"Summer VI"

4 x 4"
oil on masonite
sold

This is probably the end of my little beach paintings - at least for a while. I'm deep in the progress of painting for a dual show coming up in May and there comes a point where any distraction cuts into my time. Yikes. Meanwhile I'll stare at these little gems and dream of being barefoot and tan.


ps - Thank you all for the comments on the little movie I posted this morning. It's just something I wanted to do - keeping myself familiar with movie editing and putting images in a different context. Hope you enjoyed it.

"Gossip Girls"

10 x 9"
oil on masonite
sold

As with many, I painted the figures first - I do that so I'm sure the essence (of the people) is right, before I invest more time. And remember, I paint on black, so what stood out, as I had finished refining the details, was the form created from the women facing each other on the chairs - a V - or a W depending on how you look at it. So cool. And with that, I wanted minimal surroundings - to emphasis that accidental form. At the same time, I had Lawrence of Arabia on and there I was, dazzled by the desert scenes of the men on camels, with nothing around them but bright sand, a vague horizon line with a sliver of blue sky and the shadow beneath them. All I saw what the form. So taking a visual lesson from a brilliant, visual movie led me to the completion of this new painting 'Gossip Girls'.

This painting is included in my current solo exhibition at the Morris & Whiteside Galleries.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Borderline"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

I feel like I've been painting too tight lately. It's tension I suppose. So this morning, I vowed to keep it looser, more painterly. This is a good scene to tackle - not wanting to paint every stick or every blade of grass - I started it much different than the usual. And just when I thought I'd wipe it all off and start over, it started to work.

From Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

"The Big Dig"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

The beginning of a day-long dig at the beach. I can remember those days myself, not a care in the world. Happy summer.

"Collection Bucket"

(detail)

4 x 14"
oil on masonite
sold

I have the beach on the brain these days - and since I haven't made that trip in several years, I live vicariously through my friends' experiences.

"Rehobeth Beach"

12 x 12" oil on masonite

(detail)

What goes along with experimenting is failure - which was yesterday's painting, 5 hours of work and wiped off in 30 seconds. Today was much better. It all clicked. And I'm looking at, what may be, my top 10 personal favorites. It's not the subject matter so much as it's simply how I want to paint.

This was a bright, summer day at Rehobeth Beach, Delaware - a few days before Labor Day weekend. Please click here if you'd like a larger view.

This painting has sold.

"Mother Duck"

detail

8 x 8"

oil on masonite

sold

The simplest moments can be the best paintings. Aside from the charming procession of the girls following their mother, the colors of the sky, the ocean and the sand seem to marry so well with the figures and what they're wearing and hauling. I tried this scene on a 6 x 6" format and failed - so I painted this on a little larger of a board and it worked perfectly. Another ode to summertime.

"Miami"

6 x 6"

oil on masonite

sold

There's nothing like a hot day in Atlanta to make me daydream of swimming in the ocean. I took a trip to South Beach a while back, first time I'd ever been. Visually speaking, it was non-stop inspiration for future paintings. Colors that don't present themselves in my normal day. Aquas, blues, purple-blues, yellows, golds - everything seemed intensified, especially from the sun.

"Alone"

6 x 6"

oil on masonite

sold

I'm happy to have squeezed in a small, daily painting tonight- I've been working on pieces for a show in July and it's all-consuming, to say the least.

This woman was enjoying some "me-time" on a Saturday morning on Oak Street Beach, in Chicago. I thought of doing a larger painting of her - so I've tried it out in this smaller format to get an idea of its impact. I'd love some feedback when you've got the time.