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

Monday, September 29, 2014

art poster - We all have an inner artist

Love this picture from the The academy of art FB Page that shows how the inner personality of the artist shines forth at all ages. The challenge for parents and teachers is to recognize it and channel it.

here's the caption that accompanied the photo -
 Forget the 'artist type'-- these are personalities inside of us... WE ALL HAVE AN INNER ARTIST who does not conform-- not out of rebellion, but because we are engaged in our own process of exploration and discovery- and we value it.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Pancake Art - Beatles and beyond

A friend re-posted this from the Karnaval.com site. They are creating portraits of the Beatles using pancake batter .The basics seem to be you first create an outline of the person you want to appear, let is cook for a few seconds, then fill it in. The person's face appears on the pancake. Recreate one of your paintings in pancake batter. This has possibilities beyond just portraits or pancakes.. Something to take and run with.




Saturday, September 27, 2014

art parody- The Persistance of Apple

Love it when there are mashups between art and anything else
A friend posted this picture from the 9gag page on FB . I'm not an iPhone user (I still use one of those flip phones, just one step away from an old rotary phone) .I'm sure there must be a snide commentary here with the dropping iPhone, but I find the picture amusing, as I'm sure Dali himself would.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Its a Scream! Paintings doing the ALS Challenge

Everyone's getting in on the act. From the Recycled-art-Foundation FB page



From Lori McNee - 10 reasons to date an artist

Great article here from artist Lori McNee on 10-reasons-why-you-should-date-an-artist
Many artists thru history have done well in romance department. One of the more interesting examples is Picasso. He'd have one lover going full force with a secret one on the side, who would soon become the major lover. In his paintings, he's sneak in a profile of the secret lover.

Now that is not to say the artist you date will do the same thing. Don't miss out on the possibility for having your face immortalized and having a great time.

Here are a couple of the reasons. Check out the full write up on each in the article

3. You’ll Inspire Them and See Your Own Reflection in Their Work
6. They’re a Great Pictionary Partner

8. Their Creativity Usually Extends  Beyond the Canvas

Friday, September 19, 2014

Great idea from the Living Social site - A Paint Night Party

This is a great idea that I found on Facebook - have a Paint Nite Party. The  Living Social Site Paint Night Event sounds interesting. Its run by others, but you can set one up on your own. Let your artistic imagination run wild. Here's a couple of pictures from the site.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

New Painting: Sanktay Lighthouse at Sunrise - Nantucket

Nantucket is one of my favorite places to go, if I  can stay at the Hostel. The rest of the places to stay on the island are way too expensive. Day trips are nice, too if you use the fast ferry which gets there in an hour. The regular ferry takes 2.5 hours.
Every September  some friends and I go there for the weekend, stay at the hostel and bike around the Island. I've done many paintings of the Brandt Point lighthouse, but this is my first of the Sanktay Head lighthouse near 'Sconset. #Nantucket #Sanktay

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

art cartoon - a purr-fect exhibit for the Metropolitan Museum

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC is always looking for exhibits that will bring the crowds in. This one (suggested by the New Yorker cartoon) would be a cause of a lot of ticket purr-chases

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Today's art Poster - Create what sets your heart on fire

The Art Therapy Without Borders page on FB always has some good inspirational posters for artists.
Here's today's

Friday, September 5, 2014

A mother and daughter union. 4 year old completes mom's drawings

Found this on the The-Art-School-at-Old-Church in Demarest, NJ FB page.
A collaboration (and a fun clash) of styles here.
The artist, Mica Angela Hendricks, was serious about her art and didn’t want her four-year-old daughter Myla near her new sketchbook cause she knew little Myla would want to scribble all over the pages. Then, her daughter said the words that changed everything:
“If you can’t share, we’ll have to take it away.” Which was the phrase mom used when the kids would not share and Myla used her own mother’s words against her. Nnow Mica had no choice but to indulge Myla. She let her daughter finish one of her sketches, and pretty soon, they had a whole collection of collaborations
Check it out

art in any medium - sand, dust and flame

The artistic mind is capable of seeing something ugly and make it beautiful, of seeing a big picture in the mundane and just taking anything and making it beautiful.

Number one - Sand. We've see amazing sidewalk chalk artistry that looks three dimensional, but here are some beach goers with the same idea



Most people see a dusty car and just scrawl "Clean Me' on it. But here's an example of artists
who see something dirty and ugly and make beauty from it. In fact, for British artist Ben Long dusty vehicles are one of his main canvas. From now on, try and pass try and pass a dusty vehicle and not do something about it.
 
another artist with the same idea
 

And now flame.  Fire music!

I realize this is not about painting but its shows the artistic mind at work.
A couple of Danish physics students  took a Rubens tube and assembled a device with rows of them and created a 2D pyro board to physically show music. When I was in an engineering college in the 70's a friend created a color organ using a frequency separator and attaching same color Christmas lights to each node. He then put the device in ceiling  over his water bed and replaced the ceiling panel with a textured plexi-glass panel. We would lay on the his water bed in the dark and watch th music. None of us drank or smoked, so it was a close to a psychedelic as we cold come to.
The fire thing in the next step beyond that (thougt not in  the ceiling)  This could catch on! Could there be a 3D pyro board?

Here's an all flame music video

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Creative People quote from Matisse

As I've mentioned before The Art Therapy Without Borders FB page always posts some great art quotes and thoughts. Here's one that a quote from Matisse. have a great art day!

Monday, September 1, 2014

Art parody - Starry Night Parodies



Starry Nights is one of my favorite paintings. I also enjoy parodies of famous paintings and Starry Nights is one of the most parodied. The Mona Lisa is another parody rich painting, but that's another time. Enjoy these







here are a couple of three in ones