Qui Bono?

May 3, 2025 / lipkingallery

I actually thought of the title for this painting before I began painting it. It came to me while I was reflecting (for a change) on the many disastrous decisions being made at the White House these past 3 months. Qui Bono? Who benefits? Well – certainly nobody I know.

I could paint pretty landscapes or appealing still lifes. Not terribly challenging anymore, but still fun to do. I could do portraits. Somewhat more interesting, but they still don’t fit the bill. But abstracts, yes! Slapping paint on a canvas, red and angry! Free-form, flowing! Yes – that does the job.

Qui bono? I don’t know, but I hope you find my painting interesting to look at and think about.

A Little Touch of Sunshine

March 30, 2025 / lipkingallery

Love the Caribbean, especially when it’s cold and snowing at home and I’m enjoying the warmth and sunshine and the flora and fauna of a beautiful Caribbean island. Did you ever have a macaw eat out of your hand while iguanas chased each other across the landscape? Heaven!

So–to bring a little taste of that back home, here’s Caribbe! 16 x 20, Acrylic.

Chaos

February 2, 2025April 1, 2025 / lipkingallery

Given the events of the past two weeks, this pretty much expresses my feelings. Even though it represents total chaos, I still think my painting has balance of design and color, so it’s not completely chaotic, not yet anyway. But as for the future, ….?

I was tempted to just smear on paint at random, but being an artist, I couldn’t leave it at that, so although this small painting has lots of texture and random marks, I still took the time to judge the need for color complements, focal points, and other compositional elements.

Having gotten the initial impulse out of my system, I’ve just begun another rendition, so I guess the idea of chaos has served me well, in the short term at least, because I broke through my ‘painter’s block’ and am working again, after a hiatus. Feels good. Hope you like the results.

Ocho Kandelikas

January 11, 2025 / lipkingallery

To purchase, click here

We just recently celebrated the holiday of Chanukah, and one of the songs associated with this holiday is Ocho Kandelikas (Eight Candles), a reference to the number of candles lit during the holiday, one for each of 8 nights. This song is written in Ladino, a Spanish-Hebrew language originally spoken by the Jews of Iberia.

While walking around the studio, humming this song, my paint brushes decided to transform the canvas I was working on into an homage to ocho kandelikas, so here it is. I love creating abstract designs, letting the colors flow, adding highlights where they need to be. Plenty of texture, too, though that doesn’t come through well in the photo. But you can find 8 candles there, if you look carefully.

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About Consistency in Art

August 21, 2022 / lipkingallery

Artists are often advised to present a consistent body of work to the public, for very good reason. If you’ve developed a following, you owe it to your “fans” to give them what they expect. But as an artist, this is easier to say than to do. Creative people naturally want and need to experiment with various art forms, different media, interesting techniques. Even if you absolutely love abstractions, as I do, there’s nothing to stop you from also loving detailed landscapes and intricate still lifes.

When I exhibit, I make sure to maintain consistency. But in my own studio, anything goes. Here are two of my latest efforts, one completely abstract, with lots of texture and one in which I tried to capture the misty chill of a Scottish Highland stream.

Painting Color and Texture

July 6, 2022 / lipkingallery

Maybe you’ve noticed–I love color. I love how different colors play off each other, sometimes soft and soothing (analogous colors), sometimes bright and jarring (complimentary colors). I often combine my colors with various mediums to create texture on the canvas, too. But for “Sculpture in Gray,” I decided to try something different. To begin, I just glopped on a pile of black and white paint loosely mixed with fiber paste and started spreading it around with a large palette knife. The painting sort of took off on its own from there. I glopped on more paint, dribbled on some silver, sprinkled a little glitter and–voila!

At first glance, you might think it’s just a gray painting, but as you look at it, you notice the swirls and layers, the shadows and lights, and you begin to lose yourself in the richness of the painting. I’ve been studying it in my studio for about a month now, wondering if I need to add any of my signature colors or maybe some defined shapes. But I’ve decided I love it just the way it is. Minimalism has certainly been around since at least mid-twentieth century, but now I find myself appreciating it much more deeply than I ever have before.

Inspiration

June 11, 2022 / lipkingallery

Sometimes we all need a little inspiration, a little push to get us going again. The world is so full of colors, you’d think you’d never run out of ideas, but sometimes–you do. So I was thrilled to be able to spend time at MOMA last week, to see their special exhibit, Matisse’s Red Studio. I just love his spare shapes, bright colors, and the way he puts these elements together to create a mood and to tell a story. I wandered the galleries, trying to take it all in, and when I left, a couple of hours later, I really felt refreshed, and ready to get started in my own studio again.

I just finished an interesting piece, which I’m calling What’s Your Hurry? I thought about adding to it, giving it some embellishment, but then I decided I like it exactly as is. What do you think?

So How Do You Name Your Pieces?

February 27, 2022 / lipkingallery

Gothic Bazaar, Mixed Media, 11 x 14, $175.00

Sometimes people ask me how I come up with my titles. Well, I enjoy naming my pieces almost as much as I do creating them in the first place. I try to invent names that give the viewer a hint of what I was thinking while I was painting, but at the same time, something that leaves a bit of mystery, a little question in their minds. I’m calling this piece Gothic Bazaar. Why? Well, the pointed arch is a bit of Gothic architecture, isn’t it? And the colors remind me of the time I visited the bazaar in Istanbul, full of golds and secret passageways and hidden corners. Touristy? Sure, but all the same exotic and fun. Everything about this–the design, the colors, and yes – even the title, says Whimsy. A bit of whimsy to brighten up a cold winter day.

Painting in the Abstract

November 3, 2021 / lipkingallery

In my previous post, I wrote about using a 12 x 12 format to express a single idea, but sometimes, I need a bigger canvas to capture the moment. A River Runs Through It reminds me of the colorful river towns perched on the hilltops in Spain. The water rushing down the mountains, the clean, fresh air! Aah–how delightful.