Tarpon Bend Morning

In this 12x6, Oil/Gessoed Panel, I wanted to emphasize the high key of the clear morning light as it contrasted against the lower key of the cool shadows. I quickly put in the sunlit areas first to hold the shadowed areas in place... amazing how fast the sun rises, leaving a very small window for this sort of view.

Plein Air, Tarpon Bend

SOLD

It was a bright and beautiful morning here today painting with my friends, so this 8x10,

oil/canvas had no choice but to be bright, clear and fun ... just how I saw it, folks.

Wet Paint, In The Studio...

The tropical weather made my friend Janet and me take a raincheck for painting at Bonnet House today. So instead, I did this 10x8, Oil/Canvas, of my friend and painter, Eden Compton, with sketchbook in hand, roaming one of the breezeways at Bonnet House on one of our earlier paint days. You didn't know I took your picture, huh, Eden?...

Still working on getting the abstract forms, I also turned the canvas and reference photo upside down to keep from falling into the bad habit I have of lingering. Again, old dog, old trick, but it really helped me keep looking at the shapes and values as opposed to the subject matter. I found this especially helpful in seeing the drama of the reflections in both the floor and the archways.

Pastel Self Portrait...

This 12x9, Pastel/LeCarte Sanded Paper is my first attempt at doing a portrait with pastels. I used a combination of both hard and soft pastels while staring, obviously, into the mirror with great intention. Each time I use them, I am astounded by their richness of color and vow to use them more often. For the soft pastels, I used Terry Ludwig 30 Portrait Collection as well as several others from his Plein Air Collections.

Plein Air, On Track...

Why is it that the best views are always in the middle of the road or in this case, in the middle of the railroad tracks? Standing next to the downtown tracks with my friend and painting partner Janet Onofrey, we both did this view looking north to the water tower. For this plein air, 10x10, oil/linen panel, I again concentrated on painting the abstract shapes while paying close attention to my values.

Wet Paint, Pickled Okra...

Working on this 10x8, Oil/Canvas today, I approached it by treating all the shapes as abstract forms... laying in areas of color, shaping up with the negative spaces and building up to the highlights. A common practice for many, but it was a different and purposeful approach for me with this painting today. This method simplified the act of painting the subject matter and allowed it to flow freely without getting bogged down. It is funny how freeing it was in being mindful of this approach... duh.

Thanks to our friend Judy for the pickled Okra... now we can eat it!

Wet Paint, Ripe Peaches ...

After several weeks of a head banging dry spell, I decided it was time to get over myself (once again) and make something happen. These ripe peaches set against a handmade rice paper with leaves seemed to be a good challenge in the studio today. I felt it was important to get the feel and texture of the paper, so I used a combination of brush work and palette knife while paying attention to the natural imperfections of the pressed leaves. The vivid ripeness of the peaches allowed for some bold color choices, rapid brush work and lots of paint in this 20x16, oil/canvas.