Ichter Studios

2010

In 2010 I had shows in Kansas City, Santa Fe, Seattle, Dallas, Denver, Sedona and New Orleans.In addition I also traveled to Boston, LA, Jackson Hole, and Florida.I ran a half Marathon in February, while visiting my gallery in New OrleansIn August I was part of a fundraiser called " Bodies as a work of art" benifitting the Chelko Foundation. Ten artists did bodypaintings on live models. My painting was inspired by the Waterhouse painting " Hylas and the nymphs"...my model is supposed to look as if she is emerging from a lily pond with dragonflies flying around her. My assistant was Emily Pape. The model is Holladay

March 2009

I was invited to the dedication of the gallery in my mentor, Bruce Bobick's honor at my alma mater The University of West Georgia

If it were not for Bruce, it is unlikely I would be an artist right now.

Seeing his work for the first time was a transformative experience. He is a master watercolorist, and the instant I saw one of his paintings, I decided I had to learn how to paint in watercolor. I had never had a real art class before in my life, but I dedicated the next 15 years to painting almost exclusively in watercolor. One of the highlights of my career was a two man show with Bruce in 2001

November 2008

Once I was past my rehab for my shoulder, in late March 2008, I started to visit my galleries in San Diego, Boston, Seattle, San Diego [ actually La Jolla ] again, New Orleans and Santa Fe. It was great being on the road agin, visiting old friends and new collectors. Now I am concentrating on getting more work done, and finding new galleries to show my work in

November 2007

I had to have surgery on my left shoulder due to a nasty fall I took in the local Target. An employee had been unpacking some items and left some of the plastic strapping bands they use on big boxes on the floor. Since they were the same color as the floor, I didn't notice them, and I got tangled up and took a very hard fall. Not only was my rotator cuff torn, but I also suffered a SLAP Lesion [ that's a tear to the inside of the shoulder joint caused by a fall on an outstretched arm ]

The surgery was a success, but was extremely painful, and the recovery and rehab was grueling.
I really wasn't up for travelling or doing demonstrations until March of 2008

Coming Up

I have upcoming shows in Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. My new gallery in Pittsburgh is Bella Arte. While I'm up there, I'm going to a Light Up the Night party at a collector's house, who is also an investor in my Lake Tahoe gallery. Light Up the Night is Pittsburgh's way of kicking off the holiday season. There is a big fireworks display at the end of the night that I'm really looking forward to.

October 2007

I just got back from a one-man show in Sedona that coincided with a feature article about my work in "Sedona Monthly" and "Art Book of the New West."

September 2007

I had a one-man show and demonstration in Lake Geneva. Gorgeous resort area outside of Chicago. Bob and Sandy were amazing hosts for my show and demonstration.

August 2007

I had a show in San Francisco and Bethlehem, PA. I returned to one of my favorite cities for a show and demonstration in San Francisco. Don, Rese and I had an amazing time. I can't wait to get back there. I went to Bethlehem for the second time. I had a blast with Ranjeet and Rory.

July 2007

I had shows in Seattle and Santa Fe this month. In Seattle, I showed at Gunnar Nordstrom's. Nobody throws an art crawl party like Gunnar! In honor of my visit, the bartender in the gallery was making peach mojitos. Umm umm. My show in Santa Fe was at 707 Contemporary followed by an amazing meal at Geronimo's.

June 2007

I had a show in Kansas City and a vacation in Jackson Hole, WY that inspired a series of new paintings that include views of the Grand Tetons.

May 2007

I decided to switch back to my original gallery in New Orleans in May, B.E.E. Galleries. They sold so much work the first weekend that they had me back in the gallery, I had to make a second visit the following week.

October 2006

Another installment of Bob, Beer and brats just happened at my gallery in Kansas City.
It was a special treat to finally meet a nine year old boy named Jackson who follows my work. He comes in the gallery every few weeks to see if I've sent anything new. Recently I gave him a painting which his Mom and Dad had framed up. While he was visiting he helped out for a little while on one of my paintings.

Mike and Brooke, owners of Prairiebrook...me...and Bob and Sandy from Gallerie Matisse in Lake Geneva Wisconsin, my newest gallery. Bob and Sandy made a special trip to Kansas City for my show.

May 2006

Just back from a great trip to Sedona. My friends at the Proctor Gallery arranged to have me showcase my work in wonderful designer house on the Art and Architecture Home Tour that benefits the Northern Arizona Opera League. Here is the view from the window where I was painting, plus a couple others

click to enlarge any image.

April 2006

Back to New Orleans for the opening weekend of Jazz Fest. As usual, I had a blast with Ron and Taylor Lyon,
the owners of my 2 galleries there [ Lyon and Lyon and Galerie DalRay , both on Royal st. in the French Quarter ]
As you can see in the following pictures, I received a little help while doing a demonstration from Lauren, the Neice of my friend and client Steve Nettles.
After the demo Steve and his sister's family joined me at Nola's fror drinks....we had a great time. I'm anxious to visit them in Houston some day.

Bob and Lauren hard at work

February 2006

So far this year I have only been toDallas, New Orleans and Kansas City.
I flew into Dallas to touch up a painting that was a special commission. It only took a few minutes to repair the piece and then I spent the rest of the afternoon with my client Tom Bartlett.

In the French Quarter, you can't really tell that a hurricane came through, but on the way in we saw quite a bit of devastation in Mississippi and outside of New Orleans.

My gallery i n Kansas City, Prairiebrooke Fine arts, asked me to design and paint a special piece for the designer showhouse benefitting the symphony. I flew in to look at the space to get inspired.The place should be spectacular when it's finished. The house belongs to the Block's from H & R Block fame. The piece is a red sky landscape triptych.

I started taking piano lessons about a year ago and have been working hard to learn a few songs I like. I also joined a co-op pottery studio and have been throwing pots on the wheel for about 4 months now.

click on image to check out my pottery page

2005 Travels Update

I had to have major reconstructive surgery on my right shoulder on January 25th [ and yes, I paint with my right hand ].....but I am recovering well. I was doing small pieces 3 days post op in a sling and am now 12 weeks out and doing full sized pieces, although I don't have the strength back yet to frame them. [ which is OK, because I hate framing, so I'm paying someone else to do it]

As soon as I was able to travel [ and paint ] I had to fly out to my gallery in San Francisco to paint as they were running low on work. I had a blast with Don and Rese Cohen as usual...and as usual Don and I were out every night.
Ten days later I was in Bethlehem Pennsylvania for a one man show at Monsoon gallery. The Morning Call did a nice review available here. Bethlehem is undergoing quite a renaissance and since it is only an hour or so from New York city it really has a lot of potential. The owner Ranjeet is an accomplished photographer and artist himself. The people of Bethlehem are very welcoming and I had a great time while I was there.

Then a couple weeks later, my buddy Roger Fishman and I went to the playboy mansion in LA for Hugh Hefner's birthday party on May 9th....it was CRAZY. I was only in LA for less than 24 hours, but it was one of the coolest nights I've ever experienced. It was fun people watching and seeing all the celebrities there, Bill Maher was my favorite [ of the non bunny variety ].
I had another showing in New Orleans April 20-24 to coincide with JazzFest that was very successful and I got to hang out with one of my clients Dr. Eric Gregorie a Neurosurgeon from Pennsylvania.

Later in August I had my yearly show in Santa Fe, it went so well I had to do a follow up visit in November.....here is me with a couple friends...

I'll keep you posted, take care.

2004 Travels

Last year was crazy….

First of all I added several new galleries. In February, I did art expo in New York and it went very well. I think I sold 12 paintings over that weekend and met a lot of cool people.

I had several trips to LA to visit my good friend Roger and his girlfriend Courtney, while also getting work done at my LA gallery, Gallery 319.

I spent a week inJune in St. Martin (pictures). This was my second trip and it was a blast. We rented a villa that was like “lifestyles of the rich and famous”.

I had my yearly one man show in Santa Fe that was very successful even though it was a holiday weekend and the first show of the season.

In October, I started showing in San Francisco and it has been unbelievable. I’ve had to visit twice to paint more for them. The owner Don Cohen and his wife are very cool to hang out with. Don and I go out every night I’m there. Chinatown is my favorite. In Late October we had another installment of Bob, Beer and Brats in Kansas City. As usual, the folks in Kansas City showed me a great time.

Over the course of the year I made several trips to New Orleans to work at my gallery there and gamble at the casino. [ craps, anyone?? ] My last trip there was November for a one man show (pictures). I had some friends and collectors who even flew in for the show, so I took a huge group to NOLA’s that night.

In December, I went back to LA to watch Courtney tape her show and that has to be one of the most interesting evenings I’ve spent in a long time. I got to sit backstage in the green room with my buddy Roger and Jim Belushi’s wife. Jim and the other stars of the show were all very nice and really took the time to make me feel welcome there. The next day we took a 3 hour hike through the mountains there. Amazing. That brings me to January 2005, I just got back from a weekend in Amsterdam (pictures). This is my fourth visit and the photos are from different trips.

Last summer I started taking better care of myself, started running again and lost 60 lbs. Unfortunately I just found out I have a completely torn rotator cuff in my painting shoulder that is going to require surgery. At least it’s something they can fix. The Dr. is very popular but I managed to schedule the surgery for January 25th.

This year, if all goes well, I should find myself spending a little time in Asheville, North Carolina and Seattle where I have 2 brand new galleries; Santa Fe, Los Angeles, Sedona and a lot of time in New Orleans and San Francisco, where my work seems to sell like crazy.

St Martin June, 2003
We were invited to stay in a luxurious villa in the terra bas section of St. Martin on the French side. The villa was straight out of "lifestyles of the rich and famous" In high season, this place goes for $20,000 a week!!! Luckily we were off season, so it wasn't even close to that. What an inspiring place. We rented a sailboat one day and went snorkeling near St. Barts. The food was amazing and the casinos were so much fun we went almost every night.

Wendy and Tammy taught me how to play craps. There is a bar right at the end of the runway where you can watch the jets land. I stood right under a 757 that came in, and almost got blown in the water by another jet as it took off. In one of these pictures I'm on the centerline of the runway in a red t shirt as a plane passes over to land. I must have been crazy.... We are headed back in June of 2004.

Red Rocks May, 2003
Just back from a trip out West for a show at my new Gallery, Proctor Fine Art. They've only had my work hanging for a month and they have already sold 6 or 7 pieces. The Sedona TV station came out and taped me painting and talking to clients for an upcoming special video about Sedona galleries and artists.

Friday night Stan Proctor and his lovely wife cooked us steaks while we were able to get better acquainted. The beer and Tequila was flowing !! Saturday night they had a wonderful reception for me and then we all went out to a great restaurant. I painted all day Saturday and Sunday, Finally getting a chance to paint the famous Red Rocks I've heard so much about. Monday we took an all day trip to the Grand Canyon. Words cannot describe seeing it for the first time. Here are a few more pictures.

The next day I spent at the museum of the Red Rocks, checking out the other galleries in town and hiking in the Red Rocks.

Next trip is to Santa Fe in June for another one man show....

Santa Fe December, 2002
In December, we were invited back out to a special show and party in Santa Fe. We stayed at the Loretto again and it was fabulous. On Christmas Eve, we walked Canyon road. It was amazing. The roads, sidewalks and adobe homes were lined with thousands and thousands of luminaries. Then had a wonderful home cooked meal with Ron and Kendra, our friends and the directors of the Horizon Gallery. After Christmas, we visited Los Alamos and the national park that has the cliff dweller ruins. I've included a few more pictures here.

So far this year: In early January, we scouted New York for a new gallery and were successful. The new gallery is Coda in the Soho section of New York. I've also been picked as a new artist for the Proctor Gallery in Sedona Arizona and have work at a gallery in Park City pending approval.
We are just back from a cruise. It was very inspiring and I'm anxious to do some coastal work. [ A group in Seaside Florida is scouting for a gallery location that I will join once they open.]

I also had a terrible flood in my studio just before Superbowl Sunday. I lost almost $100,000 in artwork and materials. So the cruise was a much needed break after working non stop on shipments for four galleries and dealing with the flood in the last month.

Santa Fe October, 2002 Hi everyone, Just back from an incredibly successful trip to my new gallery in Santa Fe. While there they sold out of my work except for one small piece. The gallery is already asking me to come back and is talking about a one man show for next summer. Keep your fingers crossed. I'm including a few pictures and links to a couple things, just in case you find yourself in that area anytime soon.

We stayed at The Loretto a beautiful adobe hotel, home of Spa Blue, had some wonderful meals [ including Geronimo, Blue Corn, the Inn at Anastazi ]. Went out with the gallery director Ron and his wife Kendra for a fabulous dinner Saturday night. Rented a convertible to zip around the mountains getting ideas for new work. I painted 3 days while talking to my customers and got a ton of work done [ 15 pieces.....and only 3 were small pieces ]. After 3 days on my feet I was ready for the pedicure, hot rock massage and hot tub under the stars at the world famous 10,000 waves Japanese spa last night. http://www.tenthousandwaves.com/

It was amazing to see so many stars. It reminded me of My visit last month to Carmel. The gallery director Susan took me to a restaurant on the top of a mountain in Big Sur called Napenthe. It had been years since I was able to see the milky way and it was clearly visible from there [ and on the mountain at 10,000 waves in Santa Fe]. I miss being able to see the stars like I could when I was a kid growing up in Cape Kennedy Florida. Here's a link to some cool pictures taken at Napenthe...[ look at all the pics. the last few are some of the best ]

While in Carmel I had movie director George Lucas and singer Reba McEntire looking at my work. Reba stayed and chatted for a half an hour.
I guess it was my brush with fame.

I'm painting in Highlands , North Carolina this Saturday October 5th and then in Kansas City October 15th

July 18th -20th, 2002 I spent at Prairiebrook Gallery in Kansas City. They had an event they called "Bob, Beer and Bratwurst".

I gather that bratwurst is a special kind of Kansas City hot dog. In any event, I painted both days while clients and visitors watched. I did a few commissions while the collectors actually sat and watched me paint their piece from start to finish. As many of you know I am used to having people visit with me while I paint, but I had never had such a crowd [ you can't really tell from the pictures but sometimes there were 30-40 people in the gallery] I have to admit I was a little nervous at first, but after a couple beers I settled down and really got to work. One of the gallery sales girls is involved in the KC march/race for a cure to breast cancer, so I donated one of the pieces I did during the demonstration. She says it will be the First Prize for the race. I have so many people interested in commissioning me and watching me do their piece that I have to go back next month.

7/11/2002; Just back from Iceland. In the space of a few hours you can drive through barren desert, lava fields that remind me of a lunar landscape, verdant fields and woods, waterfalls, beautiful coast lines and majestic mountains.

Two old buddies of mine and I flew into Reykjavik and spent the day enjoying beautiful sunshine and the freshest air I've ever smelled, then caught a puddle jumper for an aerial tour of the most remote part of the country. After landing we hiked to a place where the icebergs are "calved" off the glacier into a huge arctic lagoon. Later we hiked up to the largest glacier in Europe and then rented snowmobiles to explore it. It was kind of scary being so remote and knowing if a crevasse opens up on the glacier and you go in it it's "adios". I spent a day taking photos for an Iceland series of paintings and then followed it up at the Hotel Borg, Reykjavik's answer to the Ritz.

The last day we were at a resort called the Blue Lagoon, a spa that sits on a geothermal vented volcanic crater. This time of year between 2 am and 4 am you get an extended sunset that never actually sets , the rest of the time it's like a noonday sun very bright but cool. I think I averaged 4 hours of sleep a night, not because I couldn't, but because there was so much to do and see. The locals don't go out to drink and dance until midnight and stay out till 6 am [ when in Rome...]

See more travel photos in my Photo eGallery