I saw this Poisonous Dart Frog at the Jenkinson’s Aquarium at Point Pleasant Beach in New Jersey, and was struck by the beauty of the bright colors and patterns on its body. I think I could get some ideas from these patterns for a painting, it’s certainly a striking look. They’re not just good-looking for … Read more
I often see small sticker art pieces that have beautiful tags and wonder what it would look like if one made them into a large scale painting? Quite a few of the “slaps” that I see, such as the one here, as seen in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn, have some nice abstract expressionist qualities, … Read more
I was walking down Main Street in West Orange a while ago and noticed these guys in the window of the Llewellyn Hotel. One might think that they were meant to be Halloween decorations, but I saw this in late November, so I’m not sure what it was about. Let’s just say that there’s not … Read more
I was on a walk in Montclair, NJ today when I noticed this garage (above) on a residential street, and did a double-take. From a distance, I could that there was a custom installation of an artistic frieze, featuring some relief sculpture, but I had to move closer to get a better look. Once I … Read more
I was walking home from some errands when I noticed this empty sign on a busy street near my home. I can see a very faint trace of the former sign for one-time men’s hair replacement center, but it looks like they turned it inside out so that the blank back side would fill the … Read more
I had the tv on while cleaning up after dinner tonight, and the show on was “My Lottery Dream Home” with David Bromstad. The couple being featured had won $15 million on a lottery ticket and decided to shop for their dream home with a budget of $700,000 … my first thought was, if you’ve … Read more
I was running some errands the other day when I noticed this landscaper’s truck ahead of me, and those nice rectangular areas on the back … I thought, who needs an art gallery exhibition? Wouldn’t it be cool to have some paintings on the back of this truck being driven all around town for people … Read more
I pulled out a box of old postcards from the late 1970s and early 1980s the other day and started looking through them. These were postcards that I had bought as a kid on family vacations (many of which involved riding in the far back of a station wagon without any seat belts … how … Read more
I was looking through some old pictures on my iMac, when I noticed some photos I took using an iPhone app called “CamWow,” which doesn’t seem to be in existence anymore. It definitely had some cool effects, as far as making my original painting titled “From the Inside Out,” 2012, (above left) look different. This … Read more
I decided to add a blog to McKinney Arts, with the hope of sharing more art, more ideas, and more information about McKinney Arts (the gallery) and Mark McKinney (the artist … me). My goal is to make McKinney Arts (the website) much more than an “artist portfolio” website, or an archive of the gallery’s … Read more