Live Event Painting

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Meeting Planners Congress
Party at San Francisco City Hall

This is my live painting of the scene at the Meeting Professionals International (MPI) World Education Congress (WEC) 2022 Closing Party at the San Francisco City Hall. The party theme was California Dreamin’ – celebrating the best of Northern, Southern and Central California vibes. The artwork was created live based on direct observation using an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and Procreate app. It was shared on a large display screen for all guests to enjoy watching the live art evolve throughout the evening.

Huge thanks to Kerri and Eddie and their colleagues at Innovative Entertainment!

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Nuclear Energy Themed Virtual Mural in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery

This painting was created live for the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) at their Nuclear Energy Assembly Special Event, Art Imitates Energy, which was held in The Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C..

The painting, a virtual mural displayed in real time as it was created on a 12′ x 6′ LED screen visible throughout the magnificent courtyard, was an interactive creative project based around the theme of the many and varied peaceful uses of nuclear energy. I started at the atomic level and invited guests to choose their favorite colors for the colors of the electrons circulating around the Uranium atoms I depicted. Thankfully each Uranium atom has 92 electrons so I didn’t run out of them!

I then added motifs, sometimes assisted by guests with ideas and suggestions, that ranged from nuclear reactor buildings (such as the cooling towers, reactor building, turbine building) and components (the turbine and fuel), the fission reaction and nuclear plant workflow schematics; to the transfer of energy through power lines; Washington, D.C., lit up at night; medical applications of nuclear from whole body scanners to radio-isotope scans and radioimmunotherapy (RIT); all the way into space with NASA’s proposed spacecraft enabled by nuclear thermal propulsion.

Here are some photos from the event:

Big thank you to the staff and organizations of the Nuclear Energy Institute (@nuclearenergy), Skylark Creative Group (@skylarkcreativegrp) and the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery (@smithsoniannpg). Great working with you!

Photo credits to Kate Nelson and Daniel Longfellow. Video credit Kate Nelson. Artwork painted on an iPad Pro using an Apple Pencil and the Procreate app.

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Painting the Washington Nationals Philanthropies’ Award Presentation

This painting was created live at the Washington Nationals Philanthropies’ Night 4Good that took place in the MGM National Harbor to celebrate the true meaning of the Nationals Philanthropies, a charitable arm of the Washington Nationals baseball team that gives back to the local community. The event featured the presentation of the annual Power of Baseball award to Theodore N. Lerner, Founding Managing Principal Owner of the Washington Nationals.

Congratulations to Mr. Lerner on his award and lifetime achievements. As he noted in his acceptance speech and as I then added to this painting: “on field excellence with off the field impact.”

Here are some photos from the event:

Big thank you to the staff and organizations of the Washington Nationals Philanthropies (@Nats4Good), The Dufour Collaborative (@dufourcollaborative), Skylark Creative Group (@skylarkcreativegrp) and the MGM National Harbor (@mgmnationalharbor). Great working with you!

Photo and video credit to Kate Nelson. Artwork painted on an iPad Pro using an Apple Pencil and the Procreate app.

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Portrait of Nina Simone

 


Mississippi Goddam’: Portrait of Nina Simone, 2005, 38″ x 57″, mixed media on canvas

 

This portrait is inspired by Simone’s powerful song of the same name, Mississippi Goddam’.

The song Mississippi Goddam was written by Simone in response to the violence against blacks in the civil rights era, including the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing (the four girls killed are shown on the left of the painting) and the killing of civil rights worker Medgar Evers (shown in the top right of the painting), both crimes referred to in the song. I have also included in this painting imagery showing hostile onlookers during civil rights marches, plus textures that have the lyrics of the song and the musical notation.

It has been displayed on stage a number of times when jazz singer Kim Nalley has sung the Nina Simone songbook, including at the Herbst Theatre and the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, both as part of SFJAZZ; at Kim’s former club, Jazz at Pearl’s, San Francisco; at The Rrazz Room at Hotel Nikko, San Francisco; and at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley. Here are some photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little dancing with Kim during one number!

 






The painting at The Herbst Theater, San Francisco, where Kim performed the Nina Simone songbook for SFJAZZ 2022.

 

This photo shows Kim singing Nina Simone in front of my portrait of Simone at Kim’s former club in North Beach, Jazz at Pearl’s, in 2008.

 

The song’s lyrics are:

The name of this tune is Mississippi Goddam
And I mean every word of it

Alabama’s gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam

Alabama’s gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam

Can’t you see it
Can’t you feel it
It’s all in the air
I can’t stand the pressure much longer
Somebody say a prayer

Alabama’s gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam

This is a show tune
But the show hasn’t been written for it, yet

Hound dogs on my trail
School children sitting in jail
Black cat cross my path
I think every day’s gonna be my last

Lord have mercy on this land of mine
We all gonna get it in due time
I don’t belong here
I don’t belong there
I’ve even stopped believing in prayer

Don’t tell me
I tell you
Me and my people just about due
I’ve been there so I know
They keep on saying ‘Go slow!’

But that’s just the trouble
‘Do it slow’
Washing the windows
‘Do it slow’
Picking the cotton
‘Do it slow’
You’re just plain rotten
‘Do it slow’
You’re too damn lazy
‘Do it slow’
The thinking’s crazy
‘Do it slow’
Where am I going
What am I doing
I don’t know
I don’t know

Just try to do your very best
Stand up be counted with all the rest
For everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam

I made you thought I was kiddin’

Picket lines
School boy cots
They try to say it’s a communist plot
All I want is equality
For my sister my brother my people and me

Yes you lied to me all these years
You told me to wash and clean my ears
And talk real fine just like a lady
And you’d stop calling me Sister Sadie

Oh but this whole country is full of lies
You’re all gonna die and die like flies
I don’t trust you any more
You keep on saying ‘Go slow!’
‘Go slow!’

But that’s just the trouble
‘Do it slow’
Desegregation
‘Do it slow’
Mass participation
‘Do it slow’
Reunification
‘Do it slow’
Do things gradually
‘Do it slow’
But bring more tragedy
‘Do it slow’
Why don’t you see it
Why don’t you feel it
I don’t know
I don’t know

You don’t have to live next to me
Just give me my equality
Everybody knows about Mississippi
Everybody knows about Alabama
Everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam

Written by Nina Simone • Copyright © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

Please visit my Prints page for information on fine art reproductions of this painting, Mississippi Goddam’: Portrait of Nina Simone. Please note that since this is a mixed media painting with a combination of digital painting (pigment ink printed onto fine art canvas) and a variety of traditional media (including acrylic paint and inks), any reproduction may look slightly different from the original.

Another painting I made that was inspired by the music of Nina Simone was this one, Feeling Good:

 


Feeling Good, 2006, 38″ x 57″, mixed media on canvas

 

This painting, Feeling Good, is based on a moment in a dance that Myrna performed to the haunting song of the same name by Nina Simone. Simone’s face appears woven into the fabric of the painting, as do the words and musical score to “Feeling Good” (reproduced below).

This painting, along with the portrait of Simone shown above, were featured in The Nina Simone Experience art exhibit at Space Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, April 2010.

Words to “Feeling Good”. By Anthony Newley, Leslie Bricusse

Birds flying high you know how I feel
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Reeds driftin’ on by you know how I feel

(refrain:)
It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life
For me
And I’m feeling good

Fish in the sea you know how I feel
River running free you know how I feel
Blossom in the tree you know how I feel

(refrain)

Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don’t you know
Butterflies all havin’ fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done
That’s what I mean

And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me

Stars when you shine you know how I feel
Scent of the pine you know how I feel
Oh freedom is mine
And I know how I feel

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Painting a VIP Fiesta at SFMOMA

This painting was created live at a VIP Fiesta reception hosted by the company Appgate at SFMOMA.

Framed canvas fine art prints of this, and other artworks by me, are available – for more information please visit my Prints page.

Here are some photos from the event:

With thanks to the fabulous Appgate team and staff at SFMOMA.

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Capturing the Flow of a Meeting

This painting was created live on stage during a meeting. I painted with an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and the Procreate app to capture the flow of the meeting, featuring visual vignettes of the different featured speakers. At the closing reception the time lapse replay of my entire painting process was shown on monitors for all the guests to enjoy watching.

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“Key to Success” – Virtual Wellness Break Painting

This painting was created live during a 15 minute virtual “Wellness Break” for an online conference. I used an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and the Procreate app and shared the entire process with the over 400 event guests in attendance of my session. The artwork theme concept was “Key to Success”.

A small sampling of the enthusiastic and appreciative guest comments included: “This is such a wonderful and soothing session.” “Thank you for giving us this relaxing view into your artistic process. Wonderful and perfect break!” “Thanks for sharing, this is awesome!” “Thank you!! Wow!” “Love it! need this!” “Amazing, thank you! Beautiful!” “WOW! Amazing! Thanks for sharing:)” “So enjoyable!” “Wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing your gifts with us!”

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Lauren


Lauren, 2021
Created from life using iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and the Procreate app
8″ x 10″ Inkjet pigment print on photo paper, framed and with AR overlay

This portrait of British Airways Flight Attendant Lauren was drawn from life en-route from San Francisco (SFO) to London (LHR), and was selected to be included in the juried group art show titled “Face to Face” at the Arc Gallery, San Francisco.

EXHIBITION: until June 11, 2022
LOCATION: Arc Gallery & Studios, 1246 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
The Arc Gallery is open with social-distancing 1-6PM PST on Wednesdays & Thursdays and 12-3PM PST on Saturdays
​​Arc Gallery requires all visitors and staff to wear face masks, regardless of vaccination status, during gallery hours and in-person events.
​Disposable masks will be available to all visitors, as needed.

I will be participating in a virtual Artist Talk associated with this exhibition. Details:
“FACE TO FACE” ON-LINE ARTISTS TALK #2
on Wednesday, May 25th, 6-7 PM PST
with Alexandra Beaumont, Penny Cagney, Naomi Stein Cooper, Merrilyn Duzy, David Enriquez,
Lucy Julia Hale, Michael Kesselman, Beverly Patterson, Paul Ransohoff, Jeremy Sutton, & Josh Wright
​register in advance at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcof-qqrTgrGdROJzYPIoix6ypQayjFq0q6
Hope to see you there!

As I mention in the caption at the top of this page, this artwork is extended with an augmented reality (AR) video overlay. The AR video shows the creative process and some photos on board the plane of the subject with her portrait. To view the AR video please point your smart phone camera at the QR code shown below. This will take you to a page with Apple App Store and Google Play Store links to download the free Augmented Reality (AR) app called Artivive. Once you have installed Artivive on your mobile device, open the app and point it at the artwork (with your volume turned up:-).
 

 

The AR being demonstrated at the opening reception of the exhibition (videography by Peggy)
 
The actual replay video that I programmed to be seen in the AR overlay mapped to the artwork
 


Lauren with her portrait


Lauren and I with her portrait


As you can see from my portrait, Lauren kept her mask on throughout the drawing process. This portrait reflects the times. The mask was in itself a statement of the strange era we were all living through, when there were still quite a few COVID-related rules, restrictions and protocols in place for flying internationally. The plane was mostly empty and there were strict rules about keeping a mask on throughout the flight except when eating and drinking. We were all relating to each other through eye contact and body language and just had to imagine the smiles hidden behind the masks.

I thought of this portrait when I saw the original Call for Artists from the Arc Gallery for “Face to Face”:

“After a couple years of coping with the pandemic and the isolation that many have experienced, we have come to value face to face interactions with others. And many of us have encountered coming face to face with our own selves.”

“Being “face to face” can simply mean looking at someone in close proximity. But upon further investigation, “face to face” can be interpreted in many ways. The physical act of seeing someone face to face can mean seeing them in the flesh or via a screen. It can be looking at an individual or seeing a multitude of people in many different locations via video-conferencing. The intent of this action may be to derive agreement, to be in direct opposition with someone, or to express intimacy or desire. The desire for face to face encounters may come from separation of family and isolation. One can be face to face with another human being, with oneself, an animal or an object such as a portrait. Sometimes the action is one-way, such as the male gaze that objectifies the female. Arc Gallery encourages you to submit works within these wide interpretations of this theme.”

“Art is coming face to face with yourself.” – Jackson Pollock


Preparing the print of Lauren for this show.

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Tangled Bank Studios
10th Anniversary Celebration
Bethesda, MD

This painting was created live at the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the Tangled Bank Studios, a production company that is part of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and is dedicated to crafting compelling, immersive films about science and scientists. The artwork memorializes the storytelling journey of the company shared at this event, and includes visual references to many of their films. The positive, uplifting message to be conveyed in the artwork was one of encouraging conservation; offering a beacon of hope; focus on the future of the planet; shining a light; inspiring people to take action; and connecting with hearts and minds.

As explained in the Tangled Bank Studios FAQ page, the “tangled bank” reference in their name is taken from the poetic final paragraph of the later editions of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species: “It is interesting to contemplate a tangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, and to reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent upon each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us. These laws, taken in the largest sense, being Growth with reproduction; Inheritance which is almost implied by reproduction; Variability from the indirect and direct action of the conditions of life, and from use and disuse; a Ratio of Increase so high as to lead to a Struggle for Life, and as a consequence to Natural Selection, entailing Divergence of Character and the Extinction of less improved forms. Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows. There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone circling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.” You’ll see the first line of this quote from Darwin visually referenced in the artwork (under the bridge on the left). The FAQ page explains that this paragraph refers to “how all life forms are inextricably bound to each other in a way that can seem chaotic but, in fact, is guided by natural laws. Understanding these laws and making sense of the chaos are the heart of scientific discovery and, we think, a great adventure. Our aspiration is to bring viewers along on this adventure and to make it as real, immediate, and meaningful as it is for the scientists themselves.”