"Yellow Brick Road" ... my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Yes, Jay Rolfe is working on another "Yellow Brick Road" painting. I painted part of the mortar between the yellow bricks today, all in one direction. I'll do the other direction in a few days. Here's a photo of progress so far.

I also painted more of the swirling universe and some stars on the smaller "Black Hole" painting. I still have to find a title for it, and I'll probably name it after one of the many named black holes in the universe.

I spent 4 1/2 hours painting this afternoon. So this evening I'll take off and spend it with my fantastic wife Randy Rolfe (http://www.randyrolfe.com/).

That's today's step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Gesso, painting, and discussion ... my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Yesterday afternoon I gessoed several canvases. Here's a photo of Jay Rolfe starting to apply the gesso.

In the evening I went to the Art Forum at Ben Gall's The Arts Scene. It was moderated by Jeff Schaller, a local pop artist. The biggest revelation to me was by David Oleski who said he has painted for the last 8 years in front of a live video cam which streams to his website, http://www.davidoleski.com/! I showed my new painting "Attraction."

This morning I finished the gessoing I started yesterday. Here's another photo.

This afternoon I worked on another smaller "Black Hole" painting. I've already painted the black hole, and here I'm painting the swirling universe around it. I still have to add the stars. Here's a photo of my progress.

That's today's step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

"Attraction" and pinking shears ... my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Newsflash - Jay Rolfe assembled and completed his latest painting titled "Attraction" this beautiful morning. It's made up of 5 separate stretched canvases. When properly assembled, they form a rather well-loved symbol. Here's a photo of the assembly process. And one of cleanup, yes, that's part of being an artist too. Especially with my studio in my home. And finally a photo of "Attraction."

As you probably noticed, I went wild with the camera this morning. I like my posts better when they have photos, so maybe you will too. I hope so.

Do you know what pinking shears are? Who would have thought I'd be using them. They're scissors that cut in a zig-zag line which prevents the fabric, in this case canvas, from unraveling. They're great for cutting odd shapes of canvas for stretching. Very useful. I've been cutting and stretching more canvas this morning for other paintings you'll see soon.

That's most of this morning's step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Jay Rolfe: Stretching canvas ... my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Today was another beautiful day. We have a couple of crocuses blooming by our mailbox! On our walk this morning we noticed that some neighbors even had daffodils blooming.

I went out and bought supplies for more paintings, and then cut and stretched canvas. Tonight I plan to take off and relax with my wife Randy Rolfe (http://www.randyrolfe.com/).

This is today's step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Jay Rolfe: My journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Yesterday Art Professor Virginia da Costa of West Chester University visited my studio and left a nice comment on yesterday's post on this blog. You can read it by clicking on the "comment" label at the bottom right.

I also talked some more with the reporter from the Philadelphia Inquirer yesterday. Apparently it won't be long before the article appears.

Today I worked on a couple of new paintings while some of the ones I was working on get dry enough to take the next step. It is a beautiful warm day today - my thermometer says 81 degrees at 6:00 p.m. - so I did errands in the car with the top down and worked outside awhile.

This is today's step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Jay Rolfe: Multiple projects ... my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Don't you just love the future Jay Rolfe's projecting for himself? I do!

In my earlier post today, I mentioned my "drying rack" which allows me to move work in progress aside so I can work on other things while the work in progress dries enough for the next step. This is a partial and temporary solution to my limited work space. Well, I bought another shelf today. Here's a photo of parts of four projects on the drying rack.

I got word today that the article I was interviewed for may appear tomorrow in the Philadelphia Inquirer. I'm excited.

This is the next step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Jay Rolfe: More painting ... my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Don't you just love the future Jay Rolfe's projecting for himself? I do!

On Thursday I took a step to solve part of my limited working space problem. I bought and assembled a set of shelves which I use as a drying rack to move wet paintings out of the way of other projects. It's working out well.

I painted a lot on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Friday night my wife Randy Rolfe (http://www.randyrolfe.com/) and I had dinner in Philadelphia at The Oceanaire Restaurant with a business associate of Randy's from out of town. We had fun. Then, for the first time in decades, I suffered from food poisoning. I had a rough middle of the night and Saturday morning. Then we visited out month old grandchild and our son and daughter-in-law. Then off to ballroom dancing, which we've done for more than a decade, with friends.

Sunday, yesterday, I painted before and after going to the open studio event of my fellow artist and friend Antonio Puri (http://www.antoniopuri.com/). We had fun seeing some new work and a lot of artist friends.

This is the next step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Jay Rolfe: What colors? ... my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Don't you just love the future Jay Rolfe's projecting for himself? I do!

Today I'm struggling with the colors to use on one of my new paintings. I can't decide yet. I do know what to do - I have to turn it over to the universal power and attract and listen for the answer. I often get ideas while driving my car, which I usually find relaxing. Since I'm driving to Philadelphia with my wife Randy Rolfe (http://www.randyrolfe.com/) for a dinner event tonight, I'll have plenty of time in the car. How much time I'll have to think I don't know, as Randy and I usually have lively discussions on our car trips.

I'm also lining up other artists on short notice - deadline approaching - to speak to the reporter from the Philadelphia Inquirer about my painting.

This is today's step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Jay Rolfe: Painting ... my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Don't you just love the future Jay Rolfe's projecting for himself? I do!

I spent yesterday gathering materials, stretching some canvases, gessoing or priming a raw canvas, and painting. Today has been more gessoing and painting. Here's a photo of me working today.

Later today I'll paint some more. Now it's time for a break.

This is the next step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Jay Rolfe: Photo Shoot, New Paintings ... my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Don't you just love the future Jay Rolfe's projecting for himself? I do!

I've started two new paintings, large ones. The titles are "The Secret" and "Law of Attraction." I'll keep you posted on my progress.

I just finished a two hour photo shoot with a very accomplished photographer from the Philadelphia Inquirer for photos to accompany the feature article I was interviewed for last week. He likes my paintings and wants to get everything right as a photographer (he was a painting major in art school). He asked for paint swatches so the lab could be sure to get the colors right, so I got out a piece of canvas and lots of jars of paint and gave him samples! How's that for a photographer's dedication to his art! I was impressed.

This is today's step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Jay Rolfe: Celebration ... my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Don't you just love the future Jay Rolfe's projecting for himself? I do!

I spent yesterday gathering materials and ideas.

Today is a day of celebration for me and my wife, Randy Rolfe (http://www.randyrolfe.com/), as it is our wedding anniversary. As is our practice on every anniversary, we take the day off from our usual activities and celebrate. Today we are going to the Franklin Institute to see the King Tut exhibit, and to Le Bec Fin as we usually do on our anniversary.

This is today's step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Jay Rolfe: New paintings ... my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Don't you just love the future Jay Rolfe's projecting for himself? I do!

Wow! I finished 2 new, smaller paintings Monday night. One of them I posted about on Friday March 9, 2007, including a photo of me painting. The other is a 36" diameter Peace symbol, titled "Peace Again." It's done in bright colors, an orange Peace symbol on a bright green aqua background. I'll try to post photos soon.

Tuesday morning I cleaned up my studio so one could see some of my paintings, and Tuesday afternoon I was interviewed by a feature writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer. I'll let you know when the article is to appear.

This is another step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Jay Rolfe: my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Don't you just love the future Jay Rolfe's projecting for himself? I do!

My most exciting news is that a reporter from the Philadelphia Inquirer is going to interview me and have me photographed this week for a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Meanwhile, I'm painting, I'm painting, I'm painting.

This is another step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Jay Rolfe: Painting, Painting, Painting ... my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Don't you just love the future Jay Rolfe's projecting for himself? I do!

I've been painting a lot the past couple of days. Here's a photo of Jay Rolfe painting in his studio this morning, Friday, March 9, 2007. In the past, I've painted exclusively museum and mansion sized paintings. I've decided to do some smaller works to expand my market. This one is a three dimensional shaped stretched canvas (3dssc) that is 54" x 54" and varies in depth from 3/4" to 2 3/8".

This is another step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Jay Rolfe: Ellsworth Kelly at Matthew Marks Gallery ... my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Don't you just love the future Jay Rolfe's projecting for himself? I do!

Last night I read a review in the March issue Art in America magazine of the Ellsworth Kelly exhibit at Matthew Marks Gallery in the Chelsea district of Manhattan which opened last November. I had previously read a review of the exhibit in the February issue of Art News.

I attended the opening of the Kelly exhibit at Matthew Marks on November 11, 2006. Matthew Marks seemed quite proud when I congratulated him on a great show.

I previously posted about other Ellsworth Kelly paintings on Feb 16, 2007 and an earlier conversation I had with him on Feb 27, 2007.

Ellsworth Kelly is known for his bright clear colors on paintings that are large and lately have only one or two colors and often have a shape other than a rectangle. There were some of those, and here is a photo of some of them.

The remarkable thing about the exhibit at Matthew Marks was that the featured paintings in the large 22nd St Gallery were exclusively black and white. That was unusual for Ellsworth Kelly. Here are some photos I took.

Of the black and white paintings, one reviewer said it was "the first exhibition of Kelly paintings to focus exclusively on form." The other said "the abandonment of colors ... a signature Kelly attribute - when denied, obliges viewers to concentrate on geometry and the juxtaposition of shapes." Both reviewers missed the point. I know because I asked Ellsworth Kelly.

Jay Rolfe said, "Mr. Kelly, what caused you to go from color to black and white?" Ellsworth Kelly said, "The war. There's no color in that." There you are, an artist's comment on the times, the Iraq war. That really explains this dramatic shift in his work. Sometimes all you have to do is ask. Learning that was well worth the drive to New York.

That was another step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Jay Rolfe: My Story ... my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Don't you just love the future Jay Rolfe's projecting for himself? I do!

I liked to draw, color, and paint until a 3rd grade art teacher turned me off to art by insisting I do everything exactly her way. In college I discovered I loved art history. After my university degrees I took up painting. It was fun! Then I made what I thought was a “rational” decision not to be a Starving Artist, and instead work for a steady paycheck. That turned out to be the unhappiest decision of my life.

I raised a family and had a wonderful life, except that in my profession I was unhappy. I tried lots of different things to find something I loved. I became obsessed with finding “what I really wanted to do when I grew up.” The answer kept coming up as painting, but I resisted and rejected the answer because of my fear of being a Starving Artist.

When I finally realized my passion was painting, I knew I needed to do something a little different, to find my unique artistic idea. After much soul searching, one night I had a vision of my unique artistic idea. In the light of day I didn’t know if I actually could create my artistic vision because I’d never done anything like it. But I decided that whatever gave me the power to envision Jay Rolfe's unique artistic idea would give me the power to create it.

That morning I went out and bought lumber to build a 3-D stretcher frame, canvas, canvas pliers, staple gun, paint, and brushes. After a lot of trial and error, do-overs, and persistence, I created my first large stretched canvas painting with six inches of depth and an identifiable shape. I knew I’d found my passion!

I love creating monumental size paintings – big size, big impact – of familiar subjects with a 3-D stretched canvas that hang on the wall and stick out from the wall in an identifiable shape. And I love bright colors and use them whenever I can.

That was another step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Jay Rolfe: Chester County Art Association ... last night on my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Don't you just love the future Jay Rolfe's projecting for himself? I do!

In yesterday's post I forgot to mention the nice coverage of Laura Barton's solo show at the Chester County Art Association by John Chambless of the Daily Local News. Nice job, John!

I went to the exhibit with my wife Randy Rolfe, http://www.randyrolfe.com/. We both enjoyed it very much. Laura had a lot of people interested in her work, and sold well. She called her show "Continuum, a show of where I've been, I am, and I'm heading." She does very nice town scenes and landscapes of the local area. "Relic" was one of my favorites of her more realistic style. Since my personal taste runs toward Impressionism and bright colors, I love where she's heading. One of her earlier works, "Long Island, ME #2" presaged the move. My favorite was "Illusion" for its beautiful sky. "Morning Dog Walk" I also liked for its even more dramatic sky, as well as "Waiting," "A New Day," and "Gold and Platinum," a nice farm scene painted over canvas and credit cards with a holographic bird showing through the paint. Very interesting.

It's always inspiring to see the success of other artists. You can learn more about Laura by visiting her website, http://www.laurabarton.com/.

That was another step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Jay Rolfe: More on ... my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Don't you just love the future Jay Rolfe is projecting for himself? I do!

This was a painting day for me. All day. I've been working on my latest painting, "Sexy Lady," which I described in my post yesterday, Thursday, March 1, 2007. It's coming along nicely.

Tonight I'm going to the opening reception of a solo show for Laura Barton, a local West Chester artist, at the Chester County Art Association. I saw the painting she put on the invitation postcard at the Art Forum last week (see my post of Friday, Feb 23), so I'm looking forward to seeing more interesting local scenes.

Today is another step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.

Jay Rolfe: "Sexy Lady" ... my journey From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso

Don't you just love the future Jay Rolfe is projecting for himself? I do!

I've been creating a new painting. It's a 3-D Shaped Stretched Canvas 8 feet high by 8 feet wide of a woman's stiletto pump - guys, that's the sexy high heel shoe that makes a woman's legs look so gorgeous! Constructing the framework on which to stretch the canvas takes a lot of work. I used 67 pieces of wood to make the shape, and 236 screws to hold it all together.

I finished stretching the canvas over the 4 separate shaped pieces that will be bolted together with 16 bolts to create the final shape. And I just started painting, which will take 2 or 3 days. I'm planning to paint it a bright sexy red and title it "Sexy Lady." I'm very excited about it!

That was another step on the journey of Jay Rolfe From Starving Artist To 21st Century Picasso. You can see some expressions of my unique artistic idea on my website at http://www.3dssc.com/.