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

Friday, December 27, 2013

interesting things - The Dalek/art master 2014 calendar mashup

Besides being very much the artist, I am also big into science fiction. Doctor Who, the British sci-fi tv show that's been around off and on for 50 years, is one of my favorites. The basic premise is an alien with a time/space machine traveling anywhere and anywhen with human companions.
I also enjoy art mashups, where well know art pieces are redone using various cartoon characters. One of my favorites is characters from the Justice League (Superman. Batman. Wonder Woman, etc) are seen in a version of Sunday in the Park with George.
This is one of those mashups. The Doctor Who has an enemy called the Daleks - octopus like creatures encased in metal bodies with odd appendeges always out to exterminate people. I enjoyed them, My favorites is the take on Rene Magritte's painting of bowlered hat men raining down on the city. Check this out from the Tonecartoons website Dalek art master mashups as a 2014 calendar



Friday, December 20, 2013

New painting: Birdhouse with Black-eyed Susans

I troll FB and other photo sites for images I'd might like to paint. I then post on the picture asking for permission to paint it. Once I get it, I do the work. This I found on Delilah's FB page. Delilah is an American radio personality, author, and songwriter, best known as the host of a nationally syndicated nightly U.S. radio song request and dedication program. It was  photo of a birdhouse nestled in a stand of black-eyed susans. This is the resulting painting -

I usually add mugs and bags via Zazzle, but they seem to have changed their product creation routine, so once I have that figured out, I post them.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Blog spotlight - Christmas To Not Do List - from Conversations by the clothesline

The Christmas holiday time is one of unnecessary stress, where people look for the accomplish perfection in everything. Guess what! Its not achievable. So back off, enjoy the time with friends and family. If thy really love you, they will accept imperfection.  A friend, Kieve Garner, posted this post from the "Conversations by the Clothesline" blog called Christmas to not do list,. Its one of many don't do lists for Christmas praising the minimalist approach The first item on the list I'm not sure what it is, but the rest are pretty good. I will post the first few here and the rest can be found in the blog. Enjoy!

  • I will not worry about making the contents of the children’s stockings equal.
  • I will not host holiday parties when I don’t enjoy it.
  • I will not stay up all hours of the night creating something complex and homemade in my sewing room just so I can say “I made it.”
  • I will not force myself to put the decoration boxes in the storage room when no one can see them in the porch.
  • I will not feel compelled to write numerous blog posts explaining the true meaning of Christmas.
  • I will not write something personal on each and every Christmas card.
  • I will not feel compelled to send an extra Christmas card to those people to whom we didn’t send one when I get their card in the mail.
  • I will not feel compelled to have homemade peanut butter cookies with Hershey kisses on top in my freezer.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Interesting video - Art Flashmob featuring Rembrandt's Guards of the Night

I realize this is the 2nd "interesting video" post I've done with nothing in between, but this was too good.
I love those flashmob videos of singers and/or dancers taking over a mall or other venue to perform. This one is something else entirely. A museum in Holland decided to take art to the people with a living depiction of Rembrandts' Guards of the night painting. How they do it is just so cool! This is from the Daily Revolution blog.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Interesting videos - The Silent Monk Hallelujah Chorus

Every once in a while, I take post something not directly related to my paintings,such as my recipe posts. This is a new category - Interesting videos - ones that catch my eye and think my slender audience might be interested in. I can assure you no cat videos.
This one is one of my favorite Christmas videos - Silent Monk Hallelujah Chorus. Cant explain, just watch. The monk's processional in is a bit long, but if you stick it out, you'll be glad you did.
Here's a still from the video

Thursday, December 5, 2013

My Tire Swing paintings: more to come - Fall and Sunrise


This Thanksgiving my brother Ken and his family came down from their farm in Maine to enjoy the weekend with the me and my sister and her children. One of the preps I did was hang my winter and summer paintings of the tire swing on their farm. Here's the winter one
My one nephew DJ was looking at this and felt he could almost walk into it, which led to a discussion about doing more of them. I paint from photos and this one was from a photo my sister in law Julie posted on Facebook suggesting that I paint it. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to paint it. The summer one was from a photo I took of the same scene.I've been wanting to do a Fall scene & Julie said she has a few fall scenes of more or less the same scene, I just need an idea of the basic colors and what the overall scene looks like. The Julie mentioned  a possible sunrise painting, since the sunrise would be behind. I like the idea - the tree and tire swing would be dark. Stay tuned!

Monday, December 2, 2013

Its Cyber Monday - buyChistmas/holiday gifts from your local artists

So, its Cyber Monday, the biggest on-line shopping day of the year. Instead of shopping the big chains, check your local artisans. Many have online shops. A lot of FB pages have pleas to do this.
So go to my merchandising section to check out mugs, bags, cards from Zazzle or cards and prints from Fine art America
I am also spotlighting  two  friends - Denise Keegan Frawley Photograhy and Sharon Gross Prints

There are many others. Find them! Support your local artist
Here's a few pleas posted by various sites
the Peggy's Cove Area Festival of Arts posted this -

The Professional Artist page posted this for Black Friday
and  Peggy's Cove page also had this