Hidden Assets

This is one of my larger pieces. It's of some importance items hidden away on the back of a painting. The stock certificate of The New York Central Railroad Company was once a prized asset in the 19th century, but now is a worthless piece of paper.The title of the company is hidden by the money to spell The New Company an ironic twist to what has happened over the years.
The choice of the back side of a fifty dollar bill was chosen because I wanted a play on the word "capital". Another ironic twist, the stock is now worthless and there's Washington at the center of it. Trompe o'leil is filled with hidden mesages and ironies, they can make some pieces more successful than others.Sometimes the concept can be just as important as the execution.
The signature on this piece is on the stock itself among all the other signatures. I rarely sign my work in the typical right hand corner.

Awaiting The Master

It's hard to believe that at one time smoking was so acceptable that painting of smoking paraphernalia were sought after. Not quite the case today. This piece is a good example of how two different trompe l'oiel artist have influenced my work. The subject matter is something Harnett would have painted, but the screws along with a torn off tag is a Haberle motif.
These painting are small, quick and fun to do. I'm now working on some larger pieces that take hundreds of hours to do, but work like this makes for a nice break.