Frank's Red Hot 297 SOLD

Lily Pads, 231

Here is Cypress Dunes in Santa Rosa, FL we drive over the wetlands that have lily pads and cypress trees growing everywhere. It is beautiful. Wish I could see that every morning on my compute to and from work... but I will settle for rolling farmland and cows any day.

Palmetto Barn, 229

Went through Palmetto, Ga the other day to visit Serenbe and decided to duck down some side roads in search of something interesting and came across this little gem.

Wilson Farm, 137

In checking location for our school annual art auction, we visited my friend and fellow art teacher's farm in Roscoe. It is a beautiful spot and I couldn't help but to take a few picture to bring home and practice with the palette of death. I really don't feel like this piece was that successful, but it was the first landscape in quite sometime. This was definitely to get back out there with the plein air setup, landscapes should just be done that way. Photographs do not do them justice. I hope to do a few more small landscape in the 8"x8" format.

Monday, Jekyll Island Day 2: Marsh and River Study 086 & 087

Today started with a scouting run and a campfire breakfast with musquitos. Nothing better, really. We went to clam beach where I did a study of the marsh there. I struggled iwth this one for a bit but it turned out pretty well. I actually found a different view that I will do later as a larger painting. The colors were ok, and everything seemed to work well. I kept with the traditional brush and tried not to stray to the palette knife, so my brushwork is iffy at best. I also kept my palette very simple: cad yellow light, cad red medium, ultramarine blue, my mud and titanium white. I am trying to travel light but I am still not light enough. I have way too much gear.

The second painting was a quick one, before lunch. The haze was starting to burn off and I love the atmospherec perspective and the bright green off the marsh grasses. I did this one in about 5 minutes, so, not a whole lot going on there!

We ventured back for lunch and the out to Driftwood Beach to paint this beautiful wind swept oak was. The sun was at its peak and I had no umbrella, but I went for it anyway. I am not crazy about the study, but I know a larger painting will be great. Still fighting with the brush over the knife... my edges are screwy.

Driftwood Beach is anything but driftwood. It is on the north western side of the island where the beach has eroded and the maritine forest has been encroached upon by the salt water. It is a beautiful bone yard. I felt like I was playing umongst dinosaur bones. It was beautiful and sad. I love water and live oaks like no other tree. Most of theme are older than our country, now dried up and dead, washed over. Their root balls are amazingly large. The pines however, have such a long tap root, they mostly still stand erect but dead.

Barn, Luthersville Road 080

I was on my way home yesterday and I passed some of my painter friends on the side of the road, Dana Johnson and Elsa Sibley. They were painting this beautiful old farmhouse on the way to Luthersville. It was great to see them and talk about getting together to paint. It also got my juices flowing to do some small landscapes. I couldn't get out yesterday because it was dark by the time I settled in, but I had taken some pictures on my way home that I could work on. Dana and Elsa are amazing plein air painters, I love their work and I am excited about being able to paint with them later this summer when I don't have to work everyday! I have a link to Dana's blog on my blog and Elsa's work can be seen at Flint Gallery and Huff Harrington Gallery. You can see Dana's work at Flint Gallery and The Dogwood Gallery.

Pink Roses 075 SOLD

Jules has the uncanny ability to go out in the yard gather a few things, throw them in a jar... and they are beautiful. She could arrange burned twigs, pine straw and poison ivy and make it look beautiful. Granted, these are roses in a jar, they were eye catchingly and beautifully simple. I meant to paint them yesterday, but I didn't get to them until this afternoon. The petals had started to drop, and of course, that made me mad... until I realized that it made for a much more interesting piece. I was afraid I had lost this one as well, all the values were very light, and for the first time in a long while, I actually felt strange and uneasy in front of the easel. It all worked out, like it usually does, and I was very happy with the outcome.

Lower Field 045

It was such a beautiful day today, after painting in the studio and working on cartoons for a bit, I escaped to the great outdoors. I loaded up the plein aire gear and Mo the dog (short for Modigliani because of his long neck) in the Land Cruiser and headed out. I am not usually a dog person, but this one took up with me after being put out and involved in a dog fight. I nursed him back to health and tried to find the owners, but no luck. He is everything I do like about dogs... quiet, not too hyper and very sweet. Best of all, every time I open the door to the house, he jumps in the Land Cruiser like we are going somewhere, wether we are or not. Sometimes he just sits there in the passenger seat and watches me work in the yard, wondering when the drive will begin.

I drove around Lory and David's property a while before I found a spot not to far from our house where I started... sometimes it is funny like that. The late afternoon sun was just the way I like it. I still need to work on my lighting a bit, sometimes I feel like the pieces are lit from above instead of from the side. Shadows are still a mystery to me, but I think these are passable for now!

Three Cedars 037

This is the first plein air piece of the season. After the frog swallower last night and this morning, my workshop atendee, Elizabeth and I went out this afternoon to paint. It was eerily warm, considering that tomorrow they are calling for snow flurries. So, it was warm and very wendy, but beautiful. I am glad Elizabeth had a chance to get out of my studio and do what she came down here for! I was very pleased with this piece, it is very simple, to the point and full of great color and texture. I am looking forward to getting out in the open again tomorrow!

Stand of Pines in Mud 003

This piece was done while away last weekend. Still experimenting with different monochromatic color schemes lead me to use these warm grays. Technically, is is the mud that is made from scraping my palette, mixed together and tubed. I like the colors of this piece, but the value of the sky is too light. This is a study, look for a larger piece with a darker sky!

contact me for purchase info