Delta Sunset, Day 20

Delta Sunset, Day 20, 5x7, oil on linen, 30 in 30, $100, purchase here

SOLD Night Light

SOLD Night Light, 5x7, oil on linen, $100, Day 17, 30 in 30

SOLD Country Road, Day 15

SOLD Country Road, Day 15, 5x7, oil on linen, 30 in 30

SOLD Christmas Creek Marsh, Day14

SOLD Christmas Creek Marsh, Day14, 5x7, $100, oil on linen, 30 in 30

SOLD Two Tubs and a Door, Day 11

From some reference taken in rural Georgia in an old abandoned building. I would love to do a series of paintings based on these. Guess that's why these little studies keep happening. It's interesting to see what bubbles up for the sub conscience mind.

SOLD Two Tubs and a Door, Day 11, 30 in 30, 5x7, oil on linen

SOLD Cloudy Coastal, Day 7

I'm Dreaming of Maine today. That place haunts my dreams. Painted with my new favorite limited palette of yellow ochre, alizarin crimson, ultramarine, black and white. It just does what I want it to do... And better yet, no cadmiums!!

SOLD, Cloudy Coastal, 5x7, oil on linen

SOLD The Basement Door, Day 4

I am mixing it up a bit, that was actually painting 12. Sorry for the glare, it's rainy here and its hard to get a good shot without the sheen coming through!

My father owned a small printing company, The Print Shoppe, that I cut my teeth in as a boy. He used the printing company as a way to distribute his editorial cartoons as he was self syndicated. I learned how to use an offset printing press, I developed printing plates, I did layouts using light tables and a xacto knives, I used industrial paper cutters, learned to make pads of paper, create halftone screens in the darkroom, all kinds of good stuff that has really come in handy this day and age... especially being able to write upside down and being able to read in mirror reverse. This was before the computer age. Once that dawned, my father got out of the business. He had been illustrating for Jeff Foxworthy for a few years and no longer needed to support the family with the printing business, although it was dying out.

I wish I still had all of that old equipment, I think offset is comping back in a boutique kind of way. I miss the smell of a print shop.

Growing up in a business off the court square in a small southern town certainly has influenced my subject matter. I walked through this door more times than I can count as a boy and as a man.

SOLD, The Basement Door, Day 4, 30 in 30, 5x7, oil on linen, $100, purchase here

30 in 30 Challenge

Well, I have decided to hit the ground running in 2015 with Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 Challenge. It's a 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. See the link above to read more about it, she has done this several times and has it streamlined. She answers all possible questions!

I have been kicking around the idea of doing my own 30 in 30 again, but it's so much fun to do it with more people! The best thing about this particular challenge is that we are all in it together. On Leslie's blog you can see all of the paintings EVERYONE posts there everyday and you can also see an interactive map that shows all of the other poor souls who have accepted the challenge all across the US and the world.

I challenged a few of my painter friends locally (The Society of Seven) and I guess I will see who steps up! So far I think I have 2 nibbles. Once I know for sure I will post links to their websites and blogs so you can see what they are doing as well.

I narrowed down a few themes for the challenge (basically things that I want to improve upon in my own work... interiors and plein air... maybe some found still lifes to break the monotony). I have ordered a ton of 5x7 linen panels and some additional white paint... I am ready to go! There is nothing better for learning than 30 starts. That's a lot of experience in a short time. Nothing better for the painting game!

I will be posting the pieces on this blog daily and they will be available by auction in my Daily Paintworks Gallery (which has currently been emptied of all artwork). I am toying with the idea of holding all sales until the end of the challenge, I may want to keep some as inspiration for larger works! I guess I will need to make up my mind very soon!

I hope you check back often to see how I am doing or better yet, challenge yourself!