More From the Farm

Last post I mentioned that my recent huge project included nine pieces, well, here are three more to enjoy. I had a blast working on these and think they turned out especially nice.

Once again, these are for a multi national company in a field where the pictorial and advertising norm includes dudes in lab coats looking very stuffy as they gaze into microscopes and stuff like that. I am fairly convinced that this approach will garner more notice than their competitors.

Thrust In Your Sickle

Thrust in Your Sickle- 11" x 17"  digital, by Greg Newbold.

This recent illustration is a reminder to me that you are most likely to get what you work the hardest for. Farm iconography has always been appealing to me. Probably because as a young man growing up, I had many opportunities to work the land. We cared for animals, gardened and hauled hay. There was always some project or another that needed to be done and my Dad taught us all to work hard and do the job right. When time came for harvest, I quickly learned that you reap what you sow. If you didn't weed, water or fertilize well enough throughout the growing season, plants struggled. I am grateful to him for his example and gentle (or not so gentle if we were too grumpy about the task at hand) encouragement. He once said that he never worried about me making my way as an artist because he saw how much I loved art and how hard I worked at it. I am a firm believer that talent only takes you so far and the rest is just plain hard work. Though it is still a challenge, I credit my for Dad for showing me that a job worth doing is worth doing well and right.

Crimson Harvest in Orange County Register

Crimson Harvest- by Greg Newbold

My painting "Crimson Harvest" was featured prominently in an Orange County Register article about The American Nostalgia show. This show, subtitled "Contemporary Artists and Illustrators Reinterpret the Traditional Themes of Norman Rockwell: is on display at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton California. I was pleased to see that of the 50 or so works, mine was chosen to be representative of the show, but was a bit miffed at the reviewer's reaction to the exhibit which came across as overly critical and seemed to miss the point. Reviewer Richard Chang's  main criticism seemed to be that only one artist questioned the validity of Rockwell's point of view and that the rest of the show "appears to praise [Rockwell] to the heavens". Well, in my eyes, the whole point of the show was to pay tribute to the artist whose idealistic point of view is so ingrained in our culture that you cannot escape it. I think he missed the boat on that review. If the show was intended to be "anti" Rockwell, none of the artists chosen would have been invited and the the title of the exhibit would have been something other than "American Nostalgia". If you happen to be in the Southern California area between now and the end of the show's run on September 25th, drop in and have a look. If you get a chance to see it, let me know what you thought since I probably won't get a chance to make it down there.

American Nostalgia Exhibit

Crimson Harvest- by Greg Newbold; 13.5" x 24" Acrylic

I have been invited to participate in an exhibit celebrating the iconic American themes popularized by Norman Rockwell. The show is titled "American Nostalgia: Contemporary Artists and Illustrators Reinterpret the Traditional Themes of Norman Rockwell" and will run from July 7 to September 25th, 2011 at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton California. I am one of the forty contemporary artists that have been asked to contribute a couple of pieces to the show. Anytime my work can be mentioned in the same breath as Norman Rockwell, I am pleased. the Museum describes the show as follows:

More than thirty years after his death, iconic American artist Norman Rockwell’s art is still enormously popular. This invitational group exhibition examines the enduring themes represented in the art of Norman Rockwell–patriotism, family and the American ideal–through the works of 40 contemporary artists and illustrators.

More info at The Muck's  website