"Troubadour"

8 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

I aimed for a very loose painting today - taking a figure from a photo and transporting him into another setting.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.

"Arrivederci"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

Whenever I'm approaching New York City and see the skyline, I get butterflies in my stomach - it is so enormous, so fantastic, so dense, so busy. It's kinda scary. I feel like I'm leaving one country and stepping into another. Once I'm there, that all turns into excitement and energy - and I am in awe. We were a part of the heartbeat for eleven days and it was unforgettable. My workshop was, again, a fantastic experience - it is the greatest city to photograph and paint.

Leaving the island, I usually feel a slight relief - back on familiar territory. This was our last glimpse of the skyline, from across the Hudson River - and we were now on our way to reunite with friends in New Jersey, and where we left our car. This isn't the end of my series ATL to NYC & Back - but it's the last glimpse of that amazing part of our trip.

"The Bean IV"

6 x 6"

oil on masonite

sold

Chicago's my favorite city, no doubt, and "The Bean" is my favorite stop. And one of my all-time favorite subjects to paint. Officially titled "Cloudgate", it sits in Millennium Park and draws in people like honey to a bee.

This subject is great to paint for a couple of reasons - certainly it's fun and challenging, in that it's made up of shapes and colors, warped and unreal - so the challenge is to rely on your eyes to make all the shapes and curves and colors make sense in the end. Which, I guess, is what the challenge of painting is, no matter what you're depicting.