Creekside Trees, 237

We are in Tennessee this weekend and for some of next week. It is nice to have a little change of scenery to keep me interested and inspired. Julie's parents have a great place and the town is in the middle of nowhere.. the way I like it! A great deal of agriculture going on here.

I didn't quite capture the trees the way I wanted, I hate to miss the point like that and the tress fell apart as I overworked them.... but, hey, that's what this is all about. Overall, I like the piece and it was great to get outside for a while...

Morning Evergreens, 235

Wok up early the morning we left to paint these evergreens in the back yard of the Inn. I had enjoyed the both from the patio during breakfasts as well as from the little window in our bathroom. From the bathroom you could see the purple of the mountains behind the trees, but not from the yard from where I painted them.

I worked off of a red back ground again and used my Vasari paints and limited palette of cobalt blue light, permanent red medium and cad yellow lemon.

Native AZalea

Went to Highlands, NC to check on some artwork in local restaurants. We stayed at the 4 & 1/2 Street Inn. We fell in love with the place. I could have stayed there and painted all day, everyday. I had to settle for 2 a day! My first subject was the blooming native AZalea in the back yard. It was beautiful, how luck we were to be there when it was blooming!

Topsail Dune, 230

First plein air of the season, it was tough. Lots of biting flies, heavy winds, sun, heat, etc.... it was awesome! Not real happy with what I got out of it, but I haven't painted since a week before the wedding... by the way, I got married on Saturday... and yes, I am painting on the honeymoon. We married because Julie is cool with that and a that's why I love her(one of many reasons). Got a great deal of reference photos and some leads on interested galleries in Seaside, so I am

very excited to get back home, brush off the school year and get to work!

This image was painted in Topsail State Park, located next door to Cypress Dunes where we are staying. we packed up the bike and wagon and biked the 3 miles to the ocean and the dunes, they were beautiful!

In the Shade, 226

Actually did this little gem at the fair on Sunday. It was pretty slow and I had some old pics on my cell phone I forgotten I took.... to me, that is like finding a $20 in my pants I forgot I had. Hope to do this one large this summer.

Campbell's, 216

I hope to do this piece larger at some point. I had thought about just doing the label, but I decided to go Andy on this one and do the whole can.

Marsh Sketch, 214

Did this one while on an interim trip with our 7th grade class. Not leaving the students unattended, I did this around a campfire to keep the gnats of from a photo I took earlier in the day. I gave the group of students interested a quick lesson on painting outdoors.

The group that takes us out every year, Sea Kayak Georgia, got some pictures of me painting... hope to be able to share those soon.

We go on this trip every year, this is my 6th. Ronnie, the owner of Sea Kayak Georgia , joked that he had begun to think that I just talked about painting and carried my gear around. He was impressed that I actually could. One of their guide, Preston, a fellow SCAD grad and painter, frequents Ossabaw island and the artist colony there. I hope to go back later this summer to paint in Savannah and the barrier islands.

Boots 180

Another small commission study. These boots were a friend's father's, as were the jeep and tractor that preceded this posting. Her father died recently and she wanted these remembrances of him. His boots were wehere he last took them off.

Small Jeep 179

Small study for a commission piece

Small Ford Tractor 178

Study for a commission piece

Thompson Farm 165

This was my rainy day piece. I painted this from a cell phone picture I had taken the day before.

Maple in Zorn 162

This was the first of the leaves I did for this upcoming series. This one was done in the Zorn palette which is just yellow ochre, cad red and black and white. I was amazed at the colors you could get. Look for more of these to come.

Field Studies, 161

I went out today with an 8"x10" canvas split into quarters a this is what I came back with. i was doing great until I got cute and made a mess on the last one. I forgot the cardinal "study" rule and did not pick a simple motif. None the less, I really enjoyed doing these smaller studies and it was a great way to move myself back into painting after 3 days off. It was amazing how much better I painted outdoors during the workshop, it really took about 5 pieces to train my eye to see what it really needed to so. This replicated a whole day of painting for me... and lesson learned.

Autumn Trail, 160

Day 4 was a day a Millie's. It was a cool, cloudy day and it looked like it could rain any second. I decided to focus on my trees again. My trees have been very lame and splotchy. When I first started painting, I painted trees... and for some reason they worked, then it was like I forgot how to paint them. As I look back, I realize it was the change from acrylics to oil that has confused my tree work. Anyway, I nailed the oaks and fell flat on the pine. Still, the palette is working and I am feeling better about things, but how could you not when you are able to be outside every day all day for 5 days.

Mr. Chestnut's Shed, 158

I got a little ahead of myself with the last few postings, so I am backing up to day 2 of the workshop. After we experimented with the Zorn palette, this was the first piece I did out in the field. Nothing to write home about. This was the first go with the Vasari grays and the rest of the color that are included in the palette of death. I struggled a bit with this piece, it was small and i felt a bit awkward working on it, 5"x7" just isn't my size and I really prefer something closer to square like a 6"x8". But, you labor an and you get what you get. I try to hold judgement until I am done with a piece. You never know how it is going to turn out until you are done.

Vasari grays are an amazing shortcut to values. Each of the grays we used were infused with a color form the limited palette to get the grayed off look you actually see when you are out in nature. You may not realize it, but when you really look they are there!

I am somewhat accustomed with the use of gray, I have alwasy tubed by remnants from my palette at the end of each day and then used that to mix with each color on my palette to neutralize the tube colors. Vasari paints are hand mixed and hand tubed, using no chalks or fillers. They may soon become my paint of choice. They do exactly what you think they will do when you use them.

Autumn Oak, 155

This is a smaller piece done at the workshop on one of those cold and dreary mornings last week. This piece was done quickly, about 20 minutes, then I scraped it back with the palette knife and reworked it. I was specifically working on the mass of my trees that day, mine tend to break up as I add more values... it is difficult to see and think of them os one big shape. The blue is a bit much for the distant trees, but I loved the color, so I left it in as a reminder.

Gosch Trail 153

This is one of the pieces from the workshop that I felt I could post alone. This was done in the Zorn palette. We worked at Millie's place in Newnan, out Smokey Rd. It is beautiful land out there and they have a great spot for this type of workshop, lots of trees, water and boathouses... good stuff.

Summer Morning Shadows, 117 SOLD

This is the view off of my back porch. It is a beautiful field that looks amazing during every season. After each hay harvest, it becomes "Dave's Driving Range" and I can hit golf balls for a couple of weeks before it get too tall and I start to loose golf balls. It's a good 3 iron to the farthest spot. I finally spent the money to get the brands and colors I needed and it has made all the difference... it was quite the investment, but since I have not been using the palette knife on these landscapes, I hope it goes further. They are all Rembrandts and Windsor & Newton.

Shed, Imlac 113

Back at it again after a long weekend celebrating one of my best friends 50th birthdays, Jeff Stuart. Jeff was my history teacher in high school, then when I was in college we became very good friends, both being creative entities and all. I was also a groomsman in his wedding, one of them! Jeff is also a founding member of our 2 man band, The Swerve Kings. He is a very talented musician, he plays the piano, guitar, sings and writes musicals. He is also a folk artist and one of my favorite people on the face of the planet. He and his wife, Donna, had our close group of friends up to their mountain house in Blue Ridge. I am sure the locals were glad to see us go...

Anywho, got some great pics, but I am ready to get back into the saddle after several days off. Today was painting class, Millie did a great demo and then I rattled this baby off from a picture I took a few weeks back when Jules and I went to pick peaches down in a neighboring village. This is the same palette we have been using that is different from my usual palette. I also got new paints in today, I hope that they will help with the colors, I have been bumpling around with Winton brand oils... these are MUCH better Rembrandt oils. Can't wait to use them...

Jekyll Inlet, 098

Another addition to the painting class arsenal of paintings. We did marshes again today and I worked from a photo that I took in Jekyll earlier this summer. The brushwork has become second nature and I don't notice it giving me as much trouble as it did. I hope to get comfortable enough in a bit to inject the palette knife into the mix. The palette is easier to manage as well, however it would be a lot easier to use if I wasn't so cheap. My blue is cheap and my red is expensive and I chased the red all morning... thus the reason there is so much red violet. Happy enough with the end result here. I did get some larger canvas today, so I am a bit anxious and apprehensive about going landscape large. It has been about 9 months of small studies since my last attempt at a larger landscape canvas, but it is about time to bite the bullet!

click here to purchase