"Benched At Wrigley"

7 x 5"

oil on panel
sold

I'm starting a fundraising effort for a return trip, in the fall, to my favorite city Chicago.  

This taken from the side of the famous Wrigley Building, on Michigan Avenue - a couple of weary tourists resting on the bench in the shade.

More Chicago scenes to follow.  I thank you for your bids.

"Because I'm Happy"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

That song just played in my head while I was painting this happy hound.

From the beach on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

"200 Faces, No. 142"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

A warm-up that turned into a portrait I really love.  And a new addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED.

"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. 

"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.

"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.

"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

 

"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....

"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.

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.

"200 Faces, No. 135"

4 x 4"

oil on panel
sold

A new addition to my ongoing series BUST-ED.

"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.

"Spring Break"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

Sometimes I have to really wonder what's wrong with me when I have no desire to paint, I whine that I need inspiration - yadayada.   The news is dismal, violent protests, absurd decisions by juries, weather catastrophes.  It gets to me.  

What worked today was a removal from the distractions - Pandora instead of news.  Iced coffee, painting in a t-shirt and shorts for a change.  A nice afternoon.

From Washington Square Park in New York City, a couple of women spending the afternoon removed from distractions.  The original photo is from my friend, Karen Hollingsworth.