"First Night"

Here's what newbury looks like now:

Here's what it will look like soon!!

I'm looking forward to working and studying in the studio. I hope to walk across the block to Copley Square and check out some of the ice sculptures. Warmer weather: good for spectators, bad for ice sculptures. It's supposed to reach 50 degrees on New Year's Day, perhaps I'll be painting in front of the studio!!

"Newbury @ Night (Niketown)"

Oil on canvas, 2010, 24" x 36" $3,250.00.

So I finally got up the

nerve to set up RIGHT ON THE CORNER OF

EXETER AND NEWBURY ON A SATURDAY NIGHT!

It took nerve because the spot I wanted to paint is right in front of

Stephanie's outside dining area, also right in front

of the valet parking zone. The sidewalk is

excruciatingly narrow right there as well.

The positive aspects of painting here are many.

First of all when everyone is watching it

makes me want to develop the piece quickly

and accurately so that no one asks me what

I'm painting (they can [hopefully] see what it is).

Also I have impetus for speed because It's so

busy with the valets rushing around and

I don't want to be in their way. These stimuli help me

set up strict parameters which reflect in the vivid loose

treatments in the picture. I painted there four separate times.

I also fine tuned some elements in the studio.

"Reflecting Pool with Fountain"

This piece is now sold. In the distance you can see the children playing in the fountain on a hot summer day. The two young ladies walking in the foreground are my tribute to the culture of the Harajuku section of Tokyo.

Oil on canvas, 2009, 36" x 24"

"South Station"

This piece is now sold. It was really exciting to paint down near South Station and I can't wait to do more pieces expressing this area.

Oil on Canvas, 2010, 11" x 14"

Boston Skyline with Guy Feeding Birds

This painting is now sold. It was the first piece that I painted while Marc Morin was present working on a separate landscape. It was started on Memorial Drive one early morning in late October and then finished in the studio.

Oil on Canvas, 2010, 18" x 24"

Critic's Pick by Cate McQuaid in today's Boston Globe!!

So excited to see the small write up of "Concept and Reaction" in today's Boston Globe!!

Ms McQuaid had only good things to say about our humble exhibit. Marc and I are so proud to be Boston Artists, and we're confident that this show exemplifies our reverence for the city that we live and work in.

Boston (and the world) come visit Newbury Street in Winter and check out

 "Concept and Reaction"

Culver Rap_mpeg4.mp4

Someone has made a response to my rap about painting in Boston

Here's my rap:

Twin Shogun lays the beat, Sean Boyce Busts the Rhyme.

Here's the rap from LA

Newbury and Dartmouth in the Snow at Night

Oil on canvas, 22" x 24", 2010, $2,100.00 This piece was painted over the  course of the winter of 2009, all en plein aire.  At least one painting session occured while it was actually snowing (hard)  The effects of the snowflakes on my oils  were kind of cool. The snow chunks bound up in the oils creating clumpy,  gritty textures. Another factor that  manifested during that session was fear. While I was painting I could here  a group of rowdy guys hanging out loudly  somewhere nearby. I thought they were in front of what used to be Joe's  over on Dartmouth and Newbury.  (It's now The Met Bar). I could hear their guffawing and threatening  snowball type comments to passers by.  I even heard one girl standing up for herself saying, "You wouldn't throw  one at a pregnant woman would you?"  I heard the group reluctantly acquiesce but just barely. I was getting  nervous because I surmised that if they  noticed me stationed at my easel painting on Newbury Street, in the snow,  at night, they would almost have  no choice in their alcohol fueled, neanderthal pack mentality, but to target  me with snowballs. Not wanting  to deal with such matters, I hurriedly got what I could out of that very exciting  and productive session, packed  it up, and got under cover. The blue awnings on the left of the painting with  the gold dots on them were  emblematic of Joe's American Bar and Grille at that address for years. Now  Joe's has moved one block up  to Newbury and Exeter.

Painting 14 Hours A Day

"Looking Down on Newbury", oil on canvas, 2010, 24" x 36" sold.

Well I've reached my goal of being able to paint for fourteen hours a day. I've been doing it for three to four days a week up in the studio for a few months now. I'm starting to gain traction in my development artistically. I continue to seek inspiration and knowledge from the vibrant Boston Art Scene, hitting galleries and studios all over whenever I can.

Complete Online Catalogue for "Concept and Reaction"

Finally I've got the online catalogue for this awesome show complete. Whew! Now that the show is almost over and a portion of the pieces are already sold, you can browse online to your heart's content. Just click on the giant hot pink link below.

"Concept and Reaction"

A Series of Contradictory Boston Paintings by
Marc Morin and Sean Boyce

Come by Sean Boyce Studios and check them out in real life!!!!

Photo Shoot

I'm getting ready for a photo shoot over at the studio today. Not sure what we'll come up with, Thomas, Schiavelli and myself, but it will be cool, and I'll post some cool pics from it on here and all over.

I've been getting back to my commission work after "Concept and Reaction" has started to subside a bit.

(Lots of red dots on the walls but still a few choice deals left.

I've been working on a piece for the upcoming children's book by Ryan SanAngelo called "Bye Bye
Balloon".

I've got twenty six small yet detail oriented oil paintings to do for the book so I'm knocking them out one by one.

I smashed out a few of the simpler pieces to get warmed up, now my plan is to tackle the more difficult ones so that I can get out of the woods a bit.

All the paintings will be done by March 1, 2010.

All day yesterday I worked on the double page layout treatment of The Running of the Bulls in Pamplona Spain.

It's definitely one of the most ambitious of the images needed for the book. Funny though, I'm finding that even images I thought I would breeze thru are more involved than I had surmised.

No need to worry though, I'll get 'er done on time and amazingly.

South Station

"South Station", Oil on canvas, 11" x 14", 2010, $350.00

Who doesn't love South Station? If you're there it means you're going somewhere cool or (definitely) getting somewhere cool  BOSTON!

You've got Regina Pizzeria, sun drenched rooms with huge vaulted ceilings, travel, drama, adventure, food, books, magazines, TRAINS, busses, it's a real hoot.

So here is my third picture that focuses mainly on South Station. When we were deciding where to set up, Marc was saying he wanted to be inside looking at the trains - which is a great idea. I wound up choosing this angle because of the cool window pane designs on the roofs of the subway entrances, and for the cool shot down Summer Street (a nod to all the great artists at Fort Point too!)

I can't wait to paint South Station again and again and I must mention that Marc's version of this place is one of my favorite in the show "Concept and Reaction"  

I also should mention the painting by Sean Flood of the same subject that I saw at The Distillery Gallery in South Boston in November that is one of my most favorite paintings that I've seen in a long time.

Concept and Reaction Art Reception

Thanks so much to everyone that came out to the opening reception for "Concept and Reaction". It was quite fun. Here are a few pictures!!

Kerri McCarthy, Marc Morin and Sean Boyce

Lots of cool art lovers!

Concept and Reaction

Here is a link to the most current web exhibit available corresponding with the upcoming show in Boston entitled "Concept and Reaction", Paintings by Marc Morin and Sean Boyce.

December 3, - 31, 2010

Sean Boyce Studios, 162 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116

Reception: Saturday December 4, 2010, 5:30-7:30

"Concept and Reaction"

Biff Meets Sally's Father

The awkward meeting of the girlfriends father.

Click Comic to make it Bigger.

Hatch Street Holiday Sale

I will show work in New Bedford at The Hatch Street Holiday Sale for the fifth year in a row tomorrow.
I enjoy being a part of The New Bedford Art Scene, and hope to continue and foster this cool connection I have.

The show starts on Friday November 27th and runs through Sunday November 28th, 2010.

Commonwealth Ave in Springtime

Oil on panel, 9" x 12", 2010, SOLD

This piece was actually begun on Easter morning, 2010. I was getting ready to leave the studio for the cape since Boston was certainly closed for business that beautiful Sunday morning, (also - luckily - I was heading down to be with my family).

But when I got outside the weather and the city were so nice I couldn't leave right away. (I find I often have a hard time leaving Boston - 'cause it's so wonderful).

So I turned around, hiked up the three easy flights of stairs to Sean Boyce Studios, grabbed my paintbox, ran down to Commonwealth Ave, and started having at it.

 While I was painting, I noticed a guy taking pictures in the distance. He was also obviously spell bound by that beautiful spring morning amidst the blooming dogwood trees, fresh April air, and stately townhouses.

I recognized the photographer as Charlie Wang, a contemporary of mine in the Boston Art Scene. Mr. Wang has been selling prints of his Boston theme watercolor and oil paintings on the corner of Dartmouth Street and Newbury for about ten years now. He stopped and we talked for a few minutes then he continued photographing on his way.

A few weeks later Mr. Wang said,

        "Come here Sean, I have something to show you"

He rifled through a stack of his prints and pulled out a beautiful Spring scene of Commonwealth Avenue - the same I had painted. as my eyes greedily ate up the painting I noticed a lone figure in the left foreground. It was a painter, set up at his easel working - it was me!

I was so honored to be included in Charlie's canon that I had to of course support the arts and buy the print.

So if you want to crack Charlie up and support my imminent meteoric rise to stardom go up to him and ask for the Commonwealth Avenue Spring scene with Sean Boyce at the easel in it!! 

Public Garden with Duck Statues

Oil on canvas, 11" x 14", 2010, SOLD
Well I finally caved and painted the duck statues. I believe my integrity can withstand the risk. I did marvel to the book as a child (and am still quite impressed with it). Also I hope I got an angle that hasn't been done to death (or done). I let the rising slope of Boston Common shine in the background and sprinkled it with shimmering peppermint stick - like buildings. (everyone sees Boston that way - right?).

Chalk this up to the influence from the very tenacious street artists Charlie Wang and Fei Yung among many other luminary artistic figures from Boston.'

"Looking Down on Newbury"

Oil on canvas, 2010, 24" x 36" SOLD This piece was started when the restaurant across from my studio was called Bouchee - and they had a mean flourless chocolate cake. In the middle right section of the main building you can see a blue obelisk, that used to be the sign. The space is now Papa Razzi. On the left you can see Tricycle Louie - a Newbury Street Character known for his pedaling and vocal signaling up and down the busy sidewalks. There are three figures seated at the table that were inspired by dramatis personae from "In The Night Cafe" by Vincent Van Gogh. The figure in the middle of the dining area who is slumped over the table in utter defeat - although not altogether an uncommon sight on Newbury Street (unfortunately) - wouldn't last long in an actual outdoor dining establishment before being escorted out. The couple at the table right behind this lamentable gentleman who are obviously feeling rather amorous towards one another also first appeared in all their lustful glory in Van Gogh's unspeakably beautiful masterpiece.

Biff The Cyberpunk

Click on the comic to see it better

Concept and Reaction Rap

Twin Shogun lays the beat, Sean Boyce Busts the Rhyme.

"Downtown with Whaling Museum"

Oil on Canvas, 24" x 36", 2010 

This piece was created specifically for my exhibit entitled "Atlantic Awe" which is on display at 88 Hatch Street in New Bedford, MA. For five years now I've been participating in the Hatch Street Holiday Sale. 

15 Years ago I was in an art gallery in Hyannis called Artistic Appetites. On view were some paintings of New Bedford that really struck me. I wish that I had learned the name of the artist, I have researched it online a bit but turned up nothing yet. The works were so beautiful. There was the red hues of the lonely factory buildings, the empty streets, the abandoned industrial structures and unused railroad tracks which expressed (almost over-dramatically) but very poignantly the rise and fall of what was once one of the wealthiest cities in the country. These paintings appealed to me on many levels. There was the immediate reaction I had their nuance and content, but next came the catalysis of memory. Walking through the cobblestone streets with my parents as a young boy, I felt as though this particular place had remained untouched somehow by time. Apart from the visceral, violent, and mythical appeal of the compartments I'd found in the halls of The Whaling Museum, I recall the strange nautical articles that confronted me in the stores downtown. There was a huge brass sword hung on the wall in one of the shops that I became obsessed with. It embodied the myths of Lewis Carroll's Vorpal Sword from "The Jabberwocky", as well as the tale of King Arthur's sword in the stone.  I resolved that one day I should have that weapon.

    This has yet come to pass although I do have a small collection of pretty cool other swords.

    I have been back to New Bedford many times since viewing those paintings in an attempt to capture a bit of that magic that I once endured through the art. I have painted on the side of Route 195 West the old antique store which is now gone.

 "Coggeshall Street"

Oil on canvas, 16" x 20", 2008

This scene is one I've wanted to paint since I was a little kid. New Bedford has always been a fascinating place for me with it's nautical history, ethnic diversity, and working class culture. It always seemed to me a place of adventure and danger as well. The scene depicted here to me is an iconic New Bedford shot with the McDonald's tower I've driven by so many times and the giant worn out factory building in the foreground (which has since been torn down). When I set out to paint it I walked around the area for a while trying to figure out how to get the shot without setting up my easle right next to 195 because I didn't want to look like a psycho. But I wound up having to do just that. Luckily, there were no strange incidents other than a painter standing practically in the commuter traffic amid the highway detrius for a few hours.

The above featured painting isn't included in this year's Hatch Street Holiday Sale because I was too busy to travel to Woods Hole to retrieve it from my Pie in the Sky exhibit.

Instead I chose these seven paintings to commemorate the awe (and that's the full, actual proper use of a very beat up word) I feel when I'm in proximity of The Atlantic Ocean

"Atlantic Awe"

"Atlantic Awe"

"Atlantic Awe", seven Sean Boyce paintings at the "Hatch Street Studios Holiday Sale", 88 Hatch Street, New Bedford, MA, 02745 November 26, 27, +28 http://ow.ly/3b0Nf find out more at http://hatchstreetstudios.com/events.html

The Itinerant Nature of "Concept and Reaction"

Kemore Square, Harvard Square, Brighton Center, Newbury Street, look out Boston we're gonna paint you!

One of my coolest goals in conjunction with having a studio in Boston was to be able to foray out on my bicycle and create oil paintings all over the city. Bicycling is important because hauling my car around town is difficult, costly, and in many cases, very time sensitive (two hours to be specific). Public transportation is great but, when you're done, try bringing a wet oil painting on a crowded Orange Line Train. Commuters don't appreciate these brightly colored spots on their clothes that only can be removed (if you're lucky) with turpentine.

This video clip (starts) to pontificate about the peripatetic nature of the production phase of the upcoming painting exhibit in Boston entitled "Concept and Reaction" in that Marc and myself are bicycle nomads in the city creating the body of work.


Unfortunately the video was interrupted by the inevitable flow of commerce inherent in any artistic activity commensurate with sophisticated marketing techniques and disciplined, inspired content.

Concept and Reaction Blurb #6

Marc Morin and myself have been bicycling to different Boston locations all week hammering out oil studies in preparation for "Concept and Reaction" to be exhibited at Sean Boyce Studios, 162 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116 from December 3 - 31, 2010. Each artist will exhibit 10 paintings painted concurrently, all in a format of 11" x 14".

"Concept and Reaction" Press Release

Boston Landmarks Seen Anew in "Concept and Reaction"

BOSTON, Mass., November 8, 2010 -- Boston art icon Sean Boyce and emerging artist Marc Morin join talent to showcase their wildly dueling interpretations of Boston landmarks in their new show, "Concept and Reaction." 

The works are created en pleine aire in 10 different locations in and around Boston, including Kenmore Square, Brighton Center and Boston Common. The series of paintings will be displayed at the opening in pairs, meant to highlight the stark differences in approach and expression in the works. The show will feature the series of 20 urban scenes in oil paint on 11” x 14” canvas.

The inherent clash of their perspectives drove the artists together. Boyce, a self-taught artist and Newbury Street studio owner flexes his years of commercial sensibility against Morin, a classically trained graduate of the Art Institute of Boston. “Where Morin’s expressions tend to be somber, stark and foreboding, my efforts stride towards light, almost candy-coated depictions of life,” says Boyce.

At first, the idea of working together wasn’t a natural fit for either artist. “When we first saw each other’s art, we wondered how this could even work – what with the age difference, the schooling difference. But, it’s a relationship that we both get something from,” Morin explains.

The artists find energy in the project itself. “I am happy to hang back and get residual knowledge [from Morin], and I hope, humbly, that he will have something to learn from me as well,” says Bryce. 

“Concept and Reaction” will take place at The Sean Boyce Studios located at 162 Newbury Street, Floor 4, in Boston. The opening reception is Saturday, December 4, 2010, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Gallery hours are Thursday through Saturday 12 - 5:30 p.m., Sunday 12 - 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. 

About the Artists

Sean Boyce, a self taught painter is known for his colorful renditions of both rural and urban landscapes in Massachusetts and surrounding areas. While many of these scenes are realistically rendered, they teeter on the line of abstraction due largely to his arbitrary use of color. While Sean bends color choices to his whim, his innate ability to create evocative color and his intuitive marks allow for a magnificent contrast between the well-rendered forms and his unexpected palette. This effect is often derived from the rhythm and emotion he is immersed in while painting en plein aire. The feeling translates through each of his pieces as his unique perception of the world. For more information, please see:http://www.seanboycestudios.com/


Marc Morin, a graduate of the Art Institute of Boston, studied abroad at the Lorenzo de’Medici School in Florence, Italy. He attributes a great amount of influence on his perspective and approach to his studies there; Morin connected with the Italian landscape and city in terms of emotion and romanticism and then carried these impressions to the canvas. Since then, his solo and group shows in Boston, Springfield and Central Massachusetts draw steady interest. Morin’s paintings are unforgettable, monumental environments painted in dramatic light with colors and texture often conveying a somber mood. He welcomes the viewer into his vignettes by confronting them with a pull of emotion, followed by a play on the idea of what is hidden and unhidden about our origin. In response to this, Morin calls his body of work “a landscape of the mind.” For more information, please see: http://www.marcmorinpainter.com/ 

Contact:
Sean Boyce, Director
Sean Boyce Studios
(508) 524-2894
www.seanboycestudios.com

Press Release by:
Kerri McCarthy
Kerri.fine.art@gmail.com

Concept and Reaction, Blurb #5

In this video I discuss the semantics behind the title of "Concept and Reaction"

Boston Skyline with Guy Feeding Birds

Oil on canvas, 18" x 24", 2010, $2,500.00.

This is the first painting I worked on en plein aire with Marc Morin. We ran into each other at the reception for 

Tom Grady: Domestic Bliss

and:

Sean Farrell: The Influence of Italy
October 14- November 12.

At The Copley Society on Newbury Street in Boston.

We got to talking about painting and decided to meet on Memorial Drive the next morning @ 8:00 am. 

I was a bit late for the meeting but we set up and hammered out some nice  oil studies.

During production I was taken aback by the stark differences in Marc's and my own approach to portraying the same subject.

I remarked that his rendition of The Charles River looked like the viewer had been gifted with the ability to detect visually all of the oil that was presently hidden within the velveteen folds of water before them.

There was a brutal, almost apocalyptic quality to it.

Later he brought the same piece up to my studio after he had finished it at his place and again, I was bowled over by the distinct brooding sense of loneliness he had expressed in his, especially with reference to the empty, black silhouette of a park bench so conspicuously placed in the foreground.

It reminded me also of the importance Marc had placed on the park bench when choosing his subject, therefore the strategies that had gone into the making of this piece for him.

I laughed a bit at how differently I had engineered my image. I feel like I like to just marvel at how amazing something looks and then let that be interpreted through me somehow. I often joke that,

       "I just let Boston paint the picture for me". But Marc appears to have very specific goals for the outcome of his piece. http://seanboycestudios.com

Concept and Reaction, Blurb #5

Further description about the dichotomy between Marc's painting style and my own.

This is getting close to the essence (as far as verbal interpretation of the show)

Concept and Reaction: Twenty Oil Paintings

In this video I further describe the upcoming Boston Art Exhibit entitled "Concept and Reaction", Paintings by Marc Morin and Sean Boyce. Each video post will bring you closer to knowing about the themes and ideas behind the exhibit which will be on view at Sean Boyce Studios Dec 3 - 31


Video Blurb

Spike in Art Sales at Sean Boyce Studios

Demand is rising in the City of Boston for original Sean Boyce oil paintings as three were sold this weekend.

From top to bottom: "Boston in Autumn with Skateboarder", oil on canvas, 9" x 12", 2010
                                 "The Sirens of Sippewisett", oil on canvas, 18" x 24", 2010
                                 "Dawn Skyline", oil on canvas, 8" x 16", 2008.

Perhaps the economy is coming back or my business plan is so crazy it just might work.

Either way this is an exciting time over at Sean Boyce Studios at 162 Newbury Street in Boston, MA.

Don't worry there are still some original oils left and I'm working on more all the time plus my ubiquitous commission work.

Plus with the upcoming show there will be new smaller format oils of local urban scenes available. (11" x 14")

Sean Boyce Studios

Nestled in the heart of The Boston Gallery District, high above the hubbub of Newbury Street, is this oasis of creativity and fun.
Please visit
Sean Boyce Studios
162 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02116
open Thursday through Saturday 12:00 - 5:30
and Sunday 12 - 5
or by appointment
(508) 524-2894
http://seanboycestudios.com

sean@seanboycestudios.com

"Brighton Center in the Rain" Oil on canvas, 11" x 14", 2010

Marc Morin and myself were painting in the rain Thursday morning (November 4) in Brighton Center. It was pretty cool. I really wanted to be inside this really neat cafe I was next to on Washington Street. It's got a great sign picture of bacon and eggs that made me wish I wasn't soaking wet, cold, and covered in oil paint. But it was worth the effort. It gave me renewed vigor to look across the street and see a fellow painter working in the same imperfect conditions. The power of the elements gnawing at my phalanges and materials lent urgency to the painting process that I think has come through in the picture. For more information about the upcoming exhibit go to "Concept and Reaction" (and click on the little tiny "i" for info.

Sean Boyce in New York City

I was lucky enough to spend a few days in the big apple. I checked out The Guggenheim. And I pounded the pavement down in Chelsea a bit. The picture shows me a little jagged, stumbling out of my Art Wagon on Eighth Avenue and 34th Street after a bumpy five hour drive down 95. I've made a few forays into New York, and soon will have high quality representation down there (I'll always be a Boston artist though).