Golden Sun Flowers

 

I never get tired of painting sun flowers.  There is something about them that keeps me coming back.  Perhaps it is that they have been the subject of so many great artists before me.  I totally "get" their attraction to the subject, great shapes, great colors, great meaning to people.  Here is my latest sun flower painting entitled Golden Sun Flowers 24x18 oil.

 

 

Sea Breeze

 

 

Here is a better view of the final product from the previous post.  I have called this one Sea Breeze it is 20x16 oil and I like how it turned out.  I like how the colors play off of each other.  I like the movement, it captures the moment I was going for.

Progression of a Still-life

 

 

Here is a new 20x16 oil painting still-life, so new it is untitled.  I attempted to shoot photos of the painting at different points of completion.  It offers a look at how I work.  I generally map in the design.  Then I add my middle tones, then my darks and then my lights.  I like the idea of a progression to show how I work.  Perhaps in the future I will attempt this with a better camera or perhaps a time lapse, but for now this will have to due.

Winter Light and a realization of expressionism.

Winter Light 20x16 oil

 

I consider myself a representational painter and an impressionist; but lately I have been feeling more like an expressionist.  I want to paint less representationally and more expressionistically.  I want to convey the feeling of the moment and not the pure representation of the moment which a camera can capture in a second.  I want the emotion of the place and time to come through and live in the painting.  I see this as a turning point in my work perhaps.  Here is a new painting that I feel captures the moment of the day without being naturalistically correct. 

Incgonito 2014 Santa Monica Museum of Art

I was very honored to be included in the Santa Monica Museum of Arts 2014 Incognito Show.  To be in a show with so many talented artists was very cool.  I was even more happy that my painting sold to benefit the museum.  None of the art is signed on the front so the buyer has no idea who the artist is, thus the art is sold on its own merit and not on the artists name or reputation.  Thank you to the person that picked my painting and thus contributing to the museum.

Working Title: "Cut Flowers and Oranges"

 

I always have such trouble coming up with the titles of my paintings.  I always want the painting to stand alone and not need a title to complete it.  So often with still-life the name will be the objects that are in the painting.  In this case I'm going with "Cut Flowers and Oranges" but there is a voice in my head that I may have used that title in the past.  Perhaps that is the stumbling block with representational art in general, why must we be literal when after all we are not painting things we are painting the way the "things" feel or how the things make us feel.  Perhaps I should really call this one "Happy to be Alive Painting Flowers Today".

Seaside Morning

Seaside Morning 11"x14" oil

 

It is amazing the vibrancy of life living by the sea and enjoying the sun dancing around with the sea breezes.  I always want my paintings to be visually interesting to look at.  I want to the viewer to come into the painting and move around, engage with it.  I also want to convey that moment of beauty or place or good.  I think this piece does both.  It pulls you in as you move around the subject and it also captures that moment of peace, beginning, sun etc.  Nothing is still about nature and most still life's painted very still...but in the moment many still life's are life, vibrant and changing.  

Winter Creek

Winter Creek 20x16 oil

 

Wow the holidays are approaching, I can't believe that I haven't touched the blog since July.  There is so much social media to attend to these days you really can get overwhelmed.  Anyway, this is where I am most open.  I just finished this piece of a Colorado creek in Winter.  I wanted to capture all the colors that are there on a cold, crisp, clear day in the Colorado high country.  If you find yourself here please feel free to follow me at:

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In the Wash

 

 

Here is a new painting called "In the Wash" 9"x12" oil.  I am still enjoying painting this subject matter.  I love painting the figure in motion, in a seascape for all the colors and action.  The subject lends itself to becoming a painting.  The abstract water is always a fun experiment and this time the experiment seems to have worked.  Let me know what you think.

Sun Flowers and Oranges

 

Some subjects practically paint themselves and the subject is so commonly beloved and related to that you can set yourself free of the details.  It is very fun to cut loose and a still life such as this.  Please let me know what you think of this 20x16 oil.

First Video Demo

OK, I have been thinking about doing a video demo for a long time.  So I thought I would take a stab at it with a quick figure sketch in oil.  This is a sketch and so I am not taking it all the way to a completed painting but you can see the process I use for painting.  I start with a bit of a mapping of the canvas then bulk in middle tones, then darks, then lights.  Let me know what you think.  I hope to improve the process in both the photography and the editing and who knows maybe even the painting (smile).

I'm Being Watched!

 

 

As the paintings stack up in the studio...sometimes I feel like I'm being watched!

Waiting to Hula

 

This painting is called Waiting to Hula.  It is a 20x16 oil.  It depicts two young Hawaiian dancers waiting to go on stage.  These girls were very cute and anxious about performing.  I wanted to capture the Aloha spirit in this painting.

Nude with Green Scarf

 

I just finished this nude figure painting.  It is called Nude with Green Scarf it is a 20"x16" oil.  I wanted to keep it painterly and direct.  Let me know what you think.

Tech Lit

 

Just finished this painting called "Tech Lit"  20"x16" oil.  I am intrigued by the light given off by the modern gadgets.  They are so prevalent in our current culture, I think that it is a source of creative exploration, as the great painters of the past painted the light source from candles and fireplace lit interiors.  Much of our lives is now iluminated by technology screens giving of an other worldly glow.