Sept. 19th mini paintings - Bicentennial Collection

Three mini paintings today. I enjoyed the loose look of that last set, so I tried to carry that on with these.



"Caballo y Capilla" 6x6" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD



"A Snack in the Cornfield" 5x7" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD




"Yellow Dress" 7x5" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD



To purchase any of these mini paintings, email me: frank at frankgardner.com
The first email in my box stating intent to purchase a painting by title gets it. Please write preferred method of payment: personal check or by Paypal. I will return your email with instructions and where to mail a check or send you a payment request through Paypal.
I will return the other emails advising that the desired painting has been sold.

Shipping from México to the US costs $35. USD via FedEx. You may ship several in one package for the $35.

Sept. 14th mini paintings - Bicentennial Collection

Felt like I was in a good groove painting today, no frustrations.
Really tried to keep the brushwork loose and simple. Just the important stuff.
One of the things I am enjoying about this challenge to paint as many mini paintings as I can this month is that it is keeping me moving. Forcing me to move on and not overwork.




"Rosario and his Horses" 6x6" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD




"Descanso" 6x6" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD





"Hidalgo" 7x5" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD


To purchase any of these mini paintings, email me: frank at frankgardner.com
The first email in my box stating intent to purchase a painting by title gets it. Please write preferred method of payment: personal check or by Paypal. I will return your email with instructions and where to mail a check or send you a payment request through Paypal.
I will return the other emails advising that the desired painting has been sold.

Shipping from México to the US costs $35. USD via FedEx. You may ship several in one package for the $35.

Sept. 13th mini paintings - Bicentennial Collection

I still have a lot of work to finish in the next two weeks for my show in Charleston, plus, I started 30x40" yesterday that I hope to include in the show. It is inspired by one of these minis.
But, as promised, I have a few mini paintings from today to post.

The first is a view of San Miguel, early in the morning, when the sun is just starting to light up the buildings in the center of town. This was a really hard subject to fit onto a 5x7" board. It had me frustrated for a while, but I like how it ended up.



"Early Morning" 5x7" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD


I wanted to switch the subject matter up a little, so I painted this hen and chicks walking along a wall. The bougainvillea adds a little brightness in contrast of the subtle colors of the chicks against the wall.



"Pollitos" 6x6" oil on linen panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD


The last one for tonight is of a mariachi group playing in front of the church in the main square. The color is off a bit since the sun was going down when I photographed it. I'll switch this photo out for a better one tomorrow. I think the color in the painting is a little stronger and the green mariachi suits are a bit darker than it shows here in the pic. There was some cool reflection from the sky that I could not get rid of in the photo.



"Mariachi" 5x7" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD


To purchase any of these mini paintings, email me: frank at frankgardner.com
The first email in my box stating intent to purchase a painting by title gets it. Please write preferred method of payment: personal check or by Paypal. I will return your email with instructions and where to mail a check or send you a payment request through Paypal.
I will return the other emails advising that the desired painting has been sold.

Shipping from México to the US costs $35. USD via FedEx. You may ship several in one package for the $35.

Preview of Nov. 5th show at M Gallery, Charleston

I'm not going to be posting any mini Bicentennial Collection paintings this weekend.
Taking some time to wrap up work on my pieces for my show at M Gallery in Charleston, SC.
It is a two person show with me and Gladys Roldan de Moras. We will both have a selection of paintings with Méxican themes and assorted other goodies. I've been working all summer on my paintings for this show. It's going to be good.
M Gallery just relocated to Charleston from Sarasota, FL. so Gladys and I are not well known there yet.
Please help spread the word to any family or friends that live in the area or enjoy visiting Charleston. There are going to be a lot of great paintings.
Below are two of my favorites that I'll be including. Contact M Gallery of me if you're interested in setting one of these aside for your collection.


"Goats and Mountain Stream" 32x38" oil on linen. Frank Gardner © 2010
$6,000. Framed. Available at M Gallery, Charleston, SC



"Perigrinos" 30x40" oil on linen. Frank Gardner © 2010
$6,000. Framed. Available at M Gallery, Charleston, SC

Sept. 10th mini paintings - Bicentennial Collection

Painted one still life last night, so there are 6 pieces tonight.

To purchase any of these mini paintings, email me: frank at frankgardner.com
The first email in my box stating intent to purchase a painting by title gets it. Please write preferred method of payment: personal check or by Paypal. I will return your email with instructions and where to mail a check or send you a payment request through Paypal.
I will return the other emails advising that the desired painting has been sold.

Shipping from México to the US costs $35. USD via FedEx. You may ship several in one package for the $35.

I really like the color and light in this one. It's going to end up being a larger painting. Feels like a lazy evening walking slowly into the setting sun.


"Evening Light" 5x7" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD


I'm starting to feel more comfortable with arranging and painting still lifes.



"Jalapeños and Tequila" 6x6" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD


I did a painting similar to this about 12 years ago. Never sold it and I'm kind of glad. It was way too dark. I think I did better this time. Love this old truck.



"Truck" 6x6" oil on linen panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD


Tried to say as much as I could with as few strokes as possible in this one. Same thing In "Evening Light" above.



"Camino Largo" 5x7" oil on linen panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD



A bit of a different view of the church in Atotonilco that I paint a lot.



"Detail of Atotonilco Church" 7x5" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping



One more Charro painting. This little girl is getting an early start with the horseback riding.



"Little Charro" 7x5" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD

Sept. 9th mini paintings - Bicentennial Collection

Two for tonight.
I've gotten quite a few emails from people saying that by the time they look at my blog the pieces are sold. I try and post around the same general time each night as I can. I really can't show preference or pre sell these. There is no fun in that, and it's not fair to everyone else. Still only in the second week.

The top one is another Charro. So to make it a little different for myself today I used a limited palette of colors. Just red, yellow ochre, ivory black and white in this one. I'm happy with how it came out. There is a little glare in the photo, but you can see the real subtle color notes in this one better, so it's the one I went with.




"Charro II" 7x5" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD



Canelo again, from the other side. I like the looseness in this one.
I painted this guy with my friend Scott Powers last summer. He just kept moving around and around that tree looking to eat the scraps of cornstalks. Much easier to paint from a photo.



"Canelo II" 6x6" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD


To purchase any of these mini paintings, email me: frank at frankgardner.com
The first email in my box stating intent to purchase a painting by title gets it. Please write preferred method of payment: personal check or by Paypal. I will return your email with instructions and where to mail a check or send you a payment request through Paypal.
I will return the other emails advising that the desired painting has been sold.

Shipping from México to the US costs $35. USD via FedEx. You may ship several in one package for the $35.

Sept. 8th mini paintings - Bicentennial Collection

Last night I painted two still lifes, so today I am posting 5 paintings.

I rigged something up in my studio that is a pretty good still life base. Now I just need access to Carol Marine's fancy colored paper and fabric stash to use as backgrounds. I borrowed her idea of putting a sheet of glass under the set up to get nice reflections.




"Charro" 7x5" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD



"Niña" 7x5" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD




"Alberto" 6x6" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD



"Almost Salsa" 6x6" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD




"Shot of Tequila" 6x6" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD


To purchase any of these mini paintings, email me: frank at frankgardner.com
The first email in my box stating intent to purchase a painting by title gets it. Please write preferred method of payment: personal check or by Paypal. I will return your email with instructions and where to mail a check or send you a payment request through Paypal.
I will return the other emails advising that the desired painting has been sold.

Shipping from México to the US costs $35. USD via FedEx. You may ship several in one package for the $35.

Sept. 7th mini paintings - Bicentennial Collection

Today completes the first week of the mini marathon.
I'm feeling like I should have more than 13 completed.
That's more like a 10K than a marathon.
I'll call it pacing myself, and will try and pick it up a bit the second week.

These have all been painted from reference so far. I'll keep doing those, but want to try and move on this week to include some done on the spot and some still lifes. I tried to set up a still life last night but got frustrated at my lack of experience with those and decided to go to bed instead. I'm going to give it another shot tonight after posting these. Maybe I'll actually get some paint on the board this time.



"Cactus and Capilla" 6x6" oil on linen panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD




"Charros" 7x5" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD


To purchase any of these mini paintings, email me: frank at frankgardner.com
The first email in my box stating intent to purchase a painting by title gets it. Please write preferred method of payment: personal check or by Paypal. I will return your email with instructions and where to mail a check or send you a payment request through Paypal.
I will return the other emails advising that the desired painting has been sold.

Shipping from México to the US costs $35. USD via FedEx. You may ship several in one package for the $35.

September 6th mini painting

Just one for now, spent a big part of the day at the gallery taking care of business. If I paint something tonight I'll put it up with tomorrow's paintings.

Tried to not do excessive blending on this one. Put it on and leave it alone.



"Canelo", 6x6" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD

To purchase any of these mini paintings, email me: frank at frankgardner.com
The first email in my box stating intent to purchase a painting by title gets it. Please write preferred method of payment: personal check or by Paypal. I will return your email with instructions and where to mail a check or send you a payment request through Paypal.
I will return the other emails advising that the desired painting has been sold.

Shipping from México to the US costs $35. USD via FedEx. You may ship several in one package for the $35.

September 5th mini paintings

Had time for two of the mini paintings today.

Danza del Venado translates to Deer Dance. The Yaqui from Sonora perform this dance, but I believe it is performed in other places too, down into Guatemala. Yes, that's a deer head on his head.
I embedded a video of this dance at the end of this post.


"Danza del Venado" 7x5" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD


It's pretty common to see young kids out taking care of the family animals instead of going to school.


"Boy and Cows" &x5" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD


To purchase any of these mini paintings, email me: frank at frankgardner.com
The first email in my box stating intent to purchase a painting by title gets it. Please write preferred method of payment: personal check or by Paypal. I will return your email with instructions and where to mail a check or send you a payment request through Paypal.
I will return the other emails advising that the desired painting has been sold.

Shipping from México to the US costs $35. USD via FedEx. You may ship several in one package for the $35.

September 4th mini painting

Had some other things to do today and a family get together this evening, so only one painting today.
But it's a nice one.

You may have noticed that I am trying to get some red, white and green into some of these. The colors of the Méxican flag.
I moved things around and came up with his clothes, the red blanket behind his saddle and the nopal cactus in the background.

To purchase any of these mini paintings, email me: frank at frankgardner.com
The first email in my box stating intent to purchase a painting by title gets it. Please write preferred method of payment: personal check or by Paypal. I will return your email with instructions and where to mail a check or send you a payment request through Paypal.
I will return the other emails advising that the desired painting has been sold.

Shipping from México to the US costs $35. USD via FedEx. You may ship several in one package for the $35.




"Waiting", 6x6" oil on panel. Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD

September 3rd mini paintings

This top painting was from yesterday but it was too dark to get a good photo.
Today I finished two pieces.

To purchase any of these mini paintings, email me: frank at frankgardner.com
The first email in my box stating intent to purchase a painting by title gets it. Please write preferred method of payment: personal check or by Paypal. I will return your email with instructions and where to mail a check or send you a payment request through Paypal.
I will return the other emails advising that the desired painting has been sold.

Shipping from México to the US costs $35. USD via FedEx. You may ship several in one package for the $35.


"Charro's Gear", 6x6" oil on linen panel. Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD

Charro hat, rope and vest hanging on an old adobe and rock wall.




"Méxican Goat", 5x7" oil on panel. Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD

I call this one "Méxican Goat" because of the red, white and green, colors of the Méxican flag.





"Calle de Recreo", 7x5" oil on panel. Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD


A street here in San Miguel de Allende with the San Francisco Church in the distance.


Had a hard time getting good color in this photo. I may try and re post the image tomorrow.
Taking good photos of artwork is hard. Any artist will tell you that having to rush is not the best way to get good pics. I shoot in the sun, so I'm relying a bit on the weather and time of day. Wet paintings give glare, and if I shoot in the shade I don't get the color and texture I like. Doing my best to get a good representation of these.

Hasta Mañana.

September 2nd mini paintings

Starting to get into the groove on these. The first one is the one from last night that I did not post.


"Trusty Ride", 6x6" oil on panel. Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD



"Insurgentes II" 6x6" oil on linen panel. Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD



"Red, White and Green", 5x7" oil on linen panel. Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD



To purchase any of these mini paintings, email me: frank at frankgardner.com
The first email in my box stating intent to purchase a painting by title gets it. Please write preferred method of payment: personal check or by Paypal. I will return your email with instructions and where to mail a check or send you a payment request through Paypal.
I will return the other emails advising that the desired painting has been sold.

Shipping from México to the US costs $35. USD via FedEx for up to 5 kilos, so you may ship several in one package for the $35.

First Day of mini painting series.

Today was the first day of my September mini paintings.
The small size was hard to get a grip on at first. I've been working on some larger things lately and I really felt like I was painting with my feet for a while on these. Today was my warmup day.
I completed two paintings today, but only had time to photograph one before it was dark.
I'll post the other painting with tomorrow's pieces.

I should mention that some of these paintings will be landscapes or cityscapes done on the spot, some from references, some may be still lifes. I have no set plan and will go where the series leads me as far as subject matter and freedom to experiment a bit with style and design.


"Insurgentes", 5x7" oil on panel, Frank Gardner © 2010
Unframed $110. USD + shipping
SOLD

Shipping from México to the US costs $35. USD via FedEx for up to 5 kilos, so you may ship several in one package for the $35.

I have not had time to send out an newsletter promoting this special or even organize a purchase instruction page. I'll get to that soon and get these paintings on my web site too. For now, here is what to do if you are interested in a painting.

To purchase any of these mini paintings, email me: frank at frankgardner.com
The first email in my box stating intent to purchase a painting by title gets it. Please write preferred method of payment: personal check or by Paypal. I will return your email with instructions and where to mail a check or send you a payment request through Paypal.
I will return the other emails advising that the desired painting has been sold.

This seems like the best way to avoid multiple buyers with Paypal buttons and will make it so I don't have to keep checking the computer etc.

Mini Painting challenge for the month of September. Celebrating the Mexican Bicentennial.

To commemorate the Mexican Bicentennial, during the month of September, I'll be challenging myself to a painting marathon.

My goal is to paint as many mini paintings in the month of September that I can squeeze into my schedule. I have a lot of other things going on this month, so it won't be a blitz of mini paintings all day long.

The mini marathon paintings will be in two sizes, either 6x6 inches or 5x7 inches. I will offer them on a first come first serve basis at a special price of $110. USD, unframed, plus shipping.
I don't paint this small for galleries, but some of my favorites may end up being studies for larger paintings.

Each evening I will try and post that days paintings on my blog and web site.
Anything painted at night will be posted with the following day's paintings.

The first paintings of the series will be posted here on the evening of Sept. 1st.

"Exploring the Bay"

One more Cape painting that I just completed. This is my daughter and our good friend Peter Kalill walking along the beach in Brewster, MA. They are exploring the tidal pools and looking for minnows. I've always loved this photo and have wanted to paint it for a long time.



"Exploring the Bay". 18x24" oil. Frank Gardner © 2010

"Provincetown Blues"

This is a piece from May that I had not posted here yet. Another view of a working boat tied up on the wharf in PTown. All of the subtle shifts in the shadow colors really attracted me to this scene.

I've been busy painting things for my show at M Gallery in November, but I'm not ready to start posting those on the blog just yet.




"Provincetown Blues", 14x18" oil, Frank Gardner © 2010
$1,430. Framed. Available at Addison Art Gallery

Two new Cape Cod paintings

Just sent these two new paintings of Provincetown off to the Addison Art Gallery in Orleans, MA.

I'm normally drawn to the grittier weathered look of the fishing boats when I'm in Provincetown. In my last few paintings of the town I wanted to explore the quainter street scenes a bit more.




"A Touch of Summer" 18x24" Oil, Frank Gardner © 2010
$2,500. Framed. Available at Addison Art Gallery




"Dyer Street" 18x24" Oil, Frank Gardner © 2010
$2,500. Framed. Available at Addison Art Gallery

Portrait Commission

This is the finished portrait commission. It was my first portrait commission ever and pretty much one of my first portraits period. I don't have much experience with this, but am pretty happy with how it turned out.
Sitting on the spot over several sessions was not an option, so we had a photo shoot at the clients home. It seemed like the best way to approach this was to do a few small color studies to work out a few ideas and present them to my clients so they could visualize what I thought would look good. We ended up taking a few things they liked best from two of the studies and combining them for the main pose with Buddy and the dog, Chico. The final painting is assembled from four or five reference photos plus the studies.


"Buddy and Chico" 40x30" oil, Frank Gardner © 2010
Private Collection


It is now the main painting above the mantel in a room with 10 other large paintings of mine that these clients have purchased over the past 14 years. It is the first time all of them have been assembled in one room and it's kind of cool to view them all together. I enjoyed seeing how my work and style has evolved over the years in the context of what these clients have selected for their home.
I'll try and take a few photos of the other paintings in the room next time I am out there.

"Summer Rose" and a new gallery

Back from a two week painting trip. First I was painting in Sarasota, FL with Marc Hanson for a few days and visiting with the great folks from M Gallery where I'll be having a show in Nov. followed by a 5 day painting workshop. I came back with some a bunch of small paintings. Some of them will be for my show or used as starting points for larger pieces. More on FL later.

Then, after visiting my Dad and family for a few days I headed over to Cape Cod to paint with a group of friends. The usual suspects, Peter Kalill, Paul Schulenburg, Jerome Greene, Logan Hagege, Dan Corey, Jeff Bonasia and Marc Hanson again.

I had a blast, painted a lot and am proud to announce that I am now represented by the Addison Art Gallery, in Orleans, MA. A lot of those guys I paint with show there, so I am glad to be pert of that team. I've been part of a few group shows there before.

Below is one of the pieces I painted in Provincetown. This house had some of the best looking roses in town.
I'll post a few more paintings soon.
Until then.



"Summer Rose" 10 x 8" oil, Frank Gardner © 2010
$780. Framed, Available at Addison Art Gallery