"Beginnings" exhibit continues through April at OCJAC gallery

Bruce with his paintings at the OCJAC gallery on First Friday

 A beautiful spring evening fueled the crowds in Philly's Old City during April's First Friday event. Four paintings from my new series "Eyes on the Road, Head in the Clouds" were on display in the OCJAC gallery at 119 N. 3rd St. in the show "Beginnings" which runs through April.

Visitors view pieces from my "Eyes/Clouds" series.

RECENT PAINTINGS:

By coincidence, the scene for the two pieces shown below was the street just outside this gallery, on another First Friday last fall:

"The Violinist, First Friday" 30 x 18, Casein

"The Opening" 14 x 14, casein

Another recent work from the Esplanade along the Charles River in Boston on a warm summer afternoon

"Anchorage on Esplanade, Charles River" 32 x 21, casein

Special Pricing on Selected Framed Original Paintings

on display for Turtle Tour, 2013

Elkins Park Train Station

The pieces below are among those with special pricing for the tour event, benefiting the Elkins Park Train Station Renovation effort. All these paintings include custom frames. (Click picture to view larger image)

"Wheatfield and Lone Tree" 24 x 12, Casein,
Classic Gold Frame

"Miranda's Window, Rainy Dawn" 16 x 12, Casein,
Classic Gold Frame

"Fountain of My Youth" 9 x 12, casein,
Chestnut floater frame
 

"Green House, Flowering Apple, Commercial St. Ptown"
24 x 12, casein, Classic Gold Frame

New works also on display!

 

Artisan Woodworking

Repurposed for a New Millennium

Also available during the tour, or from the Frame House gift shop.  These are objects I've found and salvaged from rural Pennsylvania, Virginia, or Maryland. They display the craftsmanship of previous centuries, which I've reworked and updated for a new life as home furnishings and accessories.

Rope Bed Table



This table would fit perfectly in a foyer or behind a sofa. The beautifully turned legs began life a rope bed in Pennsylvania's Perkioman Valley, probably at least 250 years ago. They have been refinished with a beautiful black cherry Casein stain, and fitted with a rustic pine plank top, protected with a polyurethane finish. 

Picket Coat Rack

This 5-hook coat rack was made from a beautifully weathered picket gate also found in rural PA. Because it was never painted, I merely sanded the planks lightly and sealed them with polyurethane prior to re-crafting them into this rack.

Rustic Votive Tray from Column Base

Weathered column bases salvaged near Schwenksville Pa formed the bases for this pair of Votive Candle Trays with bun feet. The trays were first dyed with burgundy casein stain, then hand painted with a tracery of branches, buds and leaves, creating modern candle holders with a rustic heirloom feel. These make a perfect dinner party presentation used on a long dining table with a floral centerpiece in between.

Creekside Co-op Designer's Tour

 

Take a slideshow designer's tour of the new Creekside Co-op in Elkins Park PA. Interior design and casework contracting for this project occupied most of my time last year (sadly limiting my time for painting!) The slideshow tour video above shows off the interior where most of my efforts were focussed. I also produced exterior renderings used by the design committee and general contractor, as in the example below.

Creekside Co-op front elevation by Bruce Starr

The co-op opened just in time for the 2012 holidays

Below are a few of my favorite shots from the construction period

Co-op building shell after demolition in March. 2012

The new facade begins to take shape

Interior after demolition

Same wall today

The two pictures above are "Before and After" shots of the same wall. My design work included preserving the look of the original ceiling beams and exposed brick at the top of the wall.

     

Placing Checkout Counters

Interior Nearing Completion

With the interior nearing completion, my casework gets installed. Below are shots of my renderings used for planning and placement of the checkout lanes, and the lanes being used in the finished store.

 

 

 



NEW PAINTINGS

Fishing the Delaware, Palmyra NJ
48 x 32, casein on muslin

I've been mainly working on bigger canvases recently, and this piece is my largest to date. The scene is from the Jersey side of the Delaware River on a hazy afternoon in early summer. I was attracted to the contrast of the gleaming skyline (the city of Philadelphia) on the left, and a hulking old dredge on the right. In the foreground, a family fishes on the sandy shore near the shadows of the overhanging trees in New Jersey's Palmyra Nature Preserve.

Clouds Over 84

36 x 24, Casein on Muslin

On my many trips back an forth from Boston to Philadelphia during my recent transition, I was always attracted to the cloud formations over the highway. I hope to do a series of paintings expressing different light conditions, weather patterns, and geographic and structural elements of highway travel. In this piece, I'm pleased with the colors and movement both on the ground and in the sky, and the exploration of how these two elements interact.



ART FESTIVAL HIATUS UNTIL CREEKSIDE COOP OPENING

June 18th was the semi-annual meeting for the membership of the Creekside Coop, the first since the beginning of construction. I was very happy to make a presentation showing the digital 3-D models I've been creating for the interior. It was the first visual preview the members got of their new store. I will be very busy until fall, when the coop opens its doors, building custom millwork and helping with the design implementation, so I'm not planning to do any more gallery shows or festivals until after the coop is up and running.

Below are a couple of the drawings showing some of the fixtures and layout.

 



Bruce at the Beacon Hill Art Walk, 2012

June 3, 2012, Noon-6pm in Boston's beautiful Beacon Hill neighborhood

The Beacon Hill Artwalk is one of Boston's best festivals for painters, and I am very much looking forward to participating in this venue. For more information, you can link to the festival website at:  http://www.beaconhillartwalk.org/

Too Much to Do....
Since re-locating to Philadelphia, I have been insanely busy setting up a workshop, settling in, and getting re-involved in the community I left several years ago. Finding time to paint has been difficult. I've completed a couple pieces shown below, but need to find more time to paint before the Art Walk! I apologize that I have not updated the painting inventory in some time, especially after selling a few pieces at the Frame House gallery last month. Please touch base if you have questions at bstarrpaintings@gmail.com

"Urban Produce, Rainy Night" 24" x 16", Casein on muslin covered frame

"Backroad Sunset" 18" x 27", Casein on muslin covered frame

Creekside Coop story
The happiest coincidence of my timing in returning to Philly is the constuction of the new Creekside Coop.

Many years ago now, I opened the Elkins Perk Coffeehouse next to a well-established neighborhood gourmet grocery, Ashbourne Market. But when its family owners retired, the store went downhill and soon closed. The community has worked long and hard to create a new food cooperative in this once-thriving space, and was finally able to buy the building and begin renovations this year. I am priveledged to be working on the design committee, and have created a 3-D Sketchup model to help envision the space. Here's a 2-D graphic of what the new market will look like:

As the local-foods movement has gained momentum, food coops have changed greatly. The Creekside Food Coop will be an amazing full-service grocery, great source for local produce and products, have a huge selection of salads, deli, and prepared foods, plus a cafe/community gathering place. I'm very excited to watch this great idea come to life! 

More Design-Build Projects:
Meanwhile, I've also been finishining projects in my old stomping ground, Cambridge!  Here's a couple pictures of my friend Jeff's condo, with his new fireplace, shelving and media cabinetry:



The fireplace is double sided, with the other side facing the kitchen eating area. The tall doors on the right open and retract to access TV and other media components.

   And lastly, the local foods movement has made some progress on the home front also, My housemate Cindy is an avid gardener, so I just built a new 3-section compost bin for the yard. Looking forward to soon having nutritious compost and mulch for all her beautiful plants!

Gallery Showing throughout March at the Frame House in Elkins Park

Visit the Frame House website HERE

My good friend Cynthia Blackwood's gallery and custom framing store provides a great backdrop for my paintings throughout the month of March. I think this my pieces look better here than any other gallery venue I've had to date! 

Artists Reception

Sunday March 11, from 2 to 4 pm. 

Please join me at:

The Frame House

7900 High School Road

Elkins Park PA 19027

Unfortunately, the painting selected for the printed cards was subsequently sold at the Artist's Crossing gallery in Boston shortly before I brought the pieces to Pennsylvania! 

It's great to be PAINTING again!
I am up and running in my new space just outside Philadelphia

This new piece is a scene from Forbidden Drive along the Wickahisson Creek at the Walnut Lane Bridge. This park system is an amazing undeveloped tract of land that was preserved to feed the original municipal water reservoir, now the site of Philadelphia's beautiful Art Museum.  Another of bit historic trivia I love: When it was constructed in 1903, this bridge was the longest concrete structure in the world.

New Series of Figure Paintings

This is the first of a series of figure and portraiture studies that I will continue to develop this year. The richness and intensity of Casein paints offer great opportunities for interesting lighting and color effects when working with the human form.

The new painting space is working out beautifully, with great northern light and a great new draft table/easel.  

Still working  hard on the new studio/shop space in the garage--a bigger challenge to renovate.   When I removed  a dingy and crumbling masonite ceiling,  I discovered that raccoons had formerly inhabited a large nest there. Several inches of petrified raccoon feces came down along with the ceiling and other debris stored in the rafters!  

EW!

Bruce Starr at Artists Crossing Gallery, Downtown Crossing, Boston

My paintings will be featured through the month of February at this cool space in downtown Boston, just off the Common. Note that the gallery is now in its new location:

Artists Crossing Gallery

505 Washington Street

Boston MA

Just around the corner from the Downtown Crossing T Station, between the Paramount Theater and Macy's on Washington Street!


Sorry I have no new paintings to show. The last month has been crazy as I've been relocating to Philadelphia! However I will be set up in my new space soon, and hope to have some new work to share by the end of February!


Meanwhile, I will be donating this piece to the Winter Warmup Silent Auction and Dance Party to benefit the Friends of High School Park.

For more info, you can visit the website: http://www.highschoolpark.org/index.shtml

Bruce Starr Paintings at "Out of the Blue Gallery," Cambridge

My work is currently on display at two locations in Cambridge MA. The "Out of the Blue Gallery" is a great community venue on Prospect Street just off Central Square. My pieces can also be seen in the Middle East Restaurant on Mass. Ave. Check back soon, as I will be posting more pictures and info from these venues!


Please visit the past posts for info on other venues and recent paintings

Bruce Starr at Deluca Gallery, Provincetown MA

The Deluca Gallery is located at 359 Commercial St.

next to The Harbor Lounge, on the waterfront.

The piece above is a scene from seafood stand in Wellfleet Harbor on a brisk September evening as the sky began to clear after a rainy afternoon. At 36 x 24, it is one of my larger paintings to date.

    

Many thanks to the friends and family who came from Boston, Philadelphia, and Arizona to help me celebrate opening weekend of my show at the Deluca Gallery! Here we are at Lorraine's:

Here are a few other new pieces to be seen for the first time at the show: (click to enlarge)

Local 188  24 x 16, Casein on Muslin covered plywood

This is a street scene outside a restaurant in Portland Maine, at the end of an evening on a warm September night. A rich palette of colors emerge from the pools of light and reflections against a backdrop of ultamarine blue in the surrounding darkness.

Race Point Light from Herring Cove,  16 x 12, Casein on muslin covered ply

This piece is very similar to a previous painting that sold the first time I displayed it at the Providence Open Market. Herring Cove is a perfect place to enjoy the rich colors of sunset over Race Point, with the light reflected in the texture of the waves as they roll into Hatches Harbor.

Miranda's Window, Rainy Dawn.  16 x 12, Casein on muslin-covered ply

This scene is from a small seside town in Maine where my friend Miranda recently bought a cottage. Peeping out the window on a cold rainy morning this scene greeted me. There is something about the stolid, boxy house, secure against the wet and chill dawn, that gave me a sense of peace and comfort I wanted to convey in this painting.