zombie Book

I've been writing a little more regularly now on the new Zombie book. It's at 39,000+ words now and I'm rolling along in the middle of apocalyptic violence. There's a hero that's easy to hate. He may have a redeeming feature that the other characters don't see at the moment.

The Book Trailer for Flatline Virus. - Watch!

Here's the book trailer video for Flatline Virus...only the second time I've posted it since I published the book in 2011. Only 44 seconds. 

Time-Lapse Video of Almost Finished Painting of Alcatraz Guardhouse

I will post a photo of the painting within the next day.

San Francisco Cable Cars Painting-Timelapse

Here is a one minute time lapse video of my latest painting, one of cable cars from a photo I took when we visited San Francisco. The finished painting is posted off to the right.

Finishing Methods - Painting 1

I finally decided to use a toothbrush to apply the lights and shadows in the lower left of Painting 1. I could not use timelapse because I had to lay the canvas horizontally. Then I 'spritzed' wet paint off the toothbrush over/through a template I cut out. This helped to cause a more realistic effect of light and shadows. In both paintings 1 and 2, I took some artistic license in interpreting the scene in terms of light, shadow and color, to some extent. The image of the paintings don't quite capture what I see, IMHO.

Working on Two Paintings

I am attaching the time-lapse videos to go along with these. The 'almost-finished' paintings are posted in the column to the right. Some painting sessions go really well. It's just so easy. I have something in mind and it translates to the canvas with just modest effort. Other sessions are a prison riot. Something's wrong and I don't know why and I can't correct it. I try and I try and I try. That's what you see on the video. What should be a thirty to forty-five second video turns into a three minute marathon (more like a few hours in real time). I will say that the ultimate result is satisfactory and I always learn something more along the way. If everything was easy I wouldn't be learning.

Both of these paintings are places along where I play golf. A cemetery. A landscape scene. The light was right so I took a picture and am now using them for painting.

Opening of Attleboro Exhibit

Today was the opening reception for the Members' Exhibit at the Attleboro Arts Museum. We got there a little early. I was very impressed with the level of talent and the size of the exhibition. There were 301 pieces entered by 155 artists. I didn't do a count but the areas of photography and oil painting were most well represented. A number of awards were given out. My own thought was that abstract art was well represented in the exhibits but even more represented in the awarded pieces. I believe and my hope is that my membership will allow me to: 1) obtain much more exposure than just my Taunton Art Association membership will provide; and 2) work toward a higher level of excellence in my work.

The number of viewers of my work should increase many fold. The speaker at the awards ceremony indicated that at a prior 4 day showing, 1400 people had gone through the gallery. There is no charge.The exhibit is open almost daily through the end of January. That's a lot of time. I noticed that a sale of one of the paintings had occurred (red spot). I would expect that more will be sold before the end of the show.

Flatline Virus - Four Stars !!!

My Zombie book, Flatline Virus, is rated 4 stars in the Apple Bookstore, my best selling channel! This is based on 29 reviews. Check it out. Flatline Virus has been on the selling shelves the  longest as it is my first book. Check it out.