"It's Showtime"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

A sure sign of summer - perched high, looking over my uncle's garden in Roxie, Mississippi.

"200 Faces, No. 123"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

After starting back with painting, I realized I needed some warming up. 

This is a new addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED. 

~ and a Happy Summer to ya'll

Way Down South

Wanted to check in - I've been visiting family in Natchez, Mississippi, attending a large family reunion.  My mom was one of 14 children, so it's a big deal.

I'd like to share a few photos before I settle back in and start painting.

I stayed out on the family farm with one of my mom's brothers and his wife.  It's heaven on earth, a million miles from any hustle and bustle.   I used to stay there as a little kid when I visited and when the sun went down at night, I was scared to death of the dark.  As an adult, it's paradise.  You can see every star in the sky.  It's just .... heaven on earth.

A fraction of the food brought in for the reunion ...

Under the Hill with the Mississippi River flowing by ....

And Nellie Jackson's famous whorehouse ...

When I was about 12 years old, one of my older cousins drove me by Nellie's on a Saturday night.  It was alive and well back then.  Patrons weren't allowed to come in through the front door, there was a driveway that took them to the back door, where they were greeted by Miss Nellie or one of her girls.

Miss Nellie ran the brothel for 60 years.  It is said she took a roll of film to the local drugstore every week to be developed and those photos were her insurance.  It worked for 6 decades.  In 1990, at the age of 87,  a 20-year old neighbor stumbled to the back door drunk and Miss Nellie refused service and told him to come back sober - it was a house rule.

The young man walked over to a gas station across the street and filled a cooler with gasoline and returned to Nellie's place and knocked on the back door.  When Miss Nellie opened the door, he threw the gas on her and lit a match.  Miss Nellie lived for a week and died from her burns - the man who murdered her didn't realize he spilled some of the gas on himself and suffered burns.

Miss Nellie was loved by a lot of the Natchez citizens for her sweet nature and generosity.  She was an avid baseball fan and was often seen around town with two or three of her white poodles.

Just a little Natchez history.

"200 Faces, No. 122"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

I had just a little bit of paint left of my palette and wanted to ease up and paint something quick and loose.   Part of my ongoing series BUST-ED.

"Chapel at Palmetto Bluff"

7 x 9"

oil on panel

The ride to Palmetto Bluff, near Hilton Head Island, feels like you're in a movie.  It's a quiet, long road to the little town, which is picture-perfect.  Very sweet.  This is the Chapel at Palmetto Bluff, a very desirable place to have a wedding I'm told.  Through those windows you look out onto the May River.  It's lovely.  All of it.

To purchase directly, click here.

"A Little Blue Cheese"

5 x 7"

oil on panel
sold

Fish I won't eat.  Cheese I will.

"Heads & Tails"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

Can't get enough of these cool, iridescent fish.  I admit I won't eat fish but I love to paint them.

"Sammy"

7 x 5"

oil on panel
sold

A glistening, iridescent sardine I named Sammy.

"Big Brother"

14 x 6"

oil on panel

I saw this guy and his two dogs on the beach every day while we were in Hilton Head.   It was something to aspire to - teaching Zac and Joey how to walk each other.  How great is that?

Please click here for a larger view and purchase information.

"Tanning Tubes"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

I took a week off of painting for some spring cleaning - meanwhile the sun and the warmth finally arrived.  Yay.   This new painting is an ode to late spring and the anticipation of floating in a swimming pool as soon as possible.  Plus I just got a new tube of Quinacridone Violet for that hot pink I wanted.  

"Legally Blonde"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

I feel like painting dogs these days.  It's such a happy subject.   This little guy was painted on a bright, red ground, you can spot glimpses of it on some edges and underneath the sand color.  

From the beach on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

"Pack Man"

12 x 7"

oil on panel
sold
 

Boy did I work hard on this ocean.  Some artists can make it look so easy.

From the beach on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina - a man and his pack taking a brisk walk on the morning after Hurricane Sandy had passed.

Please click here for a larger view.

"200 Faces, No. 121"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

A new painting included in my ongoing series BUST-ED.   I thought it was time for a smile.

"200 Faces, No. 120"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

A new addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED  -  a lesson on blond hair and glasses.

"200 Faces, No. 119"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

A new addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED.

"Shore Patrol"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

I've got a few larger paintings in mind for Morris & Whiteside Gallery, for their upcoming summer season - this is a small study.  I was feeling out the darker-grey ocean in the distance.  It's an unusual color than I'm not prone to paint - the darker waters were a result of a storm that passed the night before.  

From the shores on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina - a man and his buddies.

"200 Faces, No. 118"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

A new addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED, and slightly larger than the usual 4" square - this particular face persuaded me to try something different.  I painted a brown/black (oil) over the white ground and proceeded to bring out the highlights by removing the dark with my brush dipped in Gamsol.  It took a while to get used to how to use the brush, wet, dry, scrubbed, washed, etc.  Tricky.

Near the completion, I added a slight warm-grey into areas as well.  I love it.

"200 Faces, No. 117"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

Oh happy day when painting comes easy.  The one before this, I spent about 4 hours on, didn't quite finish, went to bed, came back to it the next morning, spent another 2ish hours on it then wiped it off in total frustration.  I was so sure it was a winner and poof, it was gone.  Every day is a learning process.

Part of my ongoing series BUST-ED.

"At The Brandywine"

8 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

I thought I'd keep working on the bright red ground today and chose an image that had lots of warm reds/golds.   It's experimental really.  I want it loose and I want to use the red ground in spots and edges.  You see it peeking through in many places - the trick is when to let it peek through and just compliment the colors.

A visitor standing before two of N. C. Wyeth's paintings - 'Painting of Native American' on the left and 'On The October Trail, A Navajo Family' on the right.  N. C. Wyeth is in the top 5 artists for me personally, along with Andrew and Jamie Wyeth, so visiting the Brandywine Museum of Art is always a thrill for me.

Studio Sale!

I've got three paintings that I removed from the frames - painted in August 2012 - and I would be pleased to sell them.   If you'd like to take a quick look, I'd appreciate it.

'Fleeting Moment'

8 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

We were in Aiken, South Carolina for a Steeplechase event and visited their little city for dinner, where I spotted this gentleman watching a butterfly on the sidewalk.  

'The Shy One'

7 x 10"

oil on panel

I spotted this young man weaving roses out of palmetto leaves outside the city market in Charleston, South Carolina.  I love the shadows in this piece.

To purchase this painting, please click here.

 

'Early in Sterling'

10 x 6"

oil on panel

sold

From our cross-country travels last spring, a Edward Hopper-like painting of a row of little houses facing the early morning sunshine in Sterling, Colorado.

"Diggin' It"

8 x 10"

oil on panel
sold

I've had a cold.  In the grand scheme of things, it's just an ordinary cold but it turns the brain to mush.  But after a very nice evening with a couple who bought a painting of mine recently,  I got a much-needed shot in the arm and jumped back into the paints, despite my mushy brain.

Lucky for me, a Game of Thrones marathon has been on all day and I've stayed focused for a change, painting and reminding myself how the story has progressed - ready for the return of Season 3 tonight.  Yay.  It's the best thing on television, if you haven't tuned in yet.   Baseball returns tomorrow, the trees are budding and life is good.

I painted this piece on a bright, red ground - which takes some patience because colors do appear different on the red, with less predictable results, but that's what makes it fun.  Just like when you paint on black - at first you battle with it, then get familiar with how to go along with it.  

"200 Faces, No. 116"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

I really do enjoy painting these portraits, I learn something every single time.  Part of my ongoing series BUST-ED.

Happy Spring ~

"200 Faces, No. 115"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

Part of my ongoing series BUST-ED, a portrait inspired from a police mugshot.

"Winter Color"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

I haven't painted many flowers in the past - but I've been stuck and the best remedy I know is to paint something unfamiliar.  And it's a deep appreciation for some bursts of color during gray, winter days.

"100+ Faces, No. 114"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

Part of my ongoing series of portraits painted from mugshots, the chiseled profile of a Native American Indian man.