Self-debasement time. One of my resolutions for 2009 was to finish four paintings this year. I haven’t talked much on the blog about my painting hobby, but I’m thinking maybe now is a good time to do so. Why? Because most of the painting I do is for friends and family and for our own home. Only I don’t really have any more space for paintings at the house. If I produce four more paintings this year, where will they go?

How about they go to your house? Or your office, church, kids’ room, or basement?

That’s why I’m using today’s post to introduce you, shamelessly, to some of the original art I do and let you know that, well, I’m available if you want a big piece of custom original hand-painted artwork.

I won’t pretend I’m any sort of fine, fancy artist. Most of what I do is simple and contemporary and graphic-designy, as opposed to realism or classic painting. I tend to prefer big canvases and plywood and sheetrock, though I do some stuff on canvas, too. Mostly acrylic paint.

As far as subjects go, I will paint just about anything you want me to paint, in any size, as long as it fits within my typical techniques and style. To give you an idea of what that style might entail, here are some samples of my work.

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This family portrait has been pretty popular among people who visit our home. It’s as close as I’ll come to doing a picture of a person and is similar to the graphic-design prints Shep Fairey has made popular. All I’d need to produce something like this is decent head-shot photography of the people. Each “head” is a square foot. Painted on plywood. Colors can vary.

I also like to do abstract colorful stuff. This isn’t too original — I’ve seen these “circle” types of paintings in Pottery Barn or Ikea and similar places — but I like the way it looks so I painted one for us. This is on sheetrock, about 60 x 40 inches.

This one’s original. Some flowers on a 3 x 4-foot canvas.

I like the following style a lot, simply because I’m a design nerd and I’m into typography. I think big hand-painted, type-based artwork is cool. These two are painted on chipboard and scratched up for an intentionally weathered look.

The next two are both on sheetrock and both based on songs. One contains the modified lyrics of a version of “You Are My Sunshine” that Aimee and I sing to the kids. The other painting only gets brought out at Christmas time. I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to tell which is which.

This is one of two big paintings that hang in the foyer of our church. It’s a detail of a stained-glass window. It’s pretty big — something like 4×8 foot.

I painted these to match the bedding and decor of my daughter’s room. I think it was a design series Target sold several years ago. So the bugs aren’t original. But still fun. They’re painted on salvaged cabinet doors. (I painted the stuff on the wall, too.)

And these next two I’d actually consider selling you, if you’re interested. They are on plywood, 60 x 40 inches and used to hang in Owen’s room. He’s grown out of the construction truck phase, so we’re done with these. If you’re in the market for one or two really big, used paintings (with drill holes — these were screwed into the studs on the wall), send me an email and we can figure something out.

So, if you’d like a big original custom painting that contains:

1) family portraiture
2) family names
3) song lyrics
4) other fun sayings
5) contemporary abstract geometric shapes
6) simple cartoony stuff like bugs and trucks

…then I’d love to make one of my 2009 paintings a commissioned one for you. Email me if you’re interested and we can discuss pricing and style and format and medium and colors and all that good stuff.