Working at a larger format size

 

💓....and loving it !  Here is an example of some new large works in progress. Sold.

Scattered Persimmon, 48" x 72", acrylic paint on canvas, Andrew Portwood 2022 sold

New 30" x 40" size paintings

 

"Untitled Dream", 30" x 40", acrylic paint on canvas, Andrew Portwood 2022, sold

 

I like to buy canvases by the box....I don't make a painting a day like some do...(well sometimes :))...but my mind certainly flows into the next painting...and it is a good thing to just grab another canvas ready to go.

This one is the 3rd canvas from my box of 6.

"Untitled Dream", 30" x 40", acrylic paint on canvas, Andrew Portwood 2022

Sold through Blue Print Gallery, Dallas, TX

 

"Untitled Dream", 30" x 40", acrylic paint on canvas, Andrew Portwood 2022

 

Raspberry Garden Party

 Here is a new one...a happy one. Raspberry Garden Party...Although it took a few tries to get here. I really think I could have stopped painting this one 2 times previously. I took photos at 2 different stages where I felt that I had a finish, but I kept on pushing and pressing, and I like it at this stage and think of the others as ideas or roughed out plans for 2 new paintings later. There is certainly more texture on the surface because of the layers of paint underneath. 

Sold !! at Meyer Vogl Gallery, Charleston, SC

 

Raspberry Garden Party, 36" x 36", acrylic paint on canvas, Andrew Portwood, 2022

I 

Rosewater Beach, sold

 Titles;...sometimes they come easy..and sometimes they don't....they are necessary....and sometimes I think of song titles that might fit...I wanted to use "Walk don't Run"...it popped into my head and I thought that it fit perfectly, but...that's not my title, it belongs to The Ventures ...yes, it's surf and beach...because I seem to be gathering all my work from collective memories of the beach....Anyway, I came up with an alternative...Rosewater Beach Party...which has been shortened to Rosewater beach, or just Rosewater :)

This painting is Raw...and un-fussed with! I put it down bravely one morning on canvas with exuberance and child-like joy...and I just plain "felt" it. ...like I said , it's kind of raw and thinly painted ...but it is pure and deliberate!...and I hope will lead on to the next better painting. :)

This painting has sold through Meyer Vogl Gallery, Charleston, SC

 

Rosewater Beach, 36" x 36", acrylic paint on canvas, Andrew Portwood, 2022

 

Abstract No. 10

 One of a series of abstracts painted late last summer, Abstract No. 10, available now at Meyer Vogel Gallery in Charleston, SC, USA.

Abstract No. 10, 48" x 48", acrylic paint on canvas, Andrew Portwood 2021

 

Tense Viridian, 36" x 48"

 A new painting shown, or depicted in a digital interior environment. Tense Viridian, 36" x 48"

Sold at Blue Print Gallery, Dallas, TX

Tense Viridian, 36" x 48", acrylic on canvas, Andrew Portwood, 2022

Happy Joy

 

 The joy of working large, ....more abstract landscapes. :)...this one also SOLD at Meyer Vogl Gallery, Charleston, SC

Happy Joy, Abstract N0. 16, Sold, 48" x 48", acrylic paint on canvas, Andrew Portwood, 2021

A New One

 A recent abstract from the studio here in Nola...Exhibited and available at Meyer Vogl Gallery in

Charleston, SC......continually influenced by the music around me and my memories/flashbacks of the beach and ocean views on the gulfcoast....Happy Days :)

 

Abstract No. 15, Blue in Green, 48" x 48", acrylic paint on canvas, Andrew Portwood, 2021

 

 

 

Pink Sand

 

Pink Sand, work in progress, 40" x 40", Andrew Portwood, 2021

 An abstract landscape,..with beach color and abstract shapes, and pink sand...All in my mind that is....memories of the gulf coast and of course that one trip to the Bahamas - where they do have pink sand and snorkeling...which made quite an impression on me...I started this painting several weeks ago, then put it down and came back to it....I have to analyze it of course...but I realized that this is an "abstract memory postcard" from our Bahamas Trip...over 30 years ago...and that building on the right is the hotel where Howard Hughes lived at the end of his life...so the locals told us....because I remember standing knee deep in the surf and my feet sinking into that pink sand which is very fine like silt and looking up at that hotel. When I paint, I always chase this blurry/fragmented image/idea in my mind that eventually comes into focus...Then after I get to maybe a "finish", I can recognize and usually connect it to an actual event or story in my own life.....sometimes :)

#creativeprocess, #worksinprocess, #contemporaryartist , #contemporaryart, #contemporarypainting , #artistsatelier , #supportlivingartists,#worksinprogress, #artandinteriors, #andrewportwoodstudio

Sold, Three Trees

Three Trees, 30" x 40", acrylic paint on canvas,SOLD, Andrew Portwood, 2021

 

A recently sold painting through my Chairish page...Very Thankful!: Andrew Portwood Studio/ St. Charles Apartment, Three Trees, 30" x 40", acrylic paint on canvas, Andrew Portwood, 2021

So, I am really loving living now in New Orleans...I've been here 4 years...this is my 5th summer. Everything with the studio is great...staying productive and painting alot of artwork...Making paintings, painting paintings. I have to re-iterate this fact and keep on proclaiming my self because My identity is sacred to me. I have been painting and drawing since I was five years old....I am pretty sure I know who I am....55 years I have known that I was an artist...and being an "artist" translates and manifests itself into many things...depending on your vehicle of expression that you personally choose.....whether it be writing, dance, performing arts, music and visual art. I am primarily a visual artist but also a musician...self-taught...not a professional music guy, but Ive been playing guitar since highschool and was in a band and played in jams and parties in college...my friends can attest to that, and I love jazz and rock and good music and that attracted me to Nola as well...just like everybody else here....so HERE is where the conundrum begins....there is another Andrew Portwood in New Orleans that is a music guy...he is younger and has red hair....i don't know if he is real or fiction. but people are confusing our identities....I am just trying to do my thing and I'm sure he is doing the same....I have recognized him...as long as he does the same for me....don't ride my coat tails....I am sure that we can coexist and help each other out...right? So maybe I'll get to meet him, or...maybe we have already crossed paths.  

Anyway...happy to announce that I have gotten on board with two new AMAZING art galleries....Myer Vogl Gallery in Charleston, SC and Blueprint Gallery in Dallas, Texas!...looking forward to showing work and establishing strong & productive relationships with both.

Happy Thanksgiving to All :)

  Sharing a new painting, Reverent Celebration,...Much to be thankful for Today :)

Click on the image ....it will take you to my online gallery..Cheers 

 

 

Reverent Celebration, 36" x 36", acrylic paint on canvas, 2020, Andrew Portwood copyright 2021

 

Reverent Celebration, acrylic paint on canvas, interior shot, Andrew Portwood 2020

 

BlueJean Submarine

 It's an abstract piece...but it kinda looks like a blue jean denim submarine...This one is available at Alkmy in Birmingham/ Mountainbrook, AL

 

 BlueJean Submarine 36" x 36", acrylic paint on canvas, Andrew Portwood copyright 2020

New Painting, New Direction

 I suppose during this pandemic, it was bound to happen...more abstract, less thinking, more disconnect, less rules of picture-making. It's fun just to make visuals like making music...just play- and see what happens- just for yourself. No pressure. 

Both of these paintings have Sold !!...through Blue Print Gallery, Dallas, TX

 

Beach Stuff, 36"w x 40"h, acrylic paint & collage on canvas, Andrew Portwood 2020

Walking Tall, 36" x 36", acrylic paint & collage on canvas, Andrew Portwood 2020

Flowering Fields, 2019

This painting is available on my Chairish Site: Andrew Portwood Studio/ St. Charles Apartment
https://www.chairish.com/shop/stcharlesapartment

This painting has Sold :)

A painting on wood panel from last year. I sometimes depict St. Joan of Arc in my work...I think I have made altogether 4 works on the subject. This is one, Flowering Fields, 24" x 24", mixed media on wood panel.

Flowering Fields, 2019, 24" x 24", acrylic paint & mixed media on wood panel, Andrew Portwood copyright 2019

I sent some new work up to Nashville

Reception, 36" x 36", acrylic & mixed media on canvas, Andrew Portwood 2019

I sent a few paintings up to Bennett Galleries in Nashville.

Shakespeare Stage, 24" x 24", acrylic paint on wood panel, Andrew Portwood 2019

much to be Thankful for

Backyard Love Corral, 36" x 36", acrylic paint on canvas, Andrew Portwood 2019

Dance of Arcadia

Dance of Arcadia, 24" x 24", acrylic paint on wood panel, Andrew Portwood copyright 2019

More painting from late summer, Dance of Arcadia.

Loosening up

Flower Tribe, 2019, 36" x 36", acrylic paint on canvas, Andrew Portwood copyright 2019

Loosening up...and starting to abstract more...in other words,...less objective representation of anything. Nudging that way. This painting was the beginning of it..starting last summer. I like color and stroke...and I am finding that connection when I listen to music. I am playing notes with color and stroke....and it's spontaneous and free. This is my present trajectory. I have made more which I will post...feeling confident in my new(er) direction.

Wanted to show this painting from 2017...I have been neglecting my blog posts lately, and want to write more about my work. I said the word "want" twice already, which means there is never enough time it seems to do Everything we "want" to do. I have decided that MAKING the WORK is the most important part of the process...make good work.... Then, write about it...but, not without writing the title first. I think that that maybe the most important piece of writing when it comes to painting. Because my good title will always be attached to the good work directly. :)

Blue Teacups, 2017, 36" x 36", mixed media on canvas, Andrew Portwood copyright 2019

One of my Figure drawings showing at MacGryder Gallery New Orleans

Well, I haven't posted in a while....thought this was worth mentioning from last summer. My work was chosen for a group show here in New Orleans at The MacGryder Gallery.... a really really beautful gallery on Julia Street in the Arts District. The owners, Jill McGaughey and Garlyn Gryder, wanted to show some of my charcoal figure drawings...which I had not expected. We picked out six drawings which were framed for the opening in July. It was a nice turnout and we sold one drawing. I'm thrilled and very grateful to have been selected and included in this exhibit...which featured artwork from some very notable artists, among them Francois Gilot.  The MacGryder Gallery is located at 615 Julia Street, New Orleans, Louisiana.

The MacGryder Gallery, 615 Julia Street, New Orleans, Louisiana

Jill McGaughey and Myself on the night of the show

The Dream beneath Trees, 36"w x 48"h, acrylic and mixed media on canvas, Andrew Portwood 2018

The Dream beneath Trees, 36"w x 48"h, acrylic & mixed media on canvas, Andrew Portwood copyright 2018

Oh, I want to paint more like this...and more paintings in this dream. I see so much dirt and mud...silt and brown mixed with minerals and metals. Bits of grit reflecting color. And water flowing... It's everywhere down here ...and The Mississippi is a stones throw away. Huge Live Oaks everywhere. Some of these trees have been estimated to be 800 years old.

Princess Saffron and the Queendom of Satsuma, 36"w x 36"h

Princess Saffron and the Queendom of Satsuma, 36" x 36", acrylic & mixed media on canvas, Andrew Portwood copyright 2018

Having fun making up stories around paintings, without going into a story with beginning, middle and end. The viewer, I suppose can follow a storyline of their own. I am tempted though...to make this into a book.
  I am going to. I just made up my mind to...a challenge to myself.
While here now in New Orleans...I am surrounded by beautiful architecture, traditions and culture from so many sources...Caribbean, African, French, Spanish, English and American. 300 years of history felt and seen in Nola....It is very easy to engage with all of this flavor and conjure up or brew up an interesting Soup. Stories fall out of the sky and hit you on the head every day.

An unspoken, hopeful gesture, 36" x 36"An unspoken, hopeful gesture

An unspoken, hopeful gesture, 36" x 36", acrylic & mixed media on canvas, copyright Andrew Portwood 2018

As of late, I have taken on some part time work for two reasons...to add some consistent flow of income ., and to get around people...That is to have more social interaction. When you paint and draw and work from the source of your own mind, you can get trapped in there. Living inside of your own head and solitude is wonderful, and better for some individuals than others, and I have always enjoyed my time...solitude to think and work...but real life requires balance...and this includes people in our lives. My analogy for this is a submarine exploring regions of deep water, using Sonar. Sending out beeps and receiving echos and beeps bouncing back in order to navigate in the dark and the deep. Same in life...you need feedback to better orient yourself and receive source for better health and happiness. So, the search and work goes on. Still painting and moving forward, and maybe breaking some of my own personal artistic barriers in the process.

More figure abstraction, Reception, 36" x 36"

Reception, 2017, 36" x 36",acrylic & mixed media on canvas, Andrew Portwood copyright 2017

Angels...still a work in progress

Still working on this one...but I thought it would be a nice image for the season. Yes, I believe in Angels

Angels, 36"w x 48"h, acrylic and collage on canvas, Andrew Portwood copyright 2017