Miss America Diner - Jersey City, New Jersey

First stage of underpainting completed...

Here is a link to the Bergen Record article about the billboard competition...

More billboard news

That was a good long time between posts, was it not? Oh well, this only happens once in a lifetime, so what the heck!

I just wanted to mention a few things...

First, I am featured once again on a great blog called "Paint Blog"

Secondly, I am being interviewed and having a photo shoot at my studio tomorrow with the Wyckoff Suburban News for a feature article.

Next, I will find out tomorrow morning what time I will be interviewed and filmed in front of the billboard by News12 NJ, a local television station.

I will also be in a local newspaper called "The Villadom Times" sometime next week.

Also, don't forget to pick up this Sunday's Bergen Record newspaper for an article and photo of me at the billboard site.

On top of all of this, I have to get some paintings completed for a one person show next season at Kerygma Gallery

I will update this blog if I have any other interesting news to share.

Thanks!!!

Billboard- part 2

This is the last post I will make on this blog for a good long while, I promise! Just had to get one night shot up...

Don't forget to look in this coming Sunday's Bergen Record newspaper for an article about the competition.

I will be back posting to this blog whenever I make some progress on the Miss America painting...

Billboard!!!

Well, it is finally up!!! The location is Route 46 East and Abbott Ave., in Palisades Park, NJ. The best view of it is on 46 Westbound, but you can pull into the Sunoco station on 46 East and Abbott Ave., if you are inclined to do so.

If you will indulge me for a moment, I have to write down some random ramblings.......First of all, because I am an obsessive nutjob, I got to the location at 7:00 AM only to wait until the workers showed up at 11:00. (I had no idea when they were scheduled to get there.)

Okay, so the guys proceed to climb up the ladders in the 95 degree heat to start installing this thing, when I realized that as they were unfurling it that it was in fact not my image, but one of the other contestants winning entries! My heart sank like a rock at that point. Then, I start yelling up to them that it is the wrong billboard. (I have to say that these 3 guys were some of the nicest people you would ever want to meet.) They called the home office of CBS outdoor and after some explaining, the sales rep for my billboard actually loaded the correct one into his car and drove it to the location where it was supposed to be installed. This was an amazingly kind thing for this man to do for me. I have nothing but praise for the 4 of you gentlemen who helped put this together for me this morning! As you can see, everything worked out in the end, and I am thrilled beyond words over this! I can't tell you how surreal it was to watch this billboard go up! Wow! I have to find out what happens to the billboard once it comes down in about 4 weeks. I would love to have it so that I can hang it on the side of my house! I'm sure the neighbors will be thrilled about that!

So, that closes this chapter in my very interesting art career......Thanks again to everyone who took the time to vote for my paintings, to Palisades Insurance Company for sponsoring this and to CBS outdoor for a job well done!!! Now I can finally get back to the easel and finish this Miss America painting!

One last note: I am meeting with Jim Beckerman from the Bergen Record newspaper and his photographer tomorrow afternoon for a photo shoot in front of the billboard. I will be in this coming Sunday's paper regarding this amazing story. Thanks so much to everyone once again!!!

Billboard Location - Route 46 and Ruby Ave, Palisades Park, NJ

WYCKOFF ARTIST’S WORKTO BE FEATURED IN

NEW JERSEY’S FIRST-EVER HIGHWAY ART GALLERY

Mark Oberndorf’s Art Piece Named Winner in Statewide Competition to

Help Beautify NJ’s Highways

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ – August 10, 2009 – Congratulations to Mark Oberndorf of Wyckoff, whose NJ-inspired landscape entitled “Bendix Diner” was announced as one of 13 winning pieces in the Palisades Highway Art Gallery competition. His painting will bedisplayed on Rt. 46 at Ruby Ave. – Bergen County beginning the week of August 17, making passersby smile every time they drive by.

“Being named a winner in this competition is one of the most amazing things to happen in my career,” said Oberndorf. “I think that the whole idea is really unique and I’m so excited to be a part of it.”

Oberndorf is a contemporary realist painter whose mission is to document "fast vanishing" Bergen County structures using oil paint on linen canvas, though the subjects of his collective work span the nation. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Rider University and has studied his craft with the Art Students' League in New York City. Oberndorf's work has appeared at the Sola Gallery, Provincetown, Mass.; the J. Richards Gallery in Englewood, NJ; the Lois Richards Gallery in Greenwich, Conn.; and the Kerygma Gallery in Ridgewood, NJ.

The Palisades Highway Art Gallery is the state’s first-ever highway art gallery, using prominent billboards to display the work of local artists throughout New Jersey. The initiative was officially launched on July 13^th with the unveiling of two billboards by renowned New Jersey artists Tim Daly of Hoboken and Gary Godbee of Westfield. The contest inspired state artists to submit over 940 original paintings, drawings, photography and mixed media interpretations of the state’s beautiful landscapes to the Palisades Drive With a Smile Web site. Visitors to the site viewed the submissions and voted for their favorites pieces over four weeks this summer. In the end, Mark Oberndorf’s “Bendix Diner” was one of the public’s top favorites and selected to be one of the featured artists of the Palisades Highway Art Gallery. All submissions to the Highway Art Gallery are on display on the Palisades Drive With a Smile Web site.

The Palisades Highway Art Gallery is the first initiative of the Palisades Drive With a Smile campaign, with the goal to remind drivers about the best the Garden State has to offer and create nicer New Jersey driving moments and more smiles all around. For more information about the Drive with a Smile campaign or the Palisades Highway Art Gallery, visit Palisades.com/DriveWithaSmile.

Palisades Art Competition

The competition is over and my painting of the Bendix Diner has been chosen as a winning entry!

I want to thank everyone who took the time to vote for my work. I really appreciate your help with this; I could not have done it without everyone's generous support! I will post the location of the billboard as soon as I find out.

Thank you all very much once again!

Please click here to view a complete list of winners.

Miss America Diner - Jersey City, New Jersey

Still going on this one...

Please click on the link below and cast your last minute votes for my paintings if you have time. Voting ends tomorrow night at midnight, so any help would be greatly appreciated. There are quite a few photographs way ahead of me in votes which are very generic as far as subject matter goes. I was under the assumption that this contest was focusing on the state of New Jersey, but some of the photos could have been taken anywhere. Oh well, whatever...I will hope for the best and see what happens. Thanks again for your help with this.

Vote here...