Rock Road Doorway

oil on prepared panel

7" x 5"

sold

This painting is of a back doorway of a private residence on Rock road in Glen Rock, New Jersey.
There is something about this piece that I really love. I think it's a combination of the color scheme and the composition. They say that if you find a composition in Nature that is 75% workable, then you are doing well. This composition is exactly as I found it, 100% perfect.
That is an incredibly rare thing to find out in the landscape, and it has only happened to me twice in 20+ years of painting. I also really like the way that the owners of this house have painted the doors, windows and trim different saturated tones. Lastly, I like that the three primary colors are represented here as a foil to the beautiful teal green clapboards and orange brickwork. There is something quite charming about doorways and windows found on these old houses in Bergen County that I just can't get enough of. I don't find that with most of the newer private home construction. There is a level of artistry in old architecture that is truly sublime which is getting harder and harder to find in new buildings.

One last note; I have started a second blog which will be dedicated to random thoughts about Art and Nature, and will be mainly used as a teaching tool for anyone who might be interested to learn a little bit about seeing as an Artist sees. I think it will be quite a lot of fun and very informative at the same time.
The URL is http://mark-oberndorf.blogspot.com/

It is still under construction, but I will get to it soon. I plan on having a mailing list for this blog as well as my primary blog, so if you are interested, please sign up or email me and I shall sign you up.

Thanks in advance!

Wyckoff NJ Fire Truck

This painting will be included in my upcoming show at Kerygma gallery opening March 27.
I will be painting a few more pieces for this show, so my offering of small paintings for sale on ebay will be a bit less frequent for the next couple of months. I want to publicly thank everyone who has purchased these little ones so far. I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart! This type of positive feedback means everything to me. I will try to offer a small painting a week on ebay, but I can't guarantee anything. Once I get going on the larger gallery work, I really go full tilt.

Lastly, I want to share a very insightful and moving few words with all of you. This quote is tacked up right outside my studio door so that I may read it every morning before I head inside for my days work. Please enjoy.........

"The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him...
a touch is a blow,
a sound is a noise,
a misfortune is a tragedy,
a joy is an ecstasy,
a friend is a lover,
a lover is a god,
and failure is death.

Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create----so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating."

Pearl Buck

Thanks once again!
www.kerygmagallery.com

Pizzaland

oil on prepared panel

5" x 7"

sold

This is Pizzaland located in North Arlington, New Jersey. If you are a viewer of the HBO series "The Sopranos", you might recognize this place from the opening credit montage. I think that the director of photography for that show is brilliant. So many scenes are shot to look like paintings. That opening sequence alone is beautifully done (in a run down, industrial, blue collar North Jersey sort of way). It's right up my alley in its aesthetic approach. I always knew that North Jersey had a peculiar beauty and charm to it. There really is nowhere else on earth like New Jersey (for good or ill). This caps off a complete Jersey day for me...a trip to the mall followed by a NJ Devils game. Might as well post a truly Jersey image to end my evening......not for nothin'.

Thanks for looking!

White Manna III

oil on prepared panel

5" x 7"

This painting will be included in my upcoming one person show at Kerygma gallery.

This is the next in what seems to be an ongoing series of paintings of the iconic White Manna hamburger stand located in Hackensack, New Jersey.
I can't get enough of this place for some reason. I drive past it a few times a week on my way to hockey practice and am drawn to it each and every time. It is just so paintable to me. I enjoy painting this place every time I do it. Artists usually have what we call a "motif #1" within their oeuvre. That is, a subject that they continually go back to throughout the years.....Monet had his water lillies, Van Gogh had sunflowers, Duane Keiser has peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Karin Jurick has people looking at Art in museums, Neil Hollingsworth has cherries and I have the White Manna. I can't explain it and I don't really think it needs an explanation. It's my Art.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Thanks for looking!

Fiesta Hut

oil on prepared panel

5" x 7"

sold

This piece depicts the Fiesta Hut Mexican restaurant which used to be located on Route 4 in Paramus, New Jersey. They closed this place in May 1999 after 27 years in business. The owners subsequently moved to a new location in East Rutherford, N.J., where they're still going strong. I personally preferred the old location much more than the new because of the fond memories I have of hanging out there with my knucklehead friends. We would go there on a weekly basis with our cooler full of liquid refreshments for some serious hard laughs and truly great authentic Mexican fare. This was way before any of us had wives or kids or any responsibilities at all. I sometimes wish that I could go back to that time and place just for a day.

While I'm on the subject of old friends, let me get a quick plug in for one of my oldest pals. My friend Barry is a truly gifted photographer who many years ago recruited me into his band to be the lead singer. I soon realized that I wasn't meant to be a singer, so I found my way into painting instead. Smartest move I have ever made! Barry stopped playing the guitar (too bad, he was very talented!), and soon found his true calling. Please check out his website at www.barrymorgenstein.com

Muchos gracias!!

Church In Snow

oil on prepared panel

6" x 6"

sold

This painting is of a wonderful old church located in Maywood, New Jersey. I was driving along Maywood Avenue on this day as I have done countless other days, except that I happened to glance over at this church and was totally awestruck by it. I don't know why I never really noticed this church on prior drive pasts, but on this day I was pulled to it by some force greater than myself. I had to screech to a stop, pull the car over and photograph and sketch this chapel on the spot. I firmly believe that I am drawn to certain subjects for reasons I can't even begin to explain. I think I shall be painting many more churches in the months ahead.
One other interesting point regarding this piece... I was applying the finishing touches on the cross at the apex of the building at about 7:00 one morning this past Christmas week, and happened to look up over my easel out through my front studio window to see one of the most heartstopping sunrises that I have ever witnessed. I was totally mesmerized and awestruck once again by this display of natural beauty. I am totally convinced that something much greater than myself is guiding me through my painting career. I have been put on this planet to do what I do and that is about as powerful a feeling as any human being can hope to ever experience.

Thanks for looking!