Cupcakes and other Little Things: New Show in SF

I've been painting cupcakes and other little things, as I alluded to in an earlier post. Those paintings -- 33 new paintings, a good number for this 33rd year of mine -- are on view at Geras-Tousignant Gallery in San Francisco through the end of June (monday-friday 11-4pm). A pdf catalogue is available on the contact page of my website.

The cupcakes were fun to paint, especially the sprinkles and the ridges of the wrappers. When I paint things like this, whether they're cupcakes or toothbrushes or anything at all, they become little characters complete with personalities and unfolding stories. It's about how they're painted -- whether they're alone or in pairs or groups, facing each other or away from each other, what the colors tell you, what the objects symbolize.

Three Red Devils, oil on panel, 4 x 8 inches

I painted three safety pins on panels that are not bigger than 2 x 2 1/4 inches. One is open, one is closed, and two are entwined in each other; I painted them on the phone with L. I painted a lot of dice, I was bold and decisive so they're rolling and the ones that stopped rolling are good numbers. I painted male and female razors; I painted my tools. I painted a level when I was level and calm. And I painted cupcakes and sweets, because I have a sweet tooth.

If you're going to paint cupcakes you have to know Wayne Thiebaud's work, and coincidentally he has a show up at the San Jose Museum of Art through the end of July. I actually feel a little guilty for saying this, but the truth is I've never loved his work and the show didn't change my mind. He's really likable, he's a skilled draftsman and his colors are fun and airy, but the paintings just somehow don't hook me. What I mean is, I don't think about them the next day. You can have all the right ingredients and a great recipe, and put lots of icing on top, but somehow they're just not great. Don't get me wrong, cupcakes are always good, but great is difficult. Thiebaud says the same in a video interview, where he talks about how many artists make paintings, but only the best paintings are art. He worked as an animator for Disney and as an illustrator in an advertising firm in his early career, and you can see that precision and quickness in his work.

There's another video interview on the museum's web page, and it's quite interesting. He's good at talking about painting and I'm sure he was a great painting teacher.

Bakery Case, 60x72 inches, Wayne Thiebaud

Thiebaud's best paintings are his landscapes and views of fields, cities, highways, and overlapping shadows, the ones where things get complicated and he painted in many layers before he figures it all out. I also liked the beach scenes, I don't recall ever seeing someone paint tracks in the sand like that. The show is certainly worth seeing, and if you have time for it he gives a good interview in an accompanying video. A show of contemporary Bay Area realist painting downstairs is also worth seeing. It's good to see that realist painting is making a comeback. In the art-world, realist painting is often marginalized as anti-modern and too-literal, but these and other shows make the case that there's, well, more in display case than first meets the eye.

Michael Knud Ross: Little Things

Geras-Tousignant Gallery, 437 Pacific, San Francisco, through June 20.

Wayne Thiebaud: 70 Years of Painting

San Jose Museum of Art, through July 26.

Real and Hyper Real

San Jose Museum of Art, through August 1.