Art by Frank Torres

New York!!!

2010-01-10T22:05:00.002-05:00

Yes, I have been absent from my blog since last summer. Let me update you, briefly. I was accepted in the NYCTF's program (Career Switch) and now I am an art teacher in the Bronx. I teach at a very special school with very special students. I love teaching and working with kids that have special needs. The truth is they are teaching me lessons of life, and happiness, and yes, about uninhibited artistic expressions.

I have not been painting much since my move to New York. Actually, I have only painted one oil. I am now working on getting a place of my own where I can live and set up a studio. Then, I paint... (To be continued).

Cascading Heavens, Melting Moons

2009-01-22T13:03:00.005-05:00

There are days when traditional painting just goes out the window and not a part in your soul or body wants to paint an observed reality. This painting is a product of one of those days...when fantasy is my reality.

Cascading Heavens, Melting Moons

Oil on Stretched Canvas

18" X 24"

$250 Ebay

A couple of details:

Dark Pond

2009-01-14T13:13:00.004-05:00

I just can't stop painting ponds. It is almost like therapy to me, it relaxes me; kind of like my comfort zone (blanket). Here is another small pond, night scene, early winter when the pads start to yellow and brown, the lillies retrieve into the water, and it seems that the pads shrink and cozy up against each other in a circle.

Dark Pond
Oil On Canvas
6"X8"

Not for Sale

Yellow Boat

2009-01-14T12:47:00.007-05:00

This is an oil on heavy acid free art paper. I wanted to paint a dark water background and a boat as still as possible. I painted this small Painting-A-Day a few days back.

Yellow Boat
Oil on Paper
6" X 9"

$24 Ebay
Free Shipping USA

Pink Mums

2009-01-09T13:45:00.008-05:00

This oil painting on Acid Free Linen Paper has a charming and cozy feel to it. I am kind of liking to paint on heavy paper and I will probably experiment with heavier rag watercolor stock pretty soon. Perhaps the fact that I did so many architectural drawings for so many years gives me a comfortable level when approaching a tool to an absorbent surface such as paper. It took me back to a class that I took with Mauricio Lasansky in which we actually made paper from pulp, strained it, molded it, and ran it through a press to flatten it. I was very young, in college, but I remember it being lots of fun. If I only knew then what I know now I would of challenged myself to learn more from a legend in graphics such as Lasansky.

Pink Mums
Oil on Paper
9" X 12"

$29 Ebay

Flower Red Vase

2009-01-05T00:39:00.007-05:00

Oil on Acid Free 110lb linen textured paper. I had so much fun painting this oil. One of those that flows from the brush onto the surface effortlessly. I hope you enjoy it too.

Detail work:

Flower Red Vase

Oil on Acid Free Paper

7 1/4" X 8 1/2"

$29 Ebay

Red Lillie Pads

2009-01-05T00:27:00.008-05:00

Here is the picture that I promised you. Refer to previous blog Dec 28, 2008.

and a detail:

Red Lillie Pads
Oil on Stretched Canvas
14" X 18"

$249 Ebay

Night Pond

2009-01-01T23:12:00.004-05:00

From my pond series. This one is based on a pond lit by surrounding artificial lighting. Painted on primed MDF (Medium Density Fiber) 1/2" board.

Night Pond
Oil on MDF Board
8" X 8"

$65 Ebay

Garlic & Eggs

2008-12-30T21:50:00.005-05:00

Garlic & Eggs on a modern background. No deep thoughts here...

Garlic and Eggs
Oil on Primed Board
8" X 10"

Sold

A New Day

2008-12-30T00:30:00.002-05:00

I finished yesterday's painting. Then I discovered the camera's battery is dead and the canvas is too large to scan. I'll post a picture as soon as I get a battery. Just wanted to post this since I promised I would post an image of the painting.

Thoughts for Today

2008-12-28T13:31:00.003-05:00

I am obsessed with painting. Sort of like that first love that keeps you awake and then starts your thoughts when you wake up. Except that I have been with this love since I was a todler and drew portraits to dazzle family members. Last night was one of those nights where you can't wait for the next morning to begin painting. Morning came and I stood in front of a blank canvas for minutes. Then I choked. Something like missing a two foot putt in golf to win the hole. I had my mind set into being faster yet deliberate in my brushstrokes, freer. Sometimes we get too caught up in keeping the colors clean, in sticking to a color scheme, in forcing the subject, even in adding gimmicks to make the painting look pretty. We get caught up in that pretty sells. Yet even the most romantic and traditional of painters want to sell their art. There is no other way around it, you want to paint full time and have a family, a home, car, etc., you have to sell your art. Art schools need to teach the marketing aspect of being an artist.

Back to my morning. The truth is that not every painting I start is going to be successful or even worthy of selling. There are some in my studio that I wouldn't even give away. That is a fact. And then there are those that I don't want to see go. Well, I couldn't start the new canvas so I decided to go to my dried out oil paintings and I picked one that was cute but soul-less. One of those where you don't say "what was I thinking" but "what was I feeling".

I started painting with an all or nothing attitude, fast and uninhibited. Within the first hour I already created a major change in color perspective, color scheme, and mood. As the time went by the strokes got better and the painting got better. And I am liking it. Now, I'm taking a little break and making a few comments on this blog.

I must continue. Tonight I will post a picture of the final painting. See you later!

Ballet Shoes

2008-12-27T10:17:00.005-05:00

My daughter has been dancing for 12 years or so now. She is on her 4th pair of ballet shoes. I like the worn out, torn, and dirty look of the old ones. Thought I paint a pair of faded out pink ballet shoes.

Pink Ballet Shoes

Oil on Canvas Board

6" X 8"

Not for Sale

Pink Bridge

2008-12-23T00:35:00.008-05:00

Heavy impasto landscape of a bridge over a creek in early spring.

Detail work:

Pink Bridge

Oil on Luan Board

6" X 8"

$85 Ebay

Mystic Red Vase

2008-12-21T00:22:00.006-05:00

Today I felt somewhat mystical. Painting these soft vases in different colors is always soothing and a good practice too. All simple, a vase of one color vitreous glaze on a flat table top or shelf and a monochromatic background. Can it get any simpler than that. The execution may be simple but the thoughts during the process are not. The thoughts are like a never ending jazz piece or crossing the Dakotas by car.

Mystic Red Vase

Oil on Canvas Board

6" X 8"

$65 Ebay

Ebay Sales

2008-12-20T01:26:00.002-05:00

Today was an exciting day. Four of my paintings went up for auction on Ebay and three sold. I get attached to some paintings and these three were very special to me. As an artist it is always hard to see your work go knowing that perhaps you will never see them again. Then there are those special moments when years later you come across one at a friend's home or a collector's home or office. The other day I went to a house to do a job and I completely forgot that they bought two of my acrylics years ago. I have to admit it was very emotional to see them again proudly hanging in their lovely dining room walls. Very special indeed.

Cobalt Blue Vase

2008-12-16T02:05:00.006-05:00

Today was a great day! A day of meditation and prayer...and painting. There is so much to paint and so little time...

Cobalt Blue Vase
Oil on Canvas Board
6" X 8"

$65 Ebay

Past Paintings A Day

2008-12-15T00:38:00.011-05:00

Thought I should include some of my past Paintings A Day. Of course the ones that I took pictures of or I still have with me. Thanks for Looking! Franck

Wine Bottle & Glass

2008-12-14T11:08:00.007-05:00

Small still lifes are always fun to paint. The good thing is that you don't have to go deep into philosophical "why" and just enjoy the "how" of this painting. Simple, I like simple. The older I get the simpler I want things to be. There is less chance to make mistakes and less to keep track of. The tile is one that I bought in Spain about 12 years ago. It was from a set of three and only one remains (there are no grapes on it though, just flowers).

Wine Bottle and Glass
Oil on Canvas Board
6" X 8"

Sold on Ebay
Commission work for a like piece accepted.
Email me to make arrangements.

Faux and Murals, Design

2008-12-12T16:10:00.003-05:00

Some work I have done as a designer and faux artist working for Dallas Design, LLC. Just want you to know me a little more and what I do to finance my painting passion.

Yellow Vase

2008-12-12T12:17:00.006-05:00

Sometimes I feel like painting something quick and simple. This one is a product of those moments. Yet there is something mellow and peaceful about simple vases. The Chinese dynasties knew this. Some of the most beautiful porcelain and ceramic pieces were minimal in design and glazing. I enjoyed painting this piece and hope that you too find a calm attraction to this yellow vase.

Yellow Vase

Oil on Primed Board

8" X 10"

Sold on Ebay
Commission for a larger piece can be arranged by Email.

Still Life, abstract

2008-12-10T09:42:00.007-05:00

I finished the work in progress, previously posted. It is not easy to make changes to an oil already in progress. However, some things need to be changed, reworked. I have that tendency to keep working my paintings as long as they are in my possesion, even if it is years later. I can't help myself. Well, this one is left to dry now for awhile??? To see previous painting click here.

Still Life Oranges Blue Window

Oil on Canvas Board

16" X 20"

$250 Ebay

Tomatoes and Lemons

2008-12-08T23:14:00.006-05:00

A Painting-A-Day of tomatoes and lemons with a minimal background and table top. I put pink on the table top just to make the painting pop. I am not color biased and frequently you will see me using unconventional colors in my paintings. I once had about 6 paintings in a local gallery (it was more a gift and framing shop with a gallery front)and they hung on their walls for months. The gallery owner called me one day to take them back. Her reason was that my colors were "different, too bold, not for this area." Perhaps that was true. She was nice about it. I took them back. Well I sold a few of them through a design company. Maybe I should send the other three to Miami or LA. Oh, back to this small painting,

Tomatoes and Lemons
Oil on Italian Canvas Panel
6" X 8"

If you would like a larger version of this painting
please email me to make arrangements.

Calm Corner

2008-12-06T00:52:00.022-05:00

As a designer and as an artist I find corners to be special areas inside a home or office. Mirrors work well close to corners creating another dimension in the environment. Walls in two different tones but adjacent in value gives the corner a soothing feel. The accent in this case is a mahogany antique console table. Many like to clutter all the flat tops in their homes and this is fine if what they are grouping with are collections. I prefer a minimal approach, in this instance a candelabra and a picture of my daughter.

Calm Corner

Oil on Canvas Board

11" X 14"

$120 Ebay

Four Apples

2008-12-03T09:54:00.021-05:00

Nice oil painting of four apples. I wanted to keep this Painting-A-Day simple without overworking it. I decided to be somewhat bold and paint the background in teal and the table cloth in pink. Why not?

Four Apples

Oil on Canvas Board

8" X 10"

Sold

Lake Shore

2008-12-02T11:13:00.023-05:00

Landscapes are my true passion. I try to not be too detailed with them leaving an element of fantasy, a place that could only exist in our minds...

Lake Shore

Oil on Canvas Board

6" X 8"

Sold

Details Are Important

2008-12-01T03:32:00.010-05:00

These are details of my work where you can see the brush strokes, impasto, texture, contours, modulations, etc.

Painting-A-Day Subject Matter

2008-11-30T00:30:00.006-05:00

During the mid 70’s when I was going to college in NY it was common to see art students roaming around the major museums on any given day. We were all attracted by different aspects of art. I was fascinated by how the masters could transform the most ordinary of subjects into a masterpiece. Subject was secondary to execution in most works of art. A still life by Cézanne displayed the masterful talent of a genius, but so did Picasso’s cubist figures or Paul Klee’s uncomplicated art. My favorite spot was Degas’ area at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You would walk into this long room full of sculpted bronze ballerinas, all gracefully standing on pedestals creating a corridor. At the end of the corridor you could see another room full of framed art, already magnificent at a distance. The walk through the ballerinas was drama in itself. All your senses were in overload as you stopped and studied each dancer. I remember wanting to run to the next room just to take a peak but Degas’ gracious figures were holding me back. When I got to the portal of Degas’ paintings I was already mesmerized -incapable of putting two logical thoughts together- feeling inspired yet so unskilled as an artist. Degas led to Henry Moore’s reclining sculptures, then the impressionist room full of Turner’s skies, Monet’s ponds, Van Gogh’s sunflowers. Hundreds of paintings from a period of artistic greatness. Hundreds of styles and sizes. Yet all these masters had something in common, proverbial subject matter.

Subject matter has always baffled the beginning artist and even many mature painters and sculptors. During the impressionist era all the way through the 40’s and 50’s, being different was a matter of choice, a risk. Today, being different as an artist is in demand, somewhat expected. Throughout our schools art students are taught to think outside the box. The problem is that they have not yet mastered the box. Truth be told, present-day art students do not even know what the box is. This is why we have art graduates that can’t draw or understand color’s complexities. The lack of good technique is acceptable as long as you create something unique. The current multi-media savvy and digi-obsessive market is open to art that looks like art, art that does have its decorative merit, but when explored in depth the elements of art are not there. Similar to hiding the hands and feet in figurative drawing because you can’t draw hands and feet. Well I rather be in the box if in the box is where you find art of value; done with sweat and intellect, and mostly heart.

I worry that too much emphasis is being put on painting past conflicts and current societal cultural dislikes and not enough emphasis on art as a whole. Van Gogh’s manic-depressive life produced some of the most beautiful still life’s and floral ever painted. As artists, we are intellectual filters to all the dysfunctional attitudes that society exhibits. We must get away from the need to paint exclusively “our” evils and societies’ faults. Too many beautiful things in this world are unexplored by an artistic mind and are great potential subjects for us to paint.

The Painting-A-Day movement, in my opinion, is the closest thing that we have today to artists selecting the most sincere and people-friendly subject matter, with a committed effort to return to the basics. The captivating magic of purposeful brush strokes, thought-out textures, and honest color schemes are elements of most daily painters. The works of art are small oils, acrylics, and watercolors commanding their own well deserved visual presence in the art world. Art that makes you smile, sigh, or perhaps cry and not art that is confrontational, fearful, and repulsive. When you look at an Edward B. Gordon oil, a Karin Jurick’s museum patron, or at Carol Marine's still lifes, you feel a sense of awe. That so much power and attraction can be contained within a small canvas is astonishing to many, myself included. That we can own one of them within hours of being painted is even more amazing. The Painting-A-Day artists such as Duane Keiser, Cathleen Rehfeld, Todd Smith, Manuela Valenti, William Wray, Brenda York, and many others of equal talent and quality bring to us--on a recurring basis--a piece of their daily routine, a fraction of their artistic soul, a glimpse of their mastery.

Is it marketing genius or is it an honest reaching to an emerging group of art patrons? I can attest with certainty that the latter, unquestionably, is true. To all of you that buy art because you love art, because it makes you happy, and because you are a part of that emerging group that prefer an original over a copy; then the Painting-A-Day experience is for you.

Cala Lily, Yellow

2008-11-29T17:45:00.006-05:00

Cala Lily, Yellow

Oil on Canvas

8" X 10"

Not for Sale

This is a second small painting of this subject. My daughter loves Cala Lillies. I sold the first one and Rebecca, my daughter, saw a copy in my portfolio and asked me to paint her one. It's a painting mainly of washes in the background and the vase. Most of the brush work is concentrated on the flower. I enjoyed this painting very much and enjoyed even more giving it to my daughter.

Mallards in Pond

2008-11-28T19:57:00.015-05:00

Fun to paint although it took me strength I didn't seem to have this morning to get this painting going. Once I started I knew I had to finish it today, and I did. These two cute mallards swim as if sleeping while creating a small wake. The water holds the red, brown, and green algae showing streaks of sky here and there. The birds cut through the flat algae parting the tricolor stillness.

Mallards in Pond

Oil on Canvas Board

6" X 8"

Sold on Ebay

If you would like a larger version of this oil please

Email me to make arrangements.

Store Front

2008-11-27T23:28:00.014-05:00

A pink store front in downtown Norfolk, Virginia. I painted this piece applying the oils in washes and over layering thin pigments. I painted from a picture out of a series of pics that I took of awnings, store fronts, and restaurant fronts. I like painting glass and reflections. veryone!

Store Front

Oil on Canvas Board

6" X 8"

$75

USA Free Shipping
Canada & International please Email to Make Arrangements

Strike of Light

2008-11-27T00:27:00.033-05:00

I was determined to finish this small oil today. It was so much fun. This piece is not the first Painting-A-Day I do but it is the very first one I blog. I'm enjoying the process and I'm looking forward to the next one. I have always liked painting ponds and lilies. There is something magical about this subject, soothing, tranquil; as if the lillie pads float on heaven itself.

Strike of Light on Lillie Pads

Oil on Canvas Board

6" X 8"

Sold on Ebay

If you would like a larger version of this oil please
Email me to make arrangements.

Work in Progress

2008-11-23T23:47:00.021-05:00

Still Life

16" X 20"
Oil on Canvas Board

Details: Click to View Larger Image

Photography by Ary

This oil painting has been a work in progress for quite awhile now. The truth is that I have taken it back two times from a designer that sells my art and I'm still not happy with it. It looks incomplete showing some composition and lighting problems. The fruits could use some more modulation also. I probably got another day of work on it. I'm determined to not give up on this painting. Some areas are looking somewhat flat (like the bottom left corner). It might sound easy to fix since I know what the piece is lacking but I don't want to go too realistic on it, preferring to keep a modern feel to the overall look. I find myself walking that edge between tight realism and a looser treatment of the brush strokes and colors. I'll work on it all day tomorrow and post the final picture of it. Critiques are welcomed!

My Favorite Art Quotes

2008-11-23T00:10:00.002-05:00

Painting is easy when you don't know how, but very difficult when you do. Edgar Degas

I certainly hope to sell in the course of time, but I think I shall be able to influence it most effectively by working steadily on, and that at the present moment making desperate efforts to force the work I am doing now upon the public would be pretty useless.
Vincent Van Gogh

Truth and reality in art do not arise until you no longer understand what you are doing and are capable of but nevertheless sense a power that grows in proportion to your resistance.
Henri Matisse

I dream a lot. I do more painting when I'm not painting. It's in the subconscious. Andrew Wyeth

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Prov. 3:5

Every good painter paints what he is. Jackson Pollock

What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter - a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue. Henri Matisse

The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection. Michelangelo

The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference. Elie Wiesel

First Blog

2008-11-22T15:12:00.002-05:00

Today I start my blog page. My intention is to share with you my thought process and experiences, my art. Occasionally I will open a very personal window to allow you to catch a glimpse of my life and a digital view of my work. I apologize for not being able to show you textures, the smell, the details, brushstrokes, subtle color changes or any true color for that matter. And of course size. I will do my best to present to you a blog that is true and honest in content and I will do my best to post images that are at least high in detail.

I invite you to feel free to share your opinions and knowledge with me. I promise I will read carefully what you write and give you a response or feedback as quick as I am able to. Actually, I'm looking forward to communicating with you and making you part of my creative experience.

So where do we start? Let me invite you to my studio and show you my preferred setup.

I have found that working on a pegboard 8' W X 4' H is very advantages. I can accommodate pretty much every size of canvasses or boards that I normally work on. The pegboard is on three horizontal 3/4" wood which gives me a hollow area behind the pegboard. The availability of hooks and attachments for pegboards are endless and can be bought at any hardware store.

Color Studies. I keep my color
studies on another wall for
quick reference.