David Bowie, Freddy Mercury and Watercolors....

So today, I woke up with "Under Pressure" singing in my head. I love Queen and David Bowie, two of the best artists to have ever taken the stage. I love Freddy Mercury's voice stage presence and watching their "live" videos on youtube is such a breathe of fresh air from all of today's computerized auto tune rubbish and one million background dancers. I loved the charisma and presence that Freddy Mercury was able to put on and he did it without the whole Mickey Mouse club dancing behind him. Love love love Queen and Bowie!

So anyhow, onto art. I had Under Pressure on in the background and I was feeling experimental today with my art. Typically, for those who follow my work know, I paint realism and my style is tight and very little spotaneity. I like having control of the medium no matter what medium it is. Well today, while listening to Under Pressure I felt like I wanted to just leap out and try something else today and the result was - as my wife would say - powerful!

I think today's piece turned out especially well and I love the spontaneous drips, the effect of the salt and the high contrast of the face - no DETAIL!!! I love that, it is very much like my sketches that I've done of it.

Well, this piece is untitled but it is partly inspired from my Iraq series yet it is totally up to the viewer to interpret, enjoy:

"Untitled", By Jerry Frech, Watercolor on Paper, 11"x15", $125.00

No Where to Go, No Money to Spend.....so PAINT!

So, as some of you may know, I am a Graduate Student at Radford University and I study under Z.L. Feng. I chose RU because I liked Feng's style and realism he achieves with such an unpredictable medium. Also, there are not a lot of schools with professors that teach realism within the region I live. I am glad I came to RU and the results are beginning to show. In the last month I have produced watercolor after watercolor! I have made 5-7 portraits and I will share then on here as time permits.

So, today's painting is still in progress and it is based on a friend of mine, Keenan Rainier. A year ago I was hired by his band Flight 24 (www.webs.flight24revolution.com) to do a photo shoot and one of the photos stuck out to me and said "paint me".

So, today, with both of my classes canceled and nowhere to go and no money to spend I was able to start! Last night I printed a few pictures on the image and I also did a few sketches to get prepared. After a few hours of prep work I was ready.

I did a placement sketch and made sure all of my pieces were correct. Then I began the painting and the result thus far:

I love the skin tones and the dark-darks and how the various reds, greens, yellows, blues and purples stick out as well. I am pleased and there will be more to come!

Will post a more "finished" piece tonight so check back then!

The Joy of Watercolor!

Above: "Reminisce" Watercolor, 11" x 15", $125.00 (Prints Available $30) For many years I have avoided Watercolor as a whole. When I was young I hated the lack of control I had over the medium and that bad experience carried all the way through college. During my college years I had the chance to go to a watercolor workshop and I tried out the medium and I immediately recalled all the reasons why I hated watercolor. However during my senior year of college I looked at several Graduate Schools, hoping to find a school that taught "realism", which is my style. I also wanted a teacher that specialized in water mediums. My search resulted with me going to Radford University to study under ZL Feng, a world re-nouned watercolorist. Despite my fears, I decided that it was now or never and after taking the plunge you can see that my decision has paid off. Above: "New Generation" Watercolor, 11" x 15", $125.00 (Prints Available $30) I have found that I can achieve a greater level of clarity, contrast and realism. For many years I felt that I could not do watercolor because I had no control, yet with Feng I found that control. Part of it was also due to my maturity and progression as a painter, I went from an Oil painter to an Acrylic painter - which is not too drastic of a change. During the year I was doing acrylic I found many techniques that worked and found a knack for working the medium. All of this combined with Feng's instruction has led me to a strong portfolio in Watercolor. The two paintings above are among my first 8 watercolor paintings ever! I think the key in watercolor is patience and understanding how to control the paint and a lot of that comes from attitude and careful preparation. I hope to post more Watercolors on here soon so stay tuned for more!