Burlesque, Brooklyn, Roller Derby and Realism. The Paintings of Curt Hoppe.

above: Dottie's Birthday, oil on linen,64" x 56"

With a keen eye for composition, a deft hand for realism, and an inherent knack for finding interesting subject matter, painter Curt Hoppe immortalizes his surroundings, people and objects in an impressive and aesthetically captivating style with acrylic and oil paints on canvas and linen.

Hot Copy:

The Hustler, Money Shot:

Sunbather:


Born and raised in Minnesota, the 61 year old New York based painter is also a talented photographer and sculptor. Citing pop culture, Madison Avenue and politics and some of his influences, he is moved by his obsession at the moment and his environment.*


above left: the artist sits under a painting of his in Sam's Restaurant, East Hampton and above right; striking a pose (on the far left) under the John Jovino Gun store in 1975

Roller Derby Queens, the Hamptons, Burlesque, the Punk music scene, New York restaurants and portraits are amongst his intriguing repertoire. Here are just a few of my favorite paintings of his.

John Gotti on Mulberry Street:

Luna Restuarant, Mulberry Street, New York

Yonak Shimmel Knish Bakery, New York:

Sip n' Soda, South Hampton:

John Jovino, Firearms on Baxter Street:

Grotta Azzura, Little Italy:

Dottie:

Coney Island Fire Eater:

Baby Ruthless:

Lux Alptram (aka Joey Hardcore XXX) Gotham Girl Queens of Pain:

Sugar Smack Gotham Girls:

Suzy Hot Rod Changes Wheels:

Suzy Hotrod:

Italian American:

Eye Opener:

You Wish:

Lou's Game:

High Heels:

High Heels (in Curt's studio):

Gal Friday in Curt's studio:


Recent work of Curt's shows the subjects standing in front of their portraits:

above: Clayton Patterson, acrylic on canvas 96" x 70", 2010-11 / Arturo Vega, acrylic on canvas 96" x 70", 2010 / Kurt Thometz, acrylic on Canvas 96" x 70", 2011




* 2007 interview with Curt Hoppe

A recent interview with Curt Hoppe:


all paintings and images were used with the express permission of the artist, please do not reproduce - but feel free to share the link!

Curt Hoppe
98 Bowery 4th Fl.
New York, NY 10013

Yep, These Are Paintings. Trees On A Line by Trey Friedman.

Trey Friedman's most recent series of paintings, Trees On A Line, was inspired by a particular tree lined road in rural Connecticut which he isolated to 170 trees he routinely returned to render and observe.

Aerial photo of the trees:


The straight half mile stretch of farmland consisted mostly of of Sugar Maple trees, which the property owner estimates average an age of 150 years with some as old as 250 years.

Numbered photos of the trees:


Beginning in 2004, he began to paint the trees in oil, one by one. Inspired by William Beckman and Chuck Close, he co-opted dead-center compositions and in his words " exchanged the egocentrism of human self-portraiture for the ego centrism of arboreal portraiture."



From life, drawings, oil sketches and photos, Trey transferred an initial drawing, using a grid as a guide, laying in paint square by square with a tiny brush on smooth primed canvas or cradled woodboard panels.

Grid Sketches:

and next to the final art (shown larger later in the post):


Charcoal Drawings and studies:


Averaging 24 x 32 inches, the paintings are rendered in a photographically realist manner. After three months of drying, Trey applied one to five layers of color glazes (with two weeks time between each glaze) to get the light and texture just right.

It's hard to believe the following are paintings and not photographs:













Trey Friedman is represented by Gallery Henoch.