Once Upon a Town - A Fairytale Painting

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Once Upon a Town at the Jacoby Arts Center

Once upon a time, earlier this year, a local toy store was closing their doors due to a called small business loan. The towns people of Edwardsville rallied behind the friendly folks at Happy Up Toys, owners of Once Upon a Toy, by creating a social media frenzy to save the toy store. With a crowd funding campaign to raise the necessary $75,000 to secure the loan, the community of toy-loving fans succeeded by raising more than enough to keep the land of play open. 

I was honored to be a part of the community that made it happen. The experience was an inspirational event showcasing peoples ability to come together for a common cause... helping a neighbor in need. The experience was powerful enough to me to create Once Upon a Town that celebrates the true fairytale story.  

mmmmmmmm. Bacon.

Who doesn't love bacon?! Even my most Jewish of friends love the stuff, or at very least salivate at its mere mention. As a culinary want-a-be myself, bacon is breathing. And still, my son loves it more than I do. 

As most culinary challenges that peek my curiosity, the makin' of bacon presented itself as my next cooking challenge. With one call to my local butcher, Edwardsville Frozen Foods, I was awarded with nine pounds of pork belly. Eight days of brining, two hours of smoking and 10 minutes of frying later, this is what I created:

A lot of my paintings are inspired, or come directly from images that I have captured with my iPhone and shared on my Instagram feed. My painting, Slabs of Bacon, is an adapted oil painting from one such Instagram image:

While I might not be the right artist to paint a photo-realist painting of a photo like the one above, I certainly was the right artist to attempt to paint Slabs of Bacon in my own style. What developed is what I think is a real quirky and funny painting ... of bacon. Why I chuckle at it, I don't know. Maybe its the idea of the simplicity of slabs of meat on a cutting board. Maybe its funny how bacon has exploded into a pop-culture phenomenon, and now its being immortalized in an oil painting. I don't know, but bacon makes me happy, and so does this painting. What do you think of it?

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Slabs of Bacon

$625.00

Slabs of Bacon
oil on canvas
30" x 30" 

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Next Window Please - The Northside Dairy Bar

​On the way out of Edwardsville, on the North side of town, there stands Northside Dairy Haven. I've called it Northside Dairy Bar since I was a a kid, and that's what my kids call it today. 

There, you can get a shake, a malt, a twisty cone, a burger, hotdog and fried thingies. Not at all spectacular, but every bit of local charm makes your experience there better than expected. ​This is a slice of the Americana landscape that is slowly disappearing, but lingers on because of the few that still believe. 

This painting, Northside Dairy Bar, pairs well with my painting, Litchfield in the genre of capturing the Midwest Americana experience that surrounds me. If you'd like to learn a little more about this place and what I get to see everyday, read more about it on the Sauce Magazine blog.

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Northside Dairy Bar

$937.50

Northside Dairy Bar
oil on canvas
40 x 30 inches

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Trinity – a Triptych

The triptych comes from the Middle Ages and was the preferred painting format for Christian church alters. The title of this piece, Trinity, was purposeful, but probably subconsciously connected to my Catholic past. In culinary terms, the trinity refers mainly to three standard ingredients from a chef's mis en place - celery, carrots and onions (which gives me an idea for another triptych painting) generally used at the start of many dishes.

I simply chose the title Trinity for the power of threes – the knife-fork-spoon trio, the three canvas triptych, and the title of Trinity. While I agree that it could go way deeper than that, I'll leave that up to the art historians. What do you think?

Trinity sold to a collector in Wyoming in June of 2013.

Trinity Giclée Prints Triptych (set of three 13 x 19 inches)

$187.50

You are purchasing a set of three (3) signed Giclée prints of the painting Trinity by Steve Hartman.

Orders will print and ship in the order they are received. Expect delivery within 2-3 weeks of online purchase. 

It is printed on high quality, museum-grade, archival paper with archival inks that will last 200 years.

Each unframed print measured 13" x 19" with the image bordered by about 3" of white space.

Display together as intended, or separate. Prints are shipped unframed. 

Prints are personally signed and carefully shipped to you in a protective clear sleeve and sturdy mailer.

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Stagger Inn

​Stagger Inn
​oil on canvas
​30" x 30"
​

Stagger Inn is the fourth painting I created in 2013. It's the first of my images that represents one of my passions...food! This still life is a place setting at a little bar and grill in Edwardsville, IL, named, what else, Stagger Inn. "Stagger," as we locals call it, is a long-standing bar, more known for their bands and beers. May family knows it as one of our favorite Saturday afternoon lunchtime haunts.

For an Edwardsvillian, this painting is instantly recognizable by their blue tablecloths and flatware loaded mugs and re-filled Heinz ketchup (not catsup, that's in Collinsville). 

The paint is applied rather loosely and very thick. Not with a palette knife, but with the brush. Color is mixed loosely, as not to appear even. What I try to do, and not always successfully, is create mini abstractions of color and texture, if you were to look at a small detail area. Its been years since my painting courses, but I will never forget the lessons learned from Walter Sorge on the value of layering in applying paint. A painting should have thick areas, thin areas and should overlap and intertwine.  

​A detail of the straw in the lower right corner of Stagger Inn

I would say that the subject matter should tell one story, but the application and craft should convey another. I try to keep a playful attitude in both. 

This is also, the first painting of mine to sell from the 2013 Collection. First painting to sell, ever, actually. To view my other paintings for sale, visit my gallery shop.

- Steve

Stagger Inn Giclée Print

from $18.75

You are purchasing a signed Giclée print of the painting Stagger Inn by Steve Hartman. The original painting is no longer for sale, this is the only availability to purchase this image.

Orders will print and ship in the order they are received. Expect delivery within 2-3 weeks of online purchase. 

It is printed on high quality, museum-grade, archival paper with archival inks that will last 200 years.

This unframed print measured 12" x 12" 
The image measures 11" x 11" with a 1 inch border.

Print is personally signed and carefully shipped to you in a protective clear sleeve and sturdy mailer.

size:

Select size 12 x 126 x 6

12 x 12 6 x 6

Quantity:

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