Fenced in 272

99.9% done....

Santa Rosa Morning, 252

Started going back through my masses of pictures from this summer looking desperately for some inspiration or something. This piece goes back to when I first started painting and I was using house paint and some pictures of trees I took in Costa Rica. I used a color combo I painted last week. It took a long time to do, so I am pretty sure it doesn't have the freeness I really want for it to have. Either way, It was an experiment and a strange siZe and was fun to do!

Mountain Dew, 204

My next group of paintings is based on several obsessions of mine... junking, Pop Art, retro advertising.

By junking I mean going to junk stores, antiques malls and flea markets. My favorite was Lakewood in Atlanta. My pal Jeff Stuart got me hooked on going up there. Closing that place was a very sad day for all of us that loved going up there.

I love old rusty signs and advertisements. The oxidation and the simplicity and effectiveness of the design work always captivated me. I have designed logos for different companies, the most notable around here is the Redneck Gourmet. My dad designed the first logo in 1990 and I redesigned it for franchising purposes. I have hand painted tin signs for them, as well as murals outside the Newnan location and inside the Senoia location. I have always enjoyed lettering.

Afte a week off from painting I have decided to explore these themes. I hope you enjoy!

Sunflower, 191

Ran out of really big canvas, but had this great square 24"x24" museum wrap tucked away in my canvas closet. I have done several studies of sunflowers growing in my garden, but i really wanted to see one large scale, I would like to go even larger. I guess I was also reminiscing about warmer times! it has been so cold down here, especially inside this old farmhouse! But I would not have it any other way. This piece will be available at the Log Cabin Restaurant in Highlands, NC in late February.

Red Tractor V, 190

This may be the last of this specific tractor that sat out on Hwy 85 here in Gay. I think I have spent all of my photo reference. This is the 3rd large painting of the week and it did not feel as good as the rest. Perhaps because I have done so many this week. We are headed to the mountains in NC this week, so I am taking my plein air kit and looking forward to getting out of the studio and photo reference.

Washington Tow, 189

This tow truck could very well be the reason I am obsessed with old, rotting vehicle carcasses. At the very least I am pretty sure it all started with the city of Washington, GA. We would visit my grandparents there every month or so and we would drive past this truck every time. As long as I can remember it was always there. It was curious to watch it change. It seemed to become more beautiful to me the longer it sat there as nature did it's work to her. My grandparents also had an old barn that was full of old cars and tractors.

There was a Ford Model T that was sold to a neighbor. It is actually up and running. There was a convertible Packard. It was in the process of being restored when lightening struck the barn it was stored in and burned to the ground. All that was left was a puddle of glass. It was my favorite, it still had the key in the ignition, an old rabbits foot that was missing all of it's hair. There was also an old Farmall tractor that was traded to a friend in exchange for the restoration of my Dad's '57 MGA coupe.

I used to go out to that old barn out in the woods and play in those old cars, I loved the smell and I loved the accumulation of moss and dust and dirt that only comes from decades of abandonment.

Three Tomatoes on a Vine 078

This latest piece turned out better than I had hope, once again, at the canvas I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. My drawing looked awful, my colors seemed off, everything was wrong. Once again I had to will myself to finish which is sometimes what it takes. It is so easy to knock yourself down so early in the process when all that matters is what it looks like when the "process" is over. This piece and it's colors are once again based on a smaller daily painting I did earlier in the year.