Strike Up The Band!

Strike Up The Band!, 30x48", watercolor and mixed media 

My daily painting has been interrupted much of this past year with several big commissions, which always take many weeks/months to complete. I did this one for the New Orleans Opera in April for their annual ball. The theme: Gershwin Strikes Up The Band. I painted George at the piano (the name of the piano is NOAA, New Orleans Opera Association, with the year 2011), along with many hidden references to his life and the musical. There's an opera ticket in his pocket to a NOOA performance of Porgy & Bess we did this past season and that's my piccolo and orchestra folder lying on the piano.