My first oil paintings. Updated text for this oil painting project is currently being written. 9-23-24

Oil paintings for ‘The Journey to Ukazoo’ Solo Art Exhibit

With the work and accumulated skill I applied to the oil painting ‘But the Map Says…..’ (image number 10 in the previous project) I opted to work on a touch bigger series of 20 x 16-inch paintings. All would still be painted on MDF (medium density fiberboard) because of the materials stability as well as my access to the sheet goods and table-saw to cut the sizes I wanted.

It wasn’t until I reached the sixth painting of what would become a series of nine paintings, that I found an idea for a next painting that justified working larger still (22 x 22 inch). While working on this sixth painting, ‘Mating Calls’ I began to ponder a possible solo exhibit. With the suggestion, from a fellow artist, of a local bookstore that might suit my needs of curating the exhibit myself outside of a gallery setting, I signed up for a slot at Ukazoo Bookstore in Towson, Maryland. With a set date for the exhibit, I continued work to complete the balance of the nine paintings as the featured art for the show.

These are those nine paintings

After the Ukazoo exhibit I pondered a next project to maintain my social media promotional presence. I remembered a doodle and several failed attempts to get it to a finished painting. My idea was to divide the main idea into four sections, 1. front yard/gate entrance. 2. front porch & door/living room. 3. Second floor window/interior room. 4. exterior window/dinning and Kitchen interior.

My doodles and initial rough worksheets had ideas for some of the items for these for areas.

Needing more items to fill up the painting I turned to my ’friends’ and ’followers’ on Facebook for an audience participation project.

I gave some basic criteria for one section and a pencil drawing of my layout and asked for ideas of items to include in that section.

I was rewarded with a wonderful response in the comments of various items to pick from.

I worked the selected ideas into the worksheet, posted a workable section for viewing and then onward to the next section for contributed ideas and repeated the process until I had all four sections worked out and ready to start the painting.

After a years work on this project I secured a space to host another solo art exhibit on September 2015 that featured not just the ’House That Jack Built’ painting but other works of art completed over also two years after the Ukazoo show. 

Following the 'House That Jack Built' project I created another social media project in March 2016, titled '12 + 12, 12 x 12's'. Completed in November 2018 the project was built around two parts. The first part, the first 12 of the 12 + 12, were twelve 12 x 12 inch oil paintings that originated from selected 'doodles' in my sketchbooks.

The second 12 of the 12 + 12 are to be discussed in the following project listing.

Shown, ten of those 12 oil paintings I selected for the project. 

Following the 'House That Jack Built' project I created another social media project in March 2016, titled '12 + 12, 12 x 12's'. The two-year project was completed in November 2018 and the project was built around two parts. This, the second part, the '+ 12', were twelve 12 x 12-inch oil paintings that originated from selected 'doodles' in my sketchbooks. The caveat was that I chose 12 individuals (fellow artists, friends, family) and gave each a sketchbook of which they selected one to three 'doodles' and I had to develop a finished painting. 

Shown, ten of those twelve '+12' oil paintings I developed from those selections for this project. 

During the 2016 to 2018 12 + 12 oil painting project, I paused twice as a series of ‘doodles’ in the sketchbooks caught my eye but did not fit into the 12 + 12 project. The first ‘intermission’ was for a series of eight 8 x 10-inch paintings (Sept. 2017 to December 2017). After the resumption of the 12 + 12 project another similar ‘intermission’ (April 2018 to June 2018) took place to create six 11 x 14-inch paintings.

Shown are 5 of the 8 x 10’s and 5 of the 11 x 14’s.

With everything shut down for our bout with Covid it only stood to reason that artists had lots of time and no place to go, so why not do art stuff. Which I did.

As vaccines and easing of restrictions started to allow stores to reopen, one of two galleries I was involved with at the time was willing to set a date for me to put on a solo exhibit. This is by no means a reflection on the second gallery, a lot of apprehension surrounded putting on art exhibits. The solo exhibit was scheduled far enough out that it was at the edge of this apprehension of how to address the wearing of masks during the show. According to all the government and medical advice we were comfortable requesting that everyone be vaccinated, and masks were optional.

These are ten of over 40 works of art, past & current, I displayed for this exhibit.

Here's the quick backstory. I had submitted my art to "The Huts Magazine," an Instagram online/print publication, and it was accepted. Of course, I ordered a print copy. The four images, Biography, and Artist statement all looked good in the magazine's two-page spread. But ahh, there had been a mishap.

My name was reversed and minus the ‘L’; rather than being Craig L Haupt, I was now Haupt Craig!

While addressing this name snafu with close friends, comments ranged from theorizing that my new name, Haupt Craig, sounded like a German or Dutch Renaissance artist to progressively sillier takes, finally culminating with my announcing I was now Haupt C.  -- or the final version -- Hauptcee Haupt.

Then why not have a slight bit more fun and sign my next oil painting ‘Hauptcee’. That seemed like a simple progression.

Then I thought if I could have fun as the jovial 'Hauptcee' for an evening and a completed 18 x 18-inch oil painting, why not be 'Hauptcee' for a year?! The next long-range Body of work/series of paintings could all be painted and signed by this fictitious Hauptcee Haupt (my, now, fourth fictitious twin brother), kind of like my fictitious 'The Journey to Ukazoo' ArtStory project.

Two sketchbooks were delegated to ‘Hauptcee’ for filling them with ‘doodles/sketches’ and all completed paintings had to originate from ‘Hauptcee’ sketchbooks.

Six oil paintings were completed for an upcoming solo exhibition that featured ‘Hauptcee Haupt’s’ paintings and watercolor and oil paintings works by ‘me’ (Craig L Haupt).

A seventh and eighth oil paintings, by Hauptcee, were left incomplete, in different stages, at the conclusion of this project for the solo exhibit and are to be completed by ‘me’.  

Final note, please remember that this is a ‘tongue in cheek’ project construed on an art publications misprint of my name.

The following art encompasses a menagerie of art that has found its way into group exhibits rather than my solo exhibits and long-range projects. Plus, a couple, newly completed, that have yet to be shown in an art exhibit.