Painting by Ed Tajchman "Communing With Nature"

This is one of my recently completed watercolor paintings. You can see a being-like energy from the plant communicating telepathically with a human, showing him a chart of symbols. If you notice carefully you will see some of the symbols in this painting reappearing in other works of mine. Just recently I have had a vision of the story that ties all of the paintings together, keep reading future posts for more on that later. Also in this painting, each of the walls have taken on a different rhythmic pattern.

Ed Tajchman Painting © all rights reserved. "Communing with Nature"

Painting: Lost Tree in an Ancient Ocean

The last 20 plus posts here have been excerpts from my recent writings. So let's get back to basics with one of my recently completed watercolor paintings.

It is called "Lost Tree in an Ancient Ocean. Where I am from (Kansas) was the bottom of a vast, ancient ocean thousands of years ago. In the paintings, we see four crows (an ominous sign) on a  tree with limbs for branches. Only one of the tree branch's hands are closed. The rest are open or holding the birds.

"Lost Tree in Ancient Ocean" by Ed Tajchman © 2013. Watercolor. 

There is also a green and blue elephant-fish with a blue scepter. In my mind he is after what is in the closed hand, and has been hunting for this tree for a long time. This same scepter makes appearances in other paintings of min, I saw it in a dream once for the first time.

Framed Version of Female Spryght by Ed Tajchman

This is the final, framed look for my painting "Female Spryght" (out of my basement frameshop). The painting is 11 x 15 inches and the whole thing is about 20 x 24". I like the contrast of a very heavy ornate frame with my bold colors and design. One of my more favorite creations of late. 

"Female Spryght" by Ed Tajchman. Framing also by Ed Tajchman.

Artwork: Funky Bird Posturing, by Ed Tajchman

Here is a painting I completed recently. It is a very funky bird, posturing in a bit of an odd manner. Energy seems to be flowing all around it. The head is not so much like a bird's, but more alien-like. It is another smaller watercolor, 15 x 11".

Funky Bird Posturing by Ed Tajchman ©. Watercolor & Pigment Ink. 15 x 11"

All these watercolors I have been showing (about 35 or 40 completed, not all published online) have been done over the first six months of this past year. Although I am finishing these up now, I am also shifting gears going back to finish a lot of my large acrylic paintings, which I will feature here later. The acrylic paintings (some of which can be seen at http://edsartworkshop.com) are an experience in trying to further understand the self, and the dreaming, subconscious mind; through the process of dreaming and painting, and vice versa. I will talk more about this later as I get closer to finishing all of these paintings.

Watercolor and Ink By Ed Tajchman - Figurative Freaks

Yet another 15 x 11" watercolor and ink. This one is called Figurative Freaks. You got several different figures and creatures throughout the piece. All have more than a bit of strangeness to them. Maybe not dis-similar to people I like to hang out with in real life. You may notice this one does not yet have my mark on it. When I get closer to the point of framing it I will put my mark in the corner and sign it on the back. This one is still in the final stages of applying the last layers of ink. I use pigmented ink in addition to the watercolor.

Figurative Freaks by Ed Tajchman. Watercolor and Ink.

Framed Painting by Ed Tajchman - Freeform Six

I have been on a bit of a roll now starting to frame some of my smaller more recent watercolors; many of the works that I have been featuring on this blog. (See http://edsartworkshop.com) for 22 examples of my latest works.)

This one is called Almost Formless 6. You can't tell in the photo but the frame does have a bit of a curve on it. It features cotton rag mats, which means they are 100% cotton all the way through, and the same color all the way through. This means they are archivally superior to what people usually call acid-free mats (where the color is just one thin top layer of the mat-board).

Stay tuned for more updates on my framed artwork. These will be for sale, I am currently searching for a gallery to exhibit them at. Contact me for details.

Almost Formless 6, watercolor and Ink. Painting and framing both by Ed Tajchman.

Cat-Man and Cyclops-Bot by Ed Tajchman

You can see below a watercolor work that is a version of a quick painting I did on the cover of my current sketchbook. That is where I first did my new signature mark for my paintings. You can see the mark in the lower left of this one below.

You can see in the painting, a large-headed cat-man, a purple bird, a robot with strange antlers, all on rolling blue hills under a penetrating red sun and yellow sky.  The large face is an evolution of a lot of similar faces I have done over the years, you can see this in my past works. The cyclops robot doesn't have a mouth, so I imagine his strange antlers can transform, providing his only means of communication.

I like this signature mark because it takes up less space then signing my paintings Ed Tajchman. I also sign the works on the back with a full cursive signature. So you know it's a work of mine if it has both the mark on front and signature on back. Some of my earlier paintings will not be signed like this.

Cat-Man and Cyclops-Bot, watercolor & ink, by Ed Tajchman

Framed Watercolor Painting: "Flower Goddess" by Ed Tajchman

If you've been following along you read a few posts ago where I wrote about turning my basement into a frameshop. Although I don't have any large equipment yet, I was able to put this together. The painting is mine and called Flower Goddess. It is about 11 x 15" with 3 inches of matting around it. The colors and frame design really compliment the painting if I do say so myself. 

Flower Goddess, watercolor and ink by Ed Tajchman. Framing also by Ed Tajchman. ©

Watercolor Painting, Monkey Under a Strange Sky, by Ed Tajchman

Here I present another of my new works,  Monkey Under a Strange Sky, watercolor & ink on paper, 11 x 15 inches. I think this one is kind of self-explanatory. It's a monkey in a classic thinking pose, set under a strange sky. He has a yellow and pink aura around him and is sitting next to some kind of tree or bush as he finds himself on a hillside, tucked away in-between some mountains. What has caused this monkey to think? Is there evolution happening? The sky is lending itself to the idea that in a sense atoms are like pixels.

Monkey Under a Strange Sky by Ed Tajchman ©

Painting: Fish-Person Freakout by Ed Tajchman

Yes another painting. I have begun doing these smaller watercolors 11 x 15" size. I am also doing larger paintings in acrylic but I really have enjoyed getting back to watercolors, which is the first kind of painting I learned.

 Small works are good because creating paintings is like telling a story. Each one says something about me and also should stand on it's own. Each new painting has a relationship to the last one in things like, use of similar forms and style, and the evolution of those things from work to work. Sometimes symbols, color patterns, being repeated etc. etc. So when working small like this the story is evolving much faster than it does when doing only larger work, so it's been a lot of fun.

Anyways, here is another one of these watercolors. I tentatively call it "Fish-Person Freakout". I really like this one, but when choosing a favorite I'll have to stick to what Dr. Seuss always said when asked what his favorite book that he wrote was, "The next one I write". So cheers to that notion! And Cheers also to the next chapter in my story and yours as well.

A lot of these watercolors will be matted and framed and for sale. Or if you want to frame it yourself you can just have the painting. See my website http://edsartworkshop.com for more information or contact info.

Fish-Person Freakout by Ed Tajchman©. Watercolor and ink, 11 x 15"

A Sneek Peek Into the Creative Process of Artist Ed Tajchman

Here I want to show a bit about my process. I keep a sketchbook (an artist's tool numero-uno) and a lot of times I'll pull figures, faces, & various ideas from there to make a more formal ink drawing on nice paper. Even from a sketchbook that is year's old sometimes.  

Or I might just go right into the ink drawing with no direct ideas, that is fun, more of a free-form style. The ink drawing as you can see below becomes a full blown color painting. In this case a watercolor and ink painting. The transfer from sketchbook, to ink drawing, to painting of course is never quite the same twice no matter how hard I might want it to be.

 I've given in to enjoying doing it slightly different each time. See the rest of my new art and visit my website: Ed's Art Workshop. Or the facebook page: Ed Tajchman's Art, or even hang on my every tweet at: @EdTajchmansArt.

Female Spright, 2013 by Ed Tajchman. Ink Drawing on left, Watercolor & ink on right. ©

Ed's Art Workshop is Redone, Also Discussing Dakar and New Painting

I am pleased to announce that my official gallery website Ed's Art Workshop has finally been redone, with some of my newer work being previewed there. My older work will eventually be archived at the site, but for now I am pleased to slowly roll out pics of my artwork from the past couple of years. I have been discussing this in the past several posts. I will release more previews week by week so check back in here and at the gallery for updates. 

Earlier this year I was fortunate enough to travel to Dakar, Senegal. Having never been to Africa, this was of course quite an experience for me. This is one of the watercolors I did when I came back home after the trip was over. There are a lot of artists in Dakar and I met some of them during my stay there.

Long-Necked Bird-Man by Ed Tajchman. Watercolor and Ink.

In various places throughout Dakar, one can find many colorful designs. I found it refreshingly like my own artistic sense; interesting designs and forms in bright colors. A good example are all the transport buses around the city. They can be very full sometimes. See my photo below,..... I took a lot of photos while I was there so I could preview some more of them here in future posts at Modern Art Quotes.

Transport Bus in Dakar, Senegal. Photo by Ed Tajchman

Each driver customizes his vehicle in a different way. A lot of the same color and design motifs are used from bus to bus, but with a lot of personal variation added in.

Watercolor Painting by Ed Tajchman: Female Spright

Here I present a photo of another one of the watercolor and inks I have been doing this year. It's called "Female Spright", 11 x 15" watercolor & ink. In my process it sometimes goes like this: I take a figure or idea from my sketchbook (informal), and I work out the design in pencil on watercolor paper, (semi-formal), then ink the outline (formal) and add the watercolor. Then layer the watercolor and ink in some places. Some of the works in this series of watercolors will get turned into larger paintings on canvas (super-formal?).

This painting specifically is a woman or a spirit of a feminine entity of some sort. She has not a green thumb, but a green head obviously! I am trying to combine the abstract elements I have used for a long time with figurative elements.

"Female Spright" by Ed Tajchman ©

Almost Formless 2013, Watercolor and Ink by Ed Tajchman

This is another of my recent watercolors. It is tentatively called Almost Formless May 2013. In my more formless paintings there usually seems to emerge some kind of unintentional although personally relevant figures or imagery that someone I know points out to me later. Unintentional in the sense that I didn't consciously intend for them to be there. But of course part of the beauty of the creative process is how the imagery from the psyche emerges anyways, despite a conscious effort to hold it back. So I need some way to catalog the work until a moment like that happens. Maybe not to dis-similar to how Jackson Pollack named some of his works.

For a long time I painted almost only formless works (the process and thought behind of which, you can read about on past posts of this blog). This new style that I am now beginning to reveal here are works from the past 3 years and they combine figurative, symbolic and formless elements to varying degrees. This is one of the more formless ones. As I said last post, subscribe to this blog and my twitter feed - @EdTajchmansArt for more updates of these works.

Almost Formless May 2013 by Ed Tajchman, watercolor & ink.

Fish-Man by Ed Tajchman

Duhn da da duhn da duhnnnn... ! Yes ladies and gentleman it is finally time for the release of a preview of the new set of paintings I have been working on over the last couple years. For all like,.... five readers out there,.. I have been promising this and here it is. Over the next few days and weeks I will release some pics of my work here, and on my twitter feed. My twitter feed is thus: @EdTajchmansArt

This marks the beginning of a social media push of all my new paintings. You can receive updates as mentioned in the first paragraph. The work is in acrylic on canvas and watercolor and ink on paper. The watercolors are 11 x 15 inches (like the one below). It's tentatively called Fish-Man. It gives you an idea of my new work. New means all these paintings I have been embarking on in the last 3 years, which I have striven to give a consistent style. It combines exaggerated figurative elements with varying levels of abstraction.

As usual all images of my work are under my copyright and all rights are reserved. You can link my artwork for personal use (no ads on page you display it on) as long as credit is given (Pinterest & Twitter etc. are okay with credit and link to where you found image) . All other uses needs my permission. My email is (no spaces): e d t a j c h m a n @ g m a i l . c o m

Fish-Man by Ed Tajchman © 2013, watercolor & ink

I Somewhat Enjoy the Winter Blahs

I haven't written anything for a while, and I am blaming it on the winter blahs. Really though, I kind of like winter; I like using it has an excuse to stay inside and paint, watch movies, and drink lots of coffee. I do those things all the time even when it's nice outside, but at least when it's winter I have an excuse. Also, battling the snow, ice, sleet, and nosehair-freezing cold can be interesting at least. Stepping outside into the empty white crystallized frozen death of winter; it's daunting and beautiful at the same time.

Red and Blue Design by Ed T. ©

I always thought to myself that I would not like to live somewhere where there isn't winter, but I think I am changing my mind. Maybe I could do without a few months of freezing weather every year. It sounds so cliche and I hate that, but as I get older winter seems to take more of a toll on me. Well anyways, I haven't been writing much but I have been somewhat productive on the painting end, doing several small watercolors that will actually be framed and for sale in the near future hopefully. Although I have sold a couple paintings and prints and have had offers for some of my work, this is the first time I will actually formally be offering original paintings for sale. Above is one of those paintings I have been working on over the past few weeks.

Artist Spotlight: Watercolors by Derek McCrea

The Artist Spotlight is a new feature here at Modern Art Quotes. In this first installment in the series, Modern Art Quotes is proud to present the artwork of Derek McCrea.

Eerie, Derek McCrae

"I use brilliant tropical colors to represent impressionistic forms in art. When I create a piece it adds a sense of well being and balance to my day, and to my life. I have painted for over 25 years and always will. when I take a hiatus from painting I feel a void and creativity fills that void."

Derek McCrea
US Army Infantry by Profession....
Visual Artist by Choice.

Thanks for sharing Derek, and well said. You definitely have a unique style, great composition and great color use. Watercolors are my favorite medium to work with by far, so I can appreciate good washes when I see them. The tree paintings are by far my favorites from his gallery.

Chills, Derek McCrae