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Current Paintings: 2024 -- 2025 SEEKING QUESTIONS TO LIFE'S BIG ANSWERS The figure has taken center stage since the early 2000's, and there are perhaps four different levels on which one can consider the work: 1) on the beauty level, by which I mean the combination of painting media (watercolor, oil, ink) and styles (abstraction, representation) in a complementary tension that augments the imagery involved; 2) on a political level, in that my goal with the guys who dominate the images and constitute my muse is to populate an art world with them-- an art world where the female image, nude or otherwise, is about as normal as a burger and fries, while the male image continues to be considered, by some, suspect, and is thus in short supply; 3) on the textual level, presenting titles that can be read in varying ways and short stories that are written before or after the images come along, but in any case are springboards for the reader's imagination; and 4) on the transcendent level, an attempt to depict a thoughtful, if not vulnerable, Everyman, reaching beyond the fleeting surface idealization associated with youth and hopefully going far in terms of metaphor, poking around such timeless ideas as: truth, beauty, faith, time, the infinite, what we learn and what we know. It may seem questionable indeed these days to even concern myself with such unanswerables, but in an era when political and spiritual leaders assert that they in fact have the answers for us all, I think that art has the capacity to imagine otherwise, to offer some transcendent spark to bridge the gap between intent and form, between idea and the evidence of our lives. Muse indeed. Note: At times my focus is on paper works in series, for instance the MUSE/MUSEUM watercolors and TATTOO DETOUR drawings from Honolulu. Therefore, select images from these series have been incorporated onto this page along with the "usual" canvases. More images from these series can be found on their dedicated pages. Note 2: As of December, 2022, I am including a few PHOTOGRAPHS in the mix, to contextualize the paintings within my "usual" realm of visual interests. |
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![]() PICTURE THIS (#2716) (A TRUE STORY) India ink on paper, 18x24 inches |
![]() MOONLIGHT (#2694) India ink on paper, 36x24 inches |
![]() A BOOK BY THE SAME TITLE (#2714) India ink on paper, 24x18 inches zzz |
![]() (NOT TITLED) (BUFFALO) (#2712) India ink on paper, 18x24 inches |
![]() THIN ICE (#2708, 2695) India ink on paper, 36x24 inches |
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![]() SECRET (#2705) India ink & acrylic on paper, 18x24 inches |
![]() PERFECT (#2704) India ink on paper, 36x24 inches |
![]() PROOF (#2713) India ink on paper, 18x24 inches |
Wrestlers Writers Wrenegades |
![]() PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF (#2686) India ink on paper, 24x18 inches |
![]() HALLELUJAH (#1702) India ink on paper, 24x18 inches |
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![]() MOON CASE (#2700) India ink on paper, 18x24 inches |
![]() THE TRAIN SET (BUT THIS IS NOT MY STORY) (#2703) India ink on joined paper, 30" X 24" |
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![]() Untitled Landscape (#2697) India ink on paper, 18x24 inches |
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![]() SEE AMERICA THIRST (#2691) (For H.C. Westermann) India ink on paper, 18x24 inches |
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![]() India ink on paper, 24x18 inches |
![]() WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU SEE (#2584) India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
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![]() India ink on paper, 18x24 inches |
![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 18x24 inches
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 18x24 inches |
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![]() A SUPERB IMPRESSION, IN PRISTINE CONDITION (TOO LOOSE) (# 2611) India ink & acrylic on paper, 30x22 inches |
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
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![]() India ink on paper, 18x24 inches |
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Jack Balas, 2024; BINGO (#2683)
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 18x24 inches |
![]() GOSSIP UNDER THE TREES (#2633) India ink & acrylic on paper, 18x24 inches |
![]() 4TH & GOAL, THE TRUE STORY OF MY LIFE (TODAY IS FRIDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2024) (#2681) India ink & acrylic on paper, 18x24 inches |
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
![]() India ink on paper, 18x24 inches |
![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 18x24 inches |
![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 18x24 inches |
![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches Text by artist Thomas Hirschhorn |
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 18x24 inches |
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Jack Balas, 2024; EATING CHERRIES
(#2623) Text: |
![]() Jack Balas, 2024; SOME OLD SONG (#2632) India ink & acrylic on paper, 18x24 inches |
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![]() IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES (#2588) India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
![]() India inK on paper, 18x24 inches |
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
![]() ANOTHER PAGE FROM JAMES JONES (#2627) India ink & acrylic on paper, 18x24 inches |
![]() India ink on paper, 18x24 inches |
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 18x24 inches |
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Jack Balas, 2024; Text: |
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches RANCH IN THE COLORADO MOUNTAINS. NOTHING HAS EVER BEEN THE SAME SINCE. |
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![]() (#2566); India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 30x22 inches |
Jack Balas, 2024;
THE HERO OF MY OWN LIFE (#2589)
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches |
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![]() India ink & watercolor on paper, 30x22 inches |
![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
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Jack Balas, 2024;
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches
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![]() Whitney Museum, NYC |
![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
Jack Balas,
2024;
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
![]() THE RAIN AT THE END OF THE RUNWAY (#2576) India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
![]() BOOKS! MY SHELVES ARE OVERFLOWING WITH BOOKS! (#2559); India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
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India ink & acrylic on paper, 18x24 inches
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 20x16 inches |
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
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India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 16x20 inches
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![]() India ink on paper, 30x22 inches |
![]() India ink on paper, 24x18 inches |
![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 24x18 inches |
![]() India ink on paper, 24x18 inches |
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches |
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![]() India ink on paper, 24x18 inches |
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![]() India ink & acrylic on paper, 30x22 inches |
![]() India inK on paper, 22x30 inches |
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