Fernando Botero is a renowned Colombian painter and sculptor know for his volumetric stylization of figures and objects. While his work includes still-lifes and landscapes, he really concentrated on situational portraiture, and all of his paintings and sculptures are united by their proportionally exaggerated, or “fat” figures, as he once referred to them.

I was recently commissioned to pay tribute to one of Botero’s painting and I thoroughly enjoyed trying to imitate this unique style of painting. The vibrant colors and mink wrapped around the voluminous women’s neck add to the interest of this piece.

If you ask our 20-year-old son what book series had the biggest impact on his life growing up, beyond a doubt, it would be Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling. The first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone came out just two years before he was born and by the time he was six he was reading it. When he finished the final book in the series, The Deathly Hallows, he went through a period of mourning for several days until we could find him a new book to dive into. For years, he lived and breathed Harry Potter. In fact, he knew the series and movies so well, none of us would play Harry Potter Scene It with him, as he would win before anyone else had been given a turn.

So you can only imagine how much our house, and particular my son, was filled with excitement when I accepted a special commission to create the well-know wizard Dumbledore from Harry Potter.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Harry Potter series, Dumbledore, served as the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and in that role was an extremely influential mentor to orphan Harry.

He is distinctly recognizable with his long beard, beautiful gowns and wrinkled face. The pressure was definitely on me to nail this one as my family watched in anticipation for Dumbledore to come to life.

I am extremely proud of the outcome of this chair (see the 2 pics below) because my son says, “I nailed it.” And, in this case, his opinion means the world to me. In fact, I have a feeling I just might be making another chair like this for him when he graduates from college.

I recently had a potential customer reach out to me telling me that he loved my chairs and asking me if I would paint him some special bar stools. I said sure and asked him to send me the chairs. When they arrived I was shocked at how large and heavy they were. They were so unlike anything I had ever painted on before that I really had to think creatively to figure out what I could do with them. I knew because of the chairs design I couldn’t modify the backs of them so I decided to just go with painting an abstract design on the chairs paying tribute to the famous artist Miro.

I’m happy to report the customer loves them and I’m glad I was thrown another challenge that made someone’s day. I hope he gets to relax and enjoy many cocktails on them.

I had a pretty rough childhood. I grew up in poverty with a very difficult dad. So I often found myself trying to escape from the stress of daily life by pulling out my paints and painting my little army figurines with toothpicks. Fast forward to my young adult years, and as I was trying to figure out life, I again found myself returning to art.

Art always has been my stress buster and emotional release, and now as an adult I love to help other individuals see how fun and therapeutic it can be. Not only can you feel yourself calm down and release while doing art, it nurtures emotional growth, helps with memory, problem solving and motor skills. Plus, art is really good at fostering a positive attitude.

Now combine the process of art with let’s say 15-30 of your closest friends, while listening to some really good music along with a glass of wine and well, it’s more than fun, relaxing and therapeutic…it’s a party.

I recently hosted a painting party for 40 people, ages 15-60+, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. It was a great time. For this particular party we decided to create portraits imitating the famous artist Modigliani on 16″ x 20″ canvases. We chose this project because Modigliani’s portraits focus on clean lines that anyone can be taught to emulate.  The results of the night were fantastic (see below), and the smiles on everyone’s faces along with laughter that rang out from the event was priceless.

If you are interested in hosting a private painting party at your home or place of business reach out to me at thfendos@yahoo.com. I’d love to help you have some fun and create a lasting work of art for your home.  Each class will start with a brief overview and bio of the artist.  Party themes can include:

Self-Portraits-Modigliani style
Sunflowers – Van Gogh style
Starry Milwaukee Night – Van Gogh style of Milwaukee’s skyline
Flowers- Georgia O’Keefe
Monet’s water lilies
Picasso’s faces
Kandinky’s circles
Keith Haring designs
Psychodelic insects

We can work together to come up with an idea that is sure to leave your guests smiling and feeling a lot more relaxed and creative when they leave.

What do you get for the most politically savy, independent thinking, strong young adults you know who is graduating? Why isn’t it obvious? A custom, handpainted chair of Ruth Bader Ginsburg –  none other than the Notorious #RGB – complete with her dissent collar and green earrings.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993. She is the second female justice (after Sandra Day O’Connor) of four to be confirmed to the court (along with Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, who are still serving alongside #RBG ).

#RGB , who is generally accepted as being more on the liberal side of the courts, has become recognized through the years for her forceful dissents. She has authored notable majority opinions, including United States v. Virginia, Olmstead v. L.C., and Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc.

#RBG was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her older sister died when she was a baby, and her mother, one of her biggest sources of encouragement, died shortly before #RBG graduated from high school. She then earned her bachelor’s degree at Cornell University, and became a wife and mother before starting law school at Harvard, where she was one of the few women in her class. #RBG transferred to Columbia Law School, where she graduated tied for first in her class. Following law school, #RBG turned to academia. She was a professor at Rutgers Law School and Columbia Law School, teaching civil procedure as one of the few women in her field.

#RBG spent a considerable part of her legal career as an advocate for the advancement of gender equality and women’s rights, winning multiple victories arguing before the Supreme Court. She advocated as a volunteer lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union and was a member of its board of directors and one of its general counsels in the 1970s. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where she served until her appointment to the Supreme Court.

#RBG has received attention in American popular culture; most recently with the 2018 documentary RGB and more recently the movie On the Basis of Sex starring Felicity Jones

As a Deadhead, I have always thought it would be cool to create a group of  Grateful Dead painted chairs paying tribute to the entire band. I have the one Jerry Garcia painted chair that I’ve created, but this fall I was so excited when I was commissioned to create ten members who played in the band over the years.

The Grateful Dead came onto the music scene in 1965 in San Francisco. Their music appeals to me because I love how it the band can create amazing jams that can go on forever. I also like how it combines rock, folk, country, bluegrass, blues, and other styles of music all into one. When I am painting, I am typically jamming out to them or Phish for my artistic inspiration.

The founding members were Jerry Garcia (on lead guitar, vocals), Bob Weir (doing rhythm guitar, and vocals), Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (on keyboards, harmonica, and vocals), Phil Lesh (on bass and  vocals), and Bill Kreutzmann (on drums).

Members of the Grateful Dead had played together in various San Francisco bands, including Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions and the Warlocks. Lesh was the last member to join the Warlocks before they became the Grateful Dead. Drummer Mickey Hart and non-performing lyricist Robert Hunter joined in 1967. With the exception of McKernan, who died in 1973, and Hart, who took time off from 1971 to 1974, the core of the band stayed together for its entire 30-year history.

The other official members of the band are Tom Constanten (on keyboards from 1968–1970), John Perry Barlow (a nonperforming lyricist from 1971–1995), Keith Godchaux (on keyboards from 1971–1979), Donna Godchaux (who provided vocals from 1972–1979), Brent Mydland (on keyboards and vocals from 1979–1990), and Vince Welnick (on keyboards and vocals from 1990–1995). Bruce Hornsby (on accordion, piano, and vocals) was a touring member from 1990 to 1992, as well as a guest with the band on occasion before and after the tours.

Each upcycled painted chair has a similar theme with the tie background and black overlay. The legs of the chairs pay tribute to the Dead’s famous concert posters (Winterland and the Fillmore) which have become collectors’ items.

Jerry Garcia

Jerry Garcia – Back

Bob Weir

Bob Weir – Back

Pig Pen

Pig Pen – Back

Phil Lesh

Phil Lesh Back

Billy Kruetzman

Billy Kruetzman – Back

Mickey Hart

Micky Hart – Back

Keith Godchaux

Keith Godchaux – Back

Donna Godchaux

Donna Godchaux – Back

Brent Mydland

Brent Mydland – Back

Vince Welnick

Vince Welnick – Back

When I got the call inquiring about a Salvador Dali tribute I have to say I was excited. Dali, who died in 1989 was very well recognized surrealist who was born in Figueres, Catalonia Spain.

His work was truly one of a kind, and he was actually a skilled draftsman but he is better known for his memorable and often bizarre images in his surrealist work.  Few, however, know that he also did film, sculpture, and photography. His best-known work is painting is The Persistence of Memory which he painted in oil and completed in August 1931. In it are melting and distorted clocks pocket watches that are said to represent the erratic passage of time that we experience while dreaming.

The chair I was commissioned to do  is actually pays tribute to many of Dali’s works of art including Archeological Reminiscence of Millet’s Angelus on the front of the chair; The Temptation of Saint Anthony on the legs; Lincoln in Dali Vision on the back of the head; Atavistic Vestiges After the Rain on the back of the chair;  the symbolic melting clocks from The Persistence of a Memory on the center of the seat and along the right side of the chair; The Enigma of Desire on the seat; and an actual photograph of Dali for the for the head.

The result of the chair is a truly wonderful piece of functional art honoring this famous surrealist who often left us guessing as to what he was thinking.

This upcycled painted chair pays tribute to Renoir’s “By the Seashore” Impressionist painting. By the Seashore is was completed in 1883 and now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Renoir made a trip to Italy in 1881-82 and was very influenced by Renaissance art. After this trip, he began to explore a new manner of painting, different from impressionism. He started to emphasize contours and modeling, abandoned the principle that scenes should be painted outdoors to capture light and atmosphere.

Late in the summer of 1883, Renoir spent about a month in St. Peter Port, the capital of Guernsey, and admired the rocks, cliffs and stunning view of Moulin Huet Bay in St. Martin. He painted the starts of fifteen pictures during his stay, most of which were finished later in his Paris studio. Guernsey lies 48 km off the coast of mainland Normandy. Both share the same geology and Guernsey fulfills the “by the sea” criterion in the exhibition title.

However, By the Seashore is thought to have been painted in the artist’s studio. The beach depicted here is probably not in the Channel Islands but near Dieppe, on the Normandy coast. The model was Aline Charigot, his then girlfriend, whom he married in 1890. The arc of the sitter’s dark eyebrows and saucily tilted nose in that pleasant, rosy-cheeked face are common to works by Renoir.

I love the idea of the young woman’s posture by off to the side. It makes for a striking image. Thanks, as always, for supporting artists.