"Ticket Please"

5 x 7"

oil on panel
sold

I l-u-r-v-e this painting.

And I loved this whole afternoon holed up in my little hut, away from the traffic jams and long lines and crowds of sweating people all over this city.

That's my idea of a holiday.

A visitor waiting at the ticket counter in the lobby of the Art Institute of Chicago.

"A Casual Look"

9 x 12'

oil on panel
sold

Brand-new, hot of the easel, a woman looks closely at Grant Wood's iconic 'American Gothic' in the Art Institute of Chicago.

"The Blues"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

Often I am asked how I am so prolific with painting.  First there's motivation and mine, right now, is to raise enough money to take a trip to Chicago in September.

As for prolific - I have a simple method - I find something to binge-watch while I'm painting.  I once finished 32 paintings in 2 months while watching the entire series of The Sopranos.  I kid you not.  The trick is, I stay put in my seat and cut out any distractions except what's on the tube and on my easel.

Lately,  I've gone thru Top of the Lake, Durham County and now Lost.  I will take this opportunity to plug Roku, which streams in Netflix and tons of others.  

And that's my method of cranking out painting after painting.

From the Art Institute of Chicago, a woman in blue views Claude Monet's 'Irises'.

"The Shorter Version"

6 x 8"

oil on panel
sold

I wanted to do a larger version of this scene, so I thought I'd get a better idea of colors and composition with a smaller study first - then I got a bit carried away.  That's what happens with painting a Sargent, it's mesmerizing.

From the Art Institute of Chicago, a woman stands before John Singer Sargent's 'Mrs. George Swinton (Elizabeth Ebsworth)', one of my personal favorite paintings in the museum.

"A Look Of Disapproval"

5 x 7"

oil on panel
sold

A museum visitor getting a seemingly disapproving look from 'Madame Roulin Rocking the Cradle' by Vincent Van Gogh.  She does look a little disheveled.

 From the Art Institute of Chicago.

"How Thoughtful"

5 x 7"

oil on panel
sold

I'm so very pleased with this painting I did today.  It's just the right balance of tight and loose.  Yay.

From the side garden outside of the Art Institute of Chicago.

"Mercato"

12 x 7"

oil on panel
sold

I was in the middle of painting this piece earlier in the year and had to put it aside to jump on paintings for a group show and frankly, I forgot about it.  I discovered it a few weeks ago in my storage area and decided to finish it.

This was a scene from No. Market Street, in Charleston, South Carolina - just across the street from the Charleston City Market.  The restaurant is now closed, but I did see a new French restaurant took it's place.

"Purple Bell"

5 x 5"

oil on panel
sold

I thought I'd take the day off of painting but that would mean cleaning the house. 

I did, however, take a break from painting people.  In fact, anything that required sketching out first. It's nice to just start painting freely.

My recent acquisition at the local farmer's market - a lovely, vividly-purple bell pepper.

"The Day's News"

5 x 5"

oil on panel
sold

There is a place I like to go to fuel up before I hit the Art Institute of Chicago, just a few blocks from the front steps.  And it's always a great people-watching spot.

"A Rainy Night in Chicago"

5 x 7"

oil on panel
sold

This was a tough one.

I started out wanting to keep it very impressionistic and loose, then I started painting in each window like a nutball - took a break for dinner - came back to it and forced myself to paint the remainder with a wide brush.  I'm kinda amazed I finished it, and just the way I pictured it in my head in the beginning.  Yay.

This view is from a high floor in the Fairmont Hotel on North Columbus Drive - on a very rainy night in the city.  You can make out the Sheraton Towers on the right with its glowing tower.

"Red Heads"

5 x 7"

oil on panel
sold

I spent my high school years in a suburb of Chicago and I'd occasionally cut school and spend the day in the city where I'd prowl the Art Institute of Chicago all morning, meet my dad for lunch, go back to the museum, then ride the train back to the suburbs with my day around 6.  My idea of a perfect day.

This Renoir painting, 'Two Sisters (On the Terrace) is a crowd pleasure, one of his most-recognizable oils.   And yes, this really happened. 

"Bare Market"

11 x 11"

oil on panel
sold

I spent all weekend and today on a couple of paintings that had a deadline date - including this new piece that may be included in the Hilton Head Auction in November, unless it sells before.  I wouldn't argue that.

Inside the Museum of Modern Art in New York City - women admire Picasso's masterpiece 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon'.   In case you didn't know, his title is a reference to a street in Barcelona famous for its brothel.

Please click here for a larger view.

 4 x 6"

oil on panel

sold 

This is a smaller painting I am donating to a charity auction taking place in Connecticut in October.

Now I move on to more Chicago scenes and a start on an upcoming solo show in Atlanta sometime in November.

"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.