Daffodils

I recently went on our annual painting trip to Duck on the Outerbanks of North Carolina with some friends.  It was a wonderful retreat very relaxing and yet stimulating to the creative process.  We truly had a wonderful time. 

I have been painting so many portraits for a while now and it was great to take my mind off them and concentrate on my true love of flowers.  I have been wanting to paint daffodils this spring.  They were blooming everywhere but every time I went out to photo them it was too windy to get a good picture.  So I had to take the pictures I had and use my imagination and I was able to come up with this small little painting.  I can't tell you how much fun it was to paint.

The Queen

My latest portrait The Queen.  This is the second time that I have painted her.  I really feel that I have come a long way in my choice of colors for the skin tones.  Using transparent colors really allows you to see through the different colors in the skin.  When you look at someones skin you can almost see through it. 

I have recently taken a little break from painting portraits and I have been painting some less intense paintings.  I will show you some of them soon.  It has been alot of fun just painting for the fun of it!  But I need to start putting some energy into one or two large paintings for the upcoming shows.  I hope return soon. 

Whitney Houston

I painted Whitney Houston because she was a very beautiful and talented woman. I know she will be missed by her family and friends as well as her fans.

I went through two different phases in this painting. The first phase was when I was painting her face. I really feel that I "got to know her" in a way that I certainly never have before. I really enjoyed the process of capturing her spirit. I am very satisfied with the results especially her eyes and the tilts at the sides of her mouth.

Then I went into phase two, her hair. It absoulutely drove me crazy! The curls and the highlights really challenged me to the max. I'm not totally satisfied with the results but I think it came to a natural state of being. I am glad of that as I don't think I could put another drop of paint on her hair.

I'm almost done with another portrait and will be posting it soon.