About Me

My photo
Paramus, New Jersey, United States
No, this in not a blog about gardening in any way, but a journal of my journey to become a professional landscape painting artist. For years, I’ve given my paintings as wedding gifts without thinking of profiting in some way from it. I worked for 18 years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC as a computer programmer. I have been a painter since 1990, coincidentally, when I started working at the Met. I watched Bob Ross do his thing on Channel 13 in New York and decided I could do this, too. I have no formal training. I incorporate Bob's wet-on-wet technique for sky and water. My subject matter is covered bridges, lighthouses, fishing village scenes, barns, etc. Maine, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Nova Scotia and Spain are some of the places I have painted. My style is detailed and sometimes people think a photo of the painting is an actual photo of the scene. I hope to continue and grow in this medium. I also like to cook & dance. I am also a committed Christian. I am taking commissions - painting your landscapes style photos or your vacation home. Prices on request. contact me - Jackmck@juno.com my website is www.artofjackmckenzie.com

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Sold another painting: Spanish Cafe - Andalucia - Gaucin

As metioned in my previous post, a friend wanted to buy this painting, so I made the effort to find the Spanish town its from. That turned out to be Gaucin. I was debating haw to rename it, so settled on just adding the town name. The painting was turned over tonight to Rich Manno fro 200 dollars. We both attend a Bible study at Jacksonville Chapel on Thursday nights, so afterwards the transaction was made. One of my babies should have a good home. Another friend mentioned the possibility of buying one to give as a wedding present. She will be doing some shopping on my blog! Here's the painting and its new owner

Sunday, May 20, 2012

My Spanish Cafe painting id'd - Venta el Socorro in Gaucin

I went to Spain in 2004 with some friends and stayed in Algreciras. We took a day trip to Ronda and passed thru many little and big towns. In one I took a picture of a cafe out the window of the car as we sped by, but did not have the town name. It looked pretty good , so I painted it. I never spent much time identifying it, just calling it Spanish Cafe - Andalucia. Here's the photo.
and here's the painting
a friend now wants to buy it, so I did a little digging and found a picture of the cafe - The Venta el Socorro in Gaucin Spain in this blog entry - http://ournewlifeinandaluciaspainbigblog.blogspirit.com/archive/2006/10/index.html. I came across a couple of reviews, this from the site http://panorama.forumcircle.com/viewtopic.php?p=12061 - ------- I'm sure that you know the road up to Ronda from Jimena via Gaucin well. A very decent locale, although it doesn't look like much at all, is Venta "El Socorro" about half way along Gaucin on the right side of the road (about 200 metres along from the petrol station). If you only have one thing, make sure that you have the chorizitos en vino... to die for. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------other sites echo that its an excellent place for tapas so now, I'm gonna have to go add Gaucin to this painting's tags. Nice job. If you'd like to buy a print, mug or other items based on this image, check the merchandising area on top of this blog. Here's the Fineartamerica site - http://fineartamerica.com/featured/spanish-cafe--andalucia-jack-mckenzie.html. Check out my Zazzle, Printfection, Mugsbyjack and other site

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Artistwanted site making its Times Square show at trending item

Artistswanted site asked all the artists involved in this to post the following line on thier Twitter page at 3pm. Trying to make it a trending item - #ArtTakesTimesSquare @ArtistsWanted - help my work get shown http://JackMcKenzie.artistswanted.org/atts2012

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Artist Spotlight - Anastassia Elias - Toilet Roll Sculpture

One thing is for sure - wherever there is an empty space, there is an artist with the vision to fill it: from eye of needles to giant walls. In this case, the empty space is inside the most ignored of containers - the toilet roll. Really cool looking stuff. The artist is Anastassia Elias from Paris France. Lots of lively scenes inside the tube, from boxing matches to jugglers. Its all in monochrome, but I'm sure color will arise eventually. I came across this on Pinterest and, as Ive said before, Pinterest is a great place to discover and be discovered. Check the site out - I should note that there is something wrong with my blogs settings and the link is not forming, so until that is figured out, you will have to cut and paste. Here's his website - http://www.behance.net/gallery/Paper-cuts-Rolls/241623 and here's a few pictures -

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Update on Artistwanted.org Art Takes Times Square show - Need to be "Collected" 56 more times

Got this e-mail from the Artistwanted website about their Art Takes Times square thing. 2 things 1 Now I have to get a Tumblr blog and 2) need 56 more of you to “collect” me. Link is on the bottom Update for Jack : Your Work Has Been Collected 14 Times Congrats Jack, you’re on your way to a guaranteed showing during the Art Takes Times Square Billboard Premier event on June 18th! Upgraded entrants and artists who are in 77 or more collections will receive extra benefits, including a showing during the billboard premier event in Times Square, a showing at the Artists Wanted VIP party, and a ticket to the VIP event, hosted by Questlove of the Roots. Just get into 63 more collections And remember: if you have a Tumblr blog, include your Tumblr link in your profile statement to have your work reviewed by an esteemed panel of jurors from Art Fag City, Hyperallergic, the New Museum, BAMarts and Pace Gallery in consideration for the Tumblr Pick! Good Luck! Your portfolio link is: http://JackMcKenzie.artistswanted.org/atts2012