Ohio State Murals

Last week I painted a couple murals, one of Woody Hayes, another of Ezekiel Elliott, in a 'man cave' for a client in Michigan. Yeah- he was born in Ohio, but he still lives in Michigan, and loves his Buckeyes apparently.

These are acrylic paint and measure about 52" x 42".

Portland, Maine

I took photos of lobster boats in Portland, Maine when I drove home from a painting trip this past summer. The colorful reflections, lobster boats, traps and shipping containers tell a story and I plan to do more pieces along the same lines. This is the first, a smaller 11" x 14" where I made the boat the center of interest.

12" x 12" Portland Harbor

Quick Paintings

When you challenge yourself to complete a painting within a set time period, you're testing yourself to see how instinctively you can paint. I think this is important, especially when you're painting using the alla prima method. It's also a prerequisite if you're going to paint outdoors, where you need to capture an image in under two hours, due to the changing light. I spent just under 45 minutes capturing this pair.

I like apples. They're paintable, seasonal and best of all, edible. :) There are McIntosh apples. They're delicious.

McInstosh Apples

5x7 oil on panel

House Painting with People.

16" x 20" oil on linen

This is a house in Connecticut that I painted for a couple who won the bid in a grand prize to benefit the Autism Society of Connecticut. I donate a few paintings a year to worthy causes and this is one. The couple sent me three pictures, one of her with the boys, one of him with the boys and another of the house. Adding the people in front of the house is a nice way to personalize a house portrait.

Iris and Buster

Iris is the granddaughter of a friend and she took a nice photograph of her when she visited her recently. I loved the red boots and baggy sweatshirt. I added the little Westie for interest.

16" x 20" oil on canvas

Can We Take Him Home?

Tim Horn Workshop

I attended a two and a half day workshop with Tim Horn last week. He is an excellent instructor and had some helpful tools for painting outdoors. There was nothing that was new to me, but watching him actually using the tools-one was a color isolator- reinforced the idea that I should be using them as well.
Tim's work is all about light and shadow and the first full day of the workshop was cloudy, but he still managed to impart some of the wisdom that has made him one of the top landscape painters in California.
I did not do a decent painting in this workshop, but I did create one I liked at the B&B where we stayed.

12' X 12" The Glen House

Maumee River Plein Air

Another great spring day in Northwest Ohio. A somewhat less than inspired painting but when the goal is just to relax and enjoy the day the result is always a success.

9" x 12"

oil on canvas

Spring Weather Arrives

It finally got warm enough for me to get outside and paint. I need 50 degrees or better and I like it to be 60. I am a wuss, I know. This wisteria is growing up the side of a tree. The back lit shrubs were brilliantly lit. No wind, lots of shade, steady light and lots of birds flying around. My host furnished a glass of wine and all was well in the world for a couple hours. A perfect day to be outside painting.

12" x 16" oil on canvas

San Antonio Riverwalk

I've been wanting to paint this scene for a few years. My son lives in San Antonio and we visit the Riverwalk when I fly down, so I have a number of good pictures. In this view I wanted to keep the focus on the bridge and have the tree in the middle ground as my secondary area of interest. I love the shape of the tree.

9" x 12" 

oil on canvas

Painting form the Live Model

This is the lovely Jessica again; this time I used my standard medium, oil paint. It's from the same angle as the pastel I did last week, but the lighting is a little more defined in this version.

11" x 14"

Another Portrait Oil on Arches Paper

I am still experimenting with the Arches oil paper. I forgot to bring any oil/Liquin mixture with me to the portrait group so this one was done with Gamsol only. I think it will dry very quickly, so it will be a good test piece. I need to know how long it takes with oil and without. If my oil paintings can dry in a day or two in Paris I will be able to easily take them home in the suitcase in a stack inside some cardboard. It won't even matter what size I do as long as the dimensions are small enough to fit in my bag.

This girl is only 13. Her name is Cassandra. Is it me, or are children maturing WAY FASTER than they used to? She is a pretty girl and I may have made her look just a bit older than she is. In my defense she did have on some really red lipstick.

9"x 12"oil on paper

Another Painting That Takes Advantage of Complementary Colors

My former boss gave me this vase and it is truly a work of art. I have always wanted to paint it. I love the color, the shape---everything about it. There are some silvery dots arranged symmetrically all around the piece and I left those out. I am not saying I will never paint the vase with all its beautiful and subtle variations but it wouldn't work for this painting because there are too many other things going on.

I pulled out something else that has been lying around on my shelf waiting to be painted for quite awhile: a small math primer from the 1800's. It's a book that has been well-used, from a time when books were harder to come by and were valued a bit more than they are now. A stopwatch, some grapes and voila--it was ready.

I've intentionally left the pocket watch suggested. I want it to be a bit puzzling and stop the eye as you try to figure out what it is. I'm learning that less is sometimes more when it comes to this style of painting. If everything is painted with the exact same level of accuracy and detail the focal point disappears. Although this piece is not perfect, it is interesting and very impressionistic, and I can see where I need to go in the future.

Old Primer with Vase

11"x 14"" oil on linen

Murphy, A Rescue Terrier

Unlike Dudley, the Springer Spaniel, Murphy is still alive and her owner took a great photo with her iPhone. This painting was done in in two hours and Murphy's owner approved it instantly with the words, "You have captured her personality!"

Murphy is a rescue dog. I am partial to rescue dogs, as I own two of them. They are, it seems to me, more aware of the uncertainties of living on this planet. Most of them have been in a bad situation and they are eternally grateful to have a stable home with you.

Yes, a good photo is worth taking if you want a decent painting. So if there is ever a possibility that you might want a painting done of your pet after she has passed away, make sure you have some clear photos of her taken in her prime.

Murphy 11 x 14

oil on canvas

Dudley, an Irish Springer Spaniel

Another Christmas commission, this is Dudley, an Irish Springer Spaniel who passed away quite a few years ago. He is a gift for someone's sister. Unfortunately she did not have any good reference photographs so I had to use some stock photos from the web to paint the dog. It was a long, frustrating process that reminded me why I usually only do commissioned work from clear, well lit photos. This painting required seven revisions, including one request to put it back the way it was before. Oil painting is not Photoshop and you can't simply hit the "undo" button. I regretted the decision to take this on every time I looked into the poor dog's eyes as he stared back at me from my easel. The suspense about whether my next version would be accepted or rejected did not add excitement to my day; it filled me with a mild uneasiness and an uncharacteristic nervousness when I opened my email application.

Dudley was a semi-permanent fixture in my studio for about 2-1/2 weeks. The painting was finally approved and I have no idea if the portrait actually looks like Dudley or is the embodiment of what several people remember him to be. He is living with his new owner and that makes me happy.

11 x 14 oil on canvas

Charlie

I started this portrait from life at the Hyter Group, a portrait group that meets in Toledo on Saturday mornings at Common Space 2. Our model was Charlie, a Vietnamese immigrant who was into body-building in his younger days.

I had a pretty good base down and planned to continue it the following week. Unfortunately, I left it in my trunk at Oak Openings when I took my dog for a walk on one of the trails and something happened to it. At home, I removed it from my trunk and discovered tiny track marks all over the painting and also on a leather bag. Something, perhaps a chipmunk or a mouse, was able to squeeze into my trunk. Maybe it was attracted by the smell of the oils. I don't know.

I had to smear the entire painting into a series of tones while it was still wet to get the footprints out. So I decided to fix it and I used a cell phone picture I took of the model as my guide.

11" x 14" Charlie

Maybe It is Finished

I worked on this large figurative piece and I think it's time to quit. It's really not my usual thing but it was fun as well as challenging. I could add more strange things like skulls and rats but would that make it too morbid? I don't know. It's done for today but there is no guarantee I won't work on it again in a few months.

The Human Condition

24" x 36"

Lakeside Lifeguards 6x6

This is a small 6" x 6" plein air painting I did during my recent visit to Lakeside. It took much longer than it should have due to the constantly changing weather conditions and light. It wold rain, then it would clear up, then it would cloud up again. Those are challenging circumstances to paint under. 

6" x 6: oil on Gessobord™

Original Oil Painting Portrait of Jessica

I couldn't resist doing a full color version of Jessica in her over-the-top costume. If a model is willing to wear long heavy gloves in July I feel it's my duty to paint them in full color. I was going for a Rembrandt look with this- heavy dark background and luminous features.

The jewelry was a lot of fun to paint too. Jessica was going for a vampish look I believe and it really works.

12" x 16" oil on linen

Garden Path

Garden Path

9" x 12" oil on linen

A small plein air painting with a natural composition that I painted on my trip to the Irish Hills.

Georgia Theatre Oil Painting Marquee

Justin hired me to do a painting  for his fiancee. He proposed to her in front of the historic  Georgia Theatre via the marquee. This is a large painting and I used three different photo references to get the couple in, replace a van with a VW Bug and adjust the angle.

Pretty challenging but fun.

24" x 36" Georgia Theatre