Train Of Thought

24x24 Oil/Canvas

Juried into Art Florida, exhibiting April 12-30, Art Serve 1350 Sunrise Blvd. Ft Laud, FL

Again, the downloading has altered the colors here... My goal with this piece was to show the effect of clean and brilliant light coming through the moving train and around the young man. I also wanted the shadowed side of the red train to appear illuminated by the reflected light.

The shadows may have a nod to Wayne Thiebaud, but more than anything, it was his comment I once heard during an interview about paintings having a "glint, glimmer and glow" that spoke to me and has been rolling around inside my head ever since.

Here she is...

The Moment

30x24 Oil/Canvas

The Moment was finally dry enough to photograph today... there is a lot of paint on this one! Also, I must say, downloading the image to Blogger has made the image appear more gold overall causing the reds to appear less vivid and the background less deep and clear than they actually are. I tried several things with no success, hopefully you can get the idea...

This was an great image to paint that allowed for energetic and large brushstrokes with lots of color. Working things out on the study first really made my job easier here.. the light source and pallet were already resolved , cutting down the "think" time and helped The Moment become an alla prima painting.

Plein Air, Saturday..

8x8 Oil/Canvas Panel

... A quick little painting of the sunlight hitting a house... and a very shiny car that now looks like it is about to hit the house! Guess I got a little carried away with painting the car and the movement in the reflections!...

Study...

10x8 Oil/Linen Panel

I did this study yesterday to work a few things out before I start the 30x24 version today. This idea came about when my friend and Photographer, Jeff Banning, shared his photo of a Brazilian dancer. It is a wonderful photo full of life and movement, so with his permission, I used this as my reference... In the study I repositioned her feathered boa for the composition of the painting and changed the lighting source to be coming up at her from below. The study, another new concept for me, helped me pull my interpretation together and has given me a better idea of where I want the larger painting to go, in regards to color and mood ... we will see what today brings!

Wet Paint...

16x20 Oil/Canvas Panel

Monday, we had a three hour session with Brian. I used Zorn's palette... Ivory Black, Titanium White, Yellow Ochre and Cad Red Light for the majority of the painting. It was very refreshing to use this limited palette in mixing the flesh tones. Since I usually paint what I see, flesh tones in actuality can be some very neutral and unexpected tones. With this palette it was all right there and simplified the process for me... eliminating some of the muckiness I have encountered when painting a portrait. I also used some Quinacridone Red for the tulips in the window as well as Prussian Blue with Cad Yellow Medium for the greens of the foliage.

Plein Air, Urban Painter...

8x8 Oil/Canvas Panel
Private Collection

My friend Janet and I met in a parking lot downtown on this SoFla version of a cold and windy morning. Seeing plein air painters down here is uncommon enough, but to see them bundled up is unheard of... until this Winter! Janet, in her nice assortment of colors made a good model as she painted while leaning against her SUV. We did get an early start... I had her pretty well blocked in and found myself wondering what to do with the empty parking lot around us. As soon as I started the pavement a red car parked beside Janet and was instantly followed by many fellow parkers. Problem solved, composition completed... I guess it's true, they paved paradise and they put up a parking lot...

The Black Robe

15x10 Oil/Canvas Panel

It was good to be painting with a model today, especially after working so much in the studio lately using my reference photos. Brian is standing in our hallway in front of a painting by William Thompson.

Wet Paint, In The Studio...

SOLD

And Her Little Dog, Too

12x12 Oil/Canvas

An abundance of shopping, sunlight and shadow done with an abundance of quick brushwork, color and ample paint...

Wet Paint, In The Studio...

SOLD

12x12 Oil/Canvas

Friday's painting was a conscious effort to start finding more energy in my brushwork. While the subject matter isn't especially energetic in appearance, I wanted the sunlight and reflected light to have movement and life.

Wet Paint...

Come On, Dad!

16x16, Oil/Canvas

With this painting, I stepped into a slightly different palette to find a warmer glow in my light. The extra doses of Winsor Newton's Indian Yellow and Green Gold in various mixtures helped add that warmth I was looking for. I combined images from several reference photos I took one Winter afternoon while walking around Virginia Highlands in Atlanta.