Untitiled

This is a little landscape that I painted as a demo in one of my classes. I started with the sky and that was not fun at all. But I persevered and the rest of the painting came easily.

I don't usually paint landscapes that much any more. I usually prefer painting something close up. Landscapes are often breathtaking in reality. And I feel that it is very difficult to capture the same feeling in a painting. Maybe I should try doing a very large one someday.

I usually like to zero in and capture the nuances of my subject and present it to the world as looking through my eyes.

Recently I read Mary Whytes book "An Artist's Way of Seeing". It is out of print and I couldn't afford to but it for close to $300.00 and I couldn't find it in my local library. So I purchased it on my Kindle for $8.00. At first I was disappointed because with art books I enjoy seeing the colored pictures of the artist's work. But unlike most of my art books I actually read it from beginning to end. In the book she says that learning technique is important but it is not what makes you an artist. It is expressing your feelings and communicating them to the viewer that makes a painting a work of art. I feel that I have worked very hard on getting my technique down pat and that the longer that I paint the more I feel what she is talking about. I see a subject that I want to paint in a way that is more than it is an interesing to look at subject. It kind of tugs at my heart strings in a way that I become almost obsessed with painting the subject. I depend on my technique that I have accumulated to depict my subject but it is flowing from inside of me. Sometimes it even feels like it is painting itself.

Yellow Buckeye

The yellow buckeye is such a majestic tree. I started this painting in my watercolor class. I was demonstrating how your paint the general areas and colors before moving on to the details. Then I used pen and ink for the details. It was alot of fun and voila I have a painting.

Right now I'm getting ready for two art shows this weekend. The first one is at Pembroke 4 Art Gallery, Virginia Beach and the opening is Friday July 23rd from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The second one is at 17th St park between Atlantic Ave and the Ocean front on Saturday July 23rd from 10 :00 am to 6:30 pm. (I have 20% off coupons for that show if your interested please let me know and I can email it to you.) So if your in town this weekend please feel free to come and visit and enjoy the art.

Untitled

I just finished this painting. It is a gift for my daughter Kim. She asked me to paint it for her about 9 months ago when she moved into her new home in La Quinta, CA. I really hope that she loves it.

This was a painting done with love. I really put my heart into the creation of it. It is not my usual style but it was so much fun painting.

It has been a long time since I have painted in oils. It reminds me of the things I like and dislike about oils. I love the creamyness of the medium. Mixing colors, blending colors, adding lights over darks and leaving texture in the paint add to the wonder of the experience. On the negative side is the time it takes to paint and then dry and the clean up. In the very back of my mind are the thoughts of toxicity.

Now I need to spend more time getting ready for the spring art shows. It is an exciting but stressful time. I need to paint a few new paintings, get prints and notecards made up, matt and frame paintings and prints, get my supplies together, and make a few purchases. This is on top of my busy teaching schedule. Sounds like fun doesn't it? Well it will be as long as I don't pull my hair out. In the meantime I'm taking a trip to sunny Californ i a. Which will relax and inspire me.

Trees in the Sunset

This is my fourth and last 5 x 7 painting for the No Bigger than a Minute show at the East Beach Gallery. The Opening Reception on Friday was very nice. The art there was terrific and presented so well. John and Betty Hadfield always do a wonderful job at presenting the art in their gallery. If you have the chance stop on by and see it. They are open Tuesdays through Friday from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. They are located at 9559 Shore Dr., Norfolk, VA. I think you will enjoy it.

Purple Clouds

Here's another one of my 5 x 7 watercolor and gouache paintings. I really enjoyed painting the sky and clouds. I used a fan brush and white gouache to blend the clouds into their unusual shape. I love experimenting with new techniques. It is amazing how doing something a little (or alot) differently, using a new tool or mixing media help you to get different looks.

The question I have is how using different materials and techniques effects your style. I feel that I'm starting to develop my style but when I try new "ways" of painting I wonder if it is different from my usual style of painting. Or is it just expanding my style? When I look at other artists work sometimes their style is consistent no matter what they do. But others have different styles for different ways of painting. For example an artist that I greatly admire, Birgit O'Conner paints vivid flowers that are crisp and sharp. She has very distinct way of painting. But her landscapes are more "watercolory", vague and almost mystical. They look like they could have been done by a different artist.

Well I guess I will just continue to explore new ways of doing things. I think I would be bored if I didn't. I just love the feeling when trying something new and "voila" it works!!!

Mountains on the Lake

Here's another of my "mini" paintings for the No Bigger Than a Minute art show at the Gallery at East Beach. The art show runs from January 15th to February 14th. There is an Opening Reception January 15th from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm. If you have the chance come on by and see the art and meet the Artists.

It has been alot of fun painting these small paintings. I'm almost done with them and now I am looking forward to freeing myself to work on some larger paintings.

What am I going to do next? Well I'm thinking of doing some more Masa paper paintings that I have in my mind or I might try some abstracts. It will be whatever moves me at the time I start.
It is certainly an interesting journey that I am on.

Birch Trees on the River

I have been painting "miniatures" getting ready for the "No Bigger than a Minute" show at the Gallery at East Beach. The show is from January 15th to February 14th. There will be an Opening Reception January 15th but the time has not been set yet. I will let you know as soon as I know. The show is not really for miniatures, but small paintings no larger than 8 x 10 inches. It ought to be alot of fun. I know I'm enjoying painting my small paintings.

I have been working on mini landscapes. They are 5 x 7 inches. So far I have painted four of them; two which are going in the show. It is different painting small with small brushes. In a way it's easier as I experience having more control over what I am doing. But of coarse when using large brushes you can let the watercolor flow freely. Also I have been working on landscapes more recently and they are more expansive than flowers. When painting flowers I zero in on their form. I still try to capture the beauty and serenity of whatever subject I'm working on. I have two more paintings to complete then I need to start working on my next show.

Ice Storm

This is one of my paintings that I will exhibit at Riverview Gallery in Portsmouth's Holiday and Winter Art Show. The event starts Friday December 4th with an Opening Reception from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. It runs for the entire month of December. You can find it in Olde Towne Portsmouth at 1 High Street. Stop by if you have the chance and experience a Winter Wonderland!

This is another example of painting in watercolor and white gouache. First I placed down a blue wash then went over it with white gouache. This helped to cool down the background to allow the tree branches to be able to freeze. (Figuratively not literally.) I went on to paint the trunk and branches with cool colors and the smaller branches in white. It really was alot of fun and I really like the look of it. And I did not even use a drop of green!

Golden Mountains

Recently in one of my classes, Jenny Wong did a demonstration of how she uses gouache in her landscapes. Jenny is a very talented artist and her landscapes are beautiful. Check out her website at http://www.jennywongart.com/.

When I paint in watercolors I hardly use gouache at all. Sometimes I use a little bit to depict snow or mix with another color to show an area that needs to be more opaque. I mostly paint with transparent watercolors and I enjoy the build up of transparencies that allow your colors to come alive. Adding the gouache gives a more opaque covering of the paint. I think the colors are bright and clear. It gives a look almost like acrylics or oil painting. It is just a different way of painting.

I enjoyed doing this painting. It gave me a feeling of freedom. Was that because there was no sense of needing to be successful? Or perhaps because it was a simple subject? I really do not know but it sure was fun and I will try it again.

Trees in the Morning

I want to congratulate my niece Kerri and her new husband Brent on their wedding vows that they took yesterday. Kerri is a very special young woman in our family. She is loved by everyone and we have taken Brent into our love along side of her. We wish her and Brent a wonderful lifelong journey together.

I had decided to give them a painting as a wedding gift and I had the hardest time deciding which to choose. Then when I took out "Trees in the Morning" I knew it was the perfect painting.

The morning sun gives the promise of a new day as their wedding day promises them their life together. I believe it is bright with the
excitement of their youth and peaceful with the serenity of their later years. The colors of the foliage are rich with organic growth as their lives will grow together. It is a gift of love, peace and freedom to go into the world together and create the lives that they will. And they will.....

Central Park

I actually painted this painting twice. The first one I sold about a year ago. In this version I tried some new things.

First of all I did it on hot pressed paper. I usually work on cold pressed paper. Hot pressed paper is very smooth and does not absorb the paint as much. There are more back runs or blossoms and the paint dries faster. But it gives a smooth surface that I wanted to achieve for the ice cold water.

The next thing I did was limit my color pallette to only three colors, paynes grey, davy's grey and burnt umber to achieve the feeling of the cold temperature.

Over the last two weeks I taught my "Tricks" class in beginning watercolors. In this class I demonstrate different ways of creating textures and effects often with non-painting substances. For example after laying in a wash of color you sprinkle a little salt and little star shapes appear in the paint. It is always a fun class and people usually choose some tricks to enter into their repertoire of tools for painting.

In Central Park I have used three tricks. If you are one of the first two people who can guess what they are, I will give you a print of the painting. You need to write the three tricks used in the comments section below. You are not elligible if I have already told you the answer. This is for people in the continental United States only.

So good luck with this little contest and hope to hear from you soon.