So. Many. Reapers!

I am delighted to unveil my Lil' Reaper Playing Card deck featuring 54 playing cards each with a unique lil' reaper image based on my paintings and prints.

Sometimes, just to exercise different muscles, I do a different genre of painting. Here are some Abstract Landscapes i recently completed, available from the Miner in Art Gallery in Roslyn, WA. These Sunset paintings are 'impressionist-expressionist' art. They are not renditions of actual sunsets, but more about how the sunsets feel, and about exploring color. Each painting is 12"x12" acrylic on wood and framed in a antique-gold frame.

As of July 2018, my artist studio has moved to Seattle's historic Pioneer Square neighborhood (downtown Seattle) in the TK Artist Building. The studios will be open to the public on First Thursday evenings for Art Walk and most Second Saturdays. In addition to working in my studio, I will be exhibiting a different show of original art every month so please come visit!

Map and Directions: 306 S Washington St #107, Seattle, WA 98104Washingt

Parking: 
There is some free parking available on First Thursday Art Walk nights. 
Other days and times use street parking or paid parking lots.
Or use public transit if you can! ​

You are invited to visit my artist studio every First Thursday to see a new show of original artwork.

My new studio locations are a part of the Pioneer Square First Thursday Art Walk. Every first Thursday 5pm-8pm (and more like 4pm-9pm).

The art will be different every month so come every month.

Tentative 2018-2019 schedule:
- July: "The Journey Is The Adventure"  - paintings celebrating life as an adventure
- Aug: "An Utterance Ineffable"  - as seen at the Seattle Mayor's Gallery in 2017
- Sept: "Robots Are People Too!" - Robots, what more can I say!
- Oct: "Lil' Grim Reaper and Friends" - Halloween Show
- Nov: "Smorgasbord" - A collection of random paintings
- Dec: "@ArtByVikram 4th Annual Holiday Show" - see art from 2018 and buy lots of holiday gifts
- Jan: To Be Determined
- Feb: "Love is in the Air" - Valentine Show

If you can't make it on a First Thursday, you can come on a weekend (provided I am not working an art fair somewhere else) or contact me to visit by appointment.

My new studios are located at:
306 S. Washington Street #107
Seattle WA 98104

My Summer 2018 Original Art Catalog is now available; Click here!
(This is a catalog of available original art, with prices)

The City of Kent recently commissioned me to create a utility-box mural as part of a City Art Project to beautify the city and also reduce graffiti. 

The utility-box mural is located on the Interurban trail near the South Kent Park and Ride.
Here is what it looked like before this project:

And here is what it looks like now, so yes, beautification projects like this really work :) :

Some of you may recognize this design. It is based off my oil painting 'The Great Escape' from 2017:

Here's a peek inside my studio for those who are curious:

My Spring 2018 Catalog of Original Art is now available. 

Click here: Spring 2018 Catalog

Click through the slideshow below to see the full life-cycle of this 'Haunted Still-Life' painting: 

Here is a behind-the-scenes peek on how my painting "Cube of Hearts" came to be. 

Usually when I paint, I have a fairly good idea of what I want to create. With "Cube of Hearts", I decided to try a different approach, one where the painting would organically emerge from the marks. At least one artist I admire follows this process and I thought it would be worth emulating, just to see what happens. Here is what happened: 

1. In the beginning, a lot of random abstract marks on a canvas. Doesn't look like much at this stage, and could turn into anything. I strengthen certain lines looking for patterns.

2. I keep painting randomly on it, trying to see where it goes. Busier and Messier. Which way is up? I turn the painting upside down and wonder: Is that a face on the top right quadrant and a cat in the bottom right quadrant. Maybe a monster of two? 

3. I like some of the edges that show up at the top and decide to darken those areas to create a sense of sky, background, horizon and space:

4. I decided there is a hunched figure squatting in the foreground, and the cat in the bottom right is really more of a fox, given the bushy tail. I paint over the face to create a faceless blob. Maybe that'll be a creature of some kind.

5. I try to refine the figure, but realize it isn't working.

At this point I get stuck. I feel this painting isn't working and it's looking pretty un-aesthetic - not sure I can resuscitate it, Maybe the experiment is doomed for failure. I put it away.

For 6 months.

6. Six months later I put it back on the easel. I like the figure, I like the fox, I like the sky. Maybe I can do something with it after all. First thing I decide is that the figure is not going to be sitting, but floating. And if the figure is floating, better it floats, not over ground, but over clouds. Pink clouds. I'm so partial to pink clouds. The figure needs to be blue, to contrast the pink. and if the figure is blue, then the background needs to be orange to 'pop' the figure. And since the sky is blue, that'll tie the figure to the background, making the painting cohesive. And since the clouds are 'cool' that'll bring them to the front of the 'hot' orange background. Maybe this will work after all!

7. One week later, the fox is fleshed out and the figure has a dress ending in a mass of floating tendrils, one arm bent upwards - is it holding something? or holding onto something? I don't know yet. No happy with the face at this point though:

8. The tail on the fox is too fat. What exactly is that white blob in the back? Not liking the yellow hair - the color is too close to the background. I decide making the hair pink would give it more contrast (warm/cool) while also tying into the clouds and pulling the figure forward so it floats more:

9. The figure's eyes need to be open. The creature in the back needs to be friendly and furry:

10. I still have to figure out what the figure is doing with it's arms. Is it hanging from something: Balloons? A Rope? And what is it holding out near the fox: A crystal ball? A giant pearl? A heart? As I mull this over, inspiration comes from an unlikely source:

11. Meanwhile, I decide the other hand is holding onto... a parasol. Was that inspired by Mary Poppins? No idea, but it seems right. I decide the parasol needs to have a detailed Victorian look:

12. Now the painting is finally coming together. Lots of finishing touches - color progressions on the face, refinement on the fox. I decide the fox shouldn't have it's eyes open - it's more mysterious if the fox is smiling with eyes closed, which also matches the blobby monster in the background. I also need to fix the fox's muzzle - it seems a little off:

13: Final touches - the cube needs more refinement, and the white monster is standing out too much and needs to be 'knocked back' and the blue on the dress is contrasting too much with the orange. I need to harmonize the painting by glazing over both the dress and the white monster with a dilute orange glaze. Finally we are done:

In conclusion, this was an interesting experiment. I would never have come up with this image if I was trying to pre-conceive it so there is something to be said for 'emergent painting'. That said, this painting also took a loooong time from start to finish so I'm not too keen to devoting that much time to a single painting. Hard to make a living as an artist that way :)

Hope you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes peek!