Manchester's Neighborhood Stores

This past semester I have been teaching an illustration course and a history of illustration course at the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, NH. Since I am in town on Tuesdays and Thursdays and have an hour and forty minutes lunch, I decided to explore Manchester on foot, taking lengthy walks during my lunch break. Each day I would follow my nose and see what I could see. At some point it dawned on me that I was coming across quite a few pretty cool neighborhood stores and maybe I should chronicle them with my smart phone. So I started seeking them out. These stores are in some of the funkier neighborhoods and their clientele seems to be folks that for some reason are unable to get to the outskirts of town, where the large supermarkets are.

Sketchbook Word Drawings - Jan-Feb 2017

Here's a new batch sketchbook word drawings.  I have been doing these as the mood strikes me.The words are free associated. I only use a dictionary for spelling, because I ain't that great a speller.

Lava Dome 2-15-17

Smartass - 1-6-17

Ginky 1-9-17

Schnizzle 1-31-17

Turd Muffin 2-1-17

Chemical Godiva 2-7-17

My Portrait Project 2

Here's another batch of portraits in my portrait project. As I mentioned in a previous post, I am making my way through an old set of World Book Encyclopedias as a way of sharpening my portraiture skills. See my previous post here. I have also been taking some of these sketchbook drawings to finish in color. I am using bright color and textures to give these sometimes creaky characters a new, more contemporary life. Many notables here. Too bad they are often lost to history. See more of my finished portraits in color on my site.

Joseph Conrad
British Novelist

Claud DebusseyFrench Composer

Thomas E. DeweyJust missed being President

Lee DeForrest
American Inventor - pioneered wireless telegraphy and radio broadcasting

Richard Harding Davis
American Adventurer, War Correspondent and Writer

Nov - Dec '16 Paintings

Here's the latest batch from the big wall in my studio. For more information, please visit my site:

www.halmayforth.com

La Luce - acrylic on canvas - 30"H x 47"W - more info

Flora - acrylic on canvas  23"H x 31"W - more info

 

How D'oeuvre - acrylic on canvas - 23"H x 32"W - more info

A New Painting Studio

Our move is complete and I am just now getting back into the routine of work. It took a while, but my new painting wall has been built and I have spent the last month painting and figuring out where things should go. Some glitches to be worked out for sure, but time will figure all this out. Here's what transpired in my new studio this month. For more information and pricing, please visit my site: www.halmayforth.com

My new painting studio

Volcano - acrylic on canvas - 44"H x 31"W

Entracte - acrylic on canvas - 30"H x 47"W
Entracte means the interval between two acts of a play or opera. I named this Entracte because this painting spanned two studios. I started it in my studio in Vermont and finished it upon moving to my new home and studio in Chelmsford, MA.

Willy Nilly - acrylic on canvas - 30"H x 42.5"W
A loose, colorful composition of abstract signs and symbols. While painting this, I was determined not to get hung up in the minutia and express myself freely. I thought the result had a certain Willy Nilly quality.

Willy Nilly Studio Shot

My Portrait Project

A couple of summers ago during an assignment drought, my rep, Sam Scali, suggested that I sharpen my portraiture skill as a way of firing off in a new direction. I was up for the challenge. I have had a wonderful career, basically on the back of a cartoon character that I had developed over the course of many volumes of sketchbooks. I had that character DOWN, and I often questioned my ability to draw with any facility in any other way. In the mid 60's, my parents had the foresight to buy the "Mayforth kids" a set of World Book Encyclopedias, and they are one of my prized possessions. Whenever I need inspiration, there is something in those books that will jumpstart an idea. So for this portraiture project, I turned to the World Books, starting with the A volume and drawing all the biographical portraits. My idea is to work through the entire set and doing so will hopefully sharpen my portraiture skill as well as connect me with many often forgotten historical figures. Below are some of those sketches, and within, you will find astronauts, poets, politicians, philosophers, cosmonauts, writers, hell raisers and an assassin. Please visit my site to see a gallery of this portraiture work in color.

Louis-Marie Autissier - French born Belgian miniaturist

Maybelle Carter

Wallis Simpson

Phillip Johnson

A.P. Carter

Painting Wit's End

Wit's End - acrylic on canvas - 31"H x 38"W - more info

You may recall that in my last blog entry I was in the middle of moving from my old studio, into a new space. That move is complete and I am just getting down to working in the new space in earnest. Before I left my old space, I invited my buddy, videographer Jim Eaton to record the last painting painted in my old studio. Clients and collectors have been after me to create a video about my process and the stars aligned that Jim was available and I could take the time down the homestretch of a very busy move. Immediately after shooting this video, I packed up my paints, brushes and painting table and my studio of 23 years was empty for the new owners of our house. Onward and upward!