PAINTING OF THE MONTH

Muffins

Oil on Panel

Image 10 x 12 - Framed 15 x 17

$1200

I often paint what I hear in addition to what I see. When I was painting Muffins I heard a rather whimsical woodwind quartet in the style of Prokofiev. I heard the oboe gently dropping chocolate chips into the dough, a playful flute signified the muffins rising in the oven. A bluesy clarinet played the muffins cooling on a rack while a witty bassoon indicated a dollop of jelly being spread on the half eaten muffin. I've never actually heard a woodwind quartet by Prokofiev or even know if he ever wrote one. But if he did, and someday a musicologist finds it in some dusty archive, I'm sure there will be a notation calling it the Muffin Quartet.....

The Painting of the Month is a special offer to my blog readers (click on the image for a larger view). This month Muffins, which retails for $2200, is being made available for $1200 (includes shipping, VT residents add 6% sales tax). To purchase this piece contact me at thomastorak@gmail.com. Payment is by check only please, no credit cards. If you prefer you may make 3 monthly payments. This offer is available for 30 days from the date of this post.

Nocturne #4: Midnight

16 x 16    Oil on Panel

At midnight on a moonless, cloudless night, I turn off all the lights in my house and use a flashlight to guide my way to the middle of an empty field. Then I turn off the flashlight, lie on my back and stare straight up at the sky. I am alone, there is no evidence of human existence. As my eyes adjust to the darkness I become vaguely aware of a distant hillside and an arboreal phantom in the blue-black void. But I am drawn like a magnet to the heavens. I reach out my hand and feel like a giant next to the tiny stars. Then watch the distant stars getting smaller and dimmer as they recede into the vastness of space, and suddenly feel very small. The twinkling stars make the heavens seem like a lovely, sensitive living thing, and it's strangely comforting to lie here alone in what feels like the womb of the universe. I contemplate the infinite possibilities of time and space, and dream about my next life, when this fetal existence ends....

Nocturne #3: Winter Moonrise

16 x 16    Oil on Panel

The moon was a bit tardy tonight. It was nearly full last night and was expected to be the star of show this evening. I was sure it would have made its entrance by now. Perhaps it had a quarrel with one of the constellations last night and was refusing to go on. Was Orion the hunter a bit too aggressive, or Cassiopeia the queen making unreasonable demands? In the midst of my silly musing a glow began to appear in the night sky. Before long the moon made a dramatic entrance, choosing to appear behind the branches of my favorite apple tree. The glow was so bright it obscured the edges of the lunar disc. Rising slowly it highlighted one branch then another. Some of the branches made gnarly silhouettes while others reached out to catch a moonbeam. There was the excitement of anticipation in the air. It was a grand entrance indeed and I couldn't wait to see it join the stars for tonight's celestial performance.....