"Papaya Innerds"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

I'm abstaining from all sweets that are wonderful and I'm trying to embrace fruit.  After all, the colors are beautiful and rich in fruits, a little more so than that of an Oreo.

"Prosciuttaloupe"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

What I think is a perfect summer lunch of cantaloupe wrapped in prosciutto with cold, red grapes.  

"Strawberry Reds"

7 x 5"

oil on panel
sold

I can be a real stubborn knucklehead when it comes to figuring out what to paint.  I took a few days off then spent two days stewing over what to start on.  Over thinking.

Turns out, most of the time, it's right there in front of me.

~ Happy Summer

"A Rock Star"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold 

This morning I read the NYT article about 'The Goldfinch' painting's return home to the newly-renovated Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis in the Hague, after a popular tour in the U.S.   Carel Fabritius's little gem of a painting was a rock star at the Frick last year.  

It's celebrity status was largely due to the connection with Donna Tartt's best-seller 'The Goldfinch' about a 13-year-old boy, who's life is turned upside down when he and his mother visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the exhibition of Dutch paintings, including her favorite 'The Goldfinch' - when a terrorist bomb kills his mother and many other museum patrons.

'The Goldfinch' back home at the Mauritshuis

My painting will be included in the July 19th Small Works Auction in Charleston.

Please click here for a larger view. 

"Amen Corner"

I had mentioned the upcoming Small Works Auction - held on July 19th at the Sylvan Gallery in Charleston.  I'm excited about it.  I love auctions.

I will have nine paintings in the auction, all framed, with a $99 reserve - so it's entirely possible to get a great deal on not just my work, but everything in the auction. 

I'll show you each of mine, one at a time - starting with a scene in Charleston titled 'Amen Corner' -
a mid-afternoon lull at the corner restaurant Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar.

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold 

Click here for a larger view.

"Waiting In The Wings"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

I'm very fond of this painting.  It's a nice way to end a work day.

A young man patiently waits for his family to tour the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.

"It's a Stretch"

8 x 10"

oil on panel
sold

A new painting that will arrive at the Anne Irwin Fine Art Gallery in Atlanta during the first week in July - a patron viewing Edgar Dega's 'Dancers at the Bar' in The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Final Chapter"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold 

I often live vicariously through my paintings.

A woman enjoying the simple pleasure of reading a good book on the beach - from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Please click here for a larger view.

"200 Faces, No. 141"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

So my binge watching of Mad Men while painting is over - I've moved on to Orange is the New Black.  That may explain the strong, unexpected colors on this new addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED.

Or it's the after-effects of watching the latest Game of Thrones.  Holy crap.

"200 Faces, No. 140"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

You may have noticed I stepped away from painting for a couple of weeks.  The sunshine called out to me to get out and join the real world for a while.  Flowers are planted, exercising feels good and my auction paintings are framed for the event in July.

Back to work.

It was a warm-up day with this new addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED.

"Retirement Benefits"

8 x 8"

oil on panel

A retired couple enjoying their new life on the beach on Hilton Head Island.

This painting will be auctioned at the event 'Community United' in Charleston SC on July 9th, to benefit the families of the victims of the Emanuel A.M.E. tragedy.

Please click here for a larger view and auction information.

"Planted"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

A young woman reading the city guide in a hotel lobby in Chicago.

"200 Faces, No. 139"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

Hard to pass up a beautiful, warm day here today - but I did put in a little time in the studio.

A new addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED.

"Raspberry Beret"

5 x 7"

oil on panel
sold

I have a cold.  I felt like painting, despite my fuzzy brain, but it had to be loose.  And really, this is how I really love to paint with oils.  Loose, quick and done by the end of the day.  The title came to me from a Prince song I haven't heard in a long time.

From the Art Institute of Chicago, a young woman stands before Grant Wood's iconic painting 'American Gothic'.

~ Happy Easter

"200 Faces, No. 138"

I've been working hard on a project that I'm psyched about and it's right up my alley.

One of my galleries, Morris & Whiteside, will be hosting a Small Works Show Auction at another one of my galleries, Sylvan, in Charleston, South Carolina.  It's not until mid-July, but I'm hoping to have 8-10 paintings included in the auction.  That's what I'm working on these days.

The cool thing about this auction is there should be around 200 paintings - and big names like Dean Mitchell, Dan McCaw, Steven Scott Young to name a fraction of the artists.  Great deals to be had -
a perfect event to begin collecting original art.

Most of what I'm doing are sizes as small as 4 x 4" and as large as 8 x 8".  I told you it was right up my alley.

So closer to the event, around July 1st, I'll post those paintings so you might think about joining in on the auction.

Anyways.....

I took a break from that project today and added to my ongoing series BUST-ED.

I randomly picked a colored panel with a grassy-green and love the results.

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

I purposely didn't labor over the edges and show all these cool slivers of the green ground, as you can see a little better below in the detail.

detail

 

"Let's Dance"

9 x 12"

oil on panel
sold

Hot off the easel and with cheerful, spring colors- my third painting to fit into the upcoming group show 'Apres Paris' at the Anne Irwin Fine Art Gallery, opening May 2nd.

I chose another famous French painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and his masterpiece 'Dance at Bougival', which hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Their Sunday Best"

8 x 10"

oil on panel

sold

I did finish this painting, after a marathon of 5 days.  I'm more inclined to start a piece and finish it before I turn in, but this one demanded more time.  It will be included in Anne Irwin's May Show titled 'Apres Paris'.

The two sisters, in their Sunday best, were marveling over Georges Seurat's 'A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte' in the Art Institute of Chicago.

The gallery sold this quickly and I am thrilled.

Please click here for a larger view.

"200 Faces, No. 137"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

It's unusual that I paint with only black and white - I guess I needed a simplified warm-up this morning after finishing two very colorful, detailed paintings.

It was harder than I thought.

Somehow the changes in values of color, in the slightest increments, comes easier, probably from lots of practice.  The multitudes of greys were tougher.  I need to do this more.

 detail

I decided to leave the red ground color - it looks cool with the black and greys.

Going Nuts with Progress

Imagine - you decide to paint your large bedroom, move the furniture, cover the furniture, go get the gallons of paint and brushes.  You wake up the next morning knowing full well it'll take several days of your life and you just go for it.

That's what it was like on Monday morning when I started this painting.  I should say when I started Seurat's painting 'A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte'.  Yikes.

The detail matters.  So I took my time, used every color in the rainbow and while painting, I imagined Seurat working on a canvas 10 feet by 7 feet and layering millions of dots.  How did he not go nuts?

And here I'm whining about 8 inches by 5ish inches.

My very-used pizza pan of colors....

"The Golden Hour"

10 x 7"

oil on panel
sold

Happy Monday.  Just had to mention that if you haven't watched Neil deGrasse Tyson on the new show 'Cosmos', don't miss it - it should be required watching for everyone.   It's not about art, but it inspires the imagination and the visuals are outstanding.

On to the new painting - a golden retriever taking in the shade as her mom takes in a good book.  From the beach on Hilton Head Island.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Joe"

5 x 5"

oil on panel
sold

A mugshot of sorts - a friendly camel I named Joe, who peacefully resides in the country outside of Natchez, Mississippi.  An absolutely amazing animal to see in person.

~ Happy Spring

"200 Faces, No. 136"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

A new addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED.

"Rainy Day People"

12 x 12"

oil on panel
sold

Finished.  Yay.   The day before yesterday I made great progress - I was down to the floor area about 7:30 pm and I had to stop to watch Jeopardy (I always watch Jeopardy) because Arthur Chu was still on a run and I wasn't going to miss it.  So I finished up yesterday.

This painting will arrive at the Anne Irwin Fine Art Gallery around the 25th of April for a special Paris-Themed Group Show.

Please click here for a larger view.

Now I'm on to a few small, quick paintings - stay tuned.

~ Happy Friday

In Progress

I think when I started painting with my reading glasses, the whole progress slowed down because this portion of my painting in progress has taken several days.

Then again, it is 'Paris Street, Rainy Day' by Gustave Caillebotte - a magnificent, enormous, complex oil that is 83-1/2 inches tall by 108-3/4 inches wide in real life.  I've painted it several times as the feature in my painting and I see something new every time.

Just checking in and assuring you I'm hard at work.

This painting will hopefully be included in a group show coming up in Atlanta.  More info later.

"Sit A Bit"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

From the Sculpture Gallery in the Art Institute of Chicago.