Life and Death in Black and White

Life and Death in White, 8"x8", oil on gallery wrap, available at my One Man Show in November

Another study out of the shadow box. This one is small, but I have a 24"x24" canvas ready for the big daddy version of it.

Sky View 309

Sky View, 30"x40", oil on gallery wrap, NFS

I have had this piece on my mind for the last few months. I needed something very "me" and very cool for the OPA National Show, I have one more to do since you can enter 3. I got into the Regional show last year with Galveston Caddy, I hope this piece is unique enough to help me in the selection process for National!

Mt Carmel Morning 246

This is the finished piece I completed yesterday. I did several studies in different palettes and I am very pleased with the outcome. I missed some of the subtlety in the values as things move away, but I hope to correct that. It was difficult to be subtle with a palette knife and so many values.

46' Willys, 239

Trying to build some creative momentum. I only get summer vacation once a year and I try to take advantage of it. This year my creative peak and vacation are NOT lining up and not for lack of trying! Hoping this piece will get me back into the groove of things again.

Day Lilies

Took the sketch box out in the yard for a quick adventure to get some sun. We have a bed of these and irises growing, but the irises are done for the year!

this little bunch causes some swearing and a small tantrum, but i am very pleased with the outcome. I used a very different palette than what I am used to and it proved very frustrating! Cad yellow lemon, permanent green light, kings blue, and cad red light. Great colors, though!

Raptis Farm Field

This piece was the piece that almost ended all pieces. I have yet to bring myself to paint again... kid of. I painted it in a few hours, and it is a large piece... then I kept having to come back and fix it. I don't know what is wrong with it, but I can't put my finger on it. To me, that means it is something compositional. I have had it upside down and in a mirror and still can't figure it out. It doesn't even look like my work to me, like I got lost or forgot myself while working on it. The worst part is I don't really like it and it is going to be a central piece in the Idea House for Southern Living in Senoia, GA this summer. A repaint may be necessary.

Junk Food Quad, 228

Had some friends who wanted a couple of RC's and Moon Pie paintings... so I put them all together for this piece. Thought it looked pretty cool.

Around the Bend, 227

Tried to bang out a little landscape last night, and there is something about it that bothers me. I know the road is lighter than the sky and that may be putting me off. I also used a bit of yellow oxide and it really didn't do what I thought it would. Painting trees small was also a challenge for some reason. This little piece was quite the challenge!

Along the Fence, 226

Decorator Jamie Elliot McPherson needs some of my landscape work for his Southern Living Dream House in Senioa, GA. Of course, I had none to show, so expect to see a few larger landscapes. This one was a challenge, it has been quite some time since I attempted a landscape, I even started this smaller one with the thought that maybe it would be a dust off for another larger and more successful one. This one makes me very happy.

Two pears on Blue, 225

Piece I did before the fair but didn't have a chance to archive. Love the way these guys glow on the blue background.

Avocado Halves and Quarters on Red, 220

This one is very different for some reason. Not sure if it the green/red relationship or my use of cad red light versus my permanent red or cad red medium. i like the overall effect but it may be a but strong for most.

Avocado Halves on Blue, 218

I am having to move through my produce pretty quickly. I get hungry and it doesn't always keep as long as I would like. I used this avocado for several paintings of different siZes on different backgrounds. I find these paintings are coming easier to me. I am using a more complex palette than what I normally use as I have introduced new colors to it.

Dogwood, 218

It's that time of year hear in georgia where the woods erupt with fountains of white and pink. I love dogwoods, they remind me that if the Masters hasn't been played yet... it will be soon!

Asparagus on Red, 217

Continuing with the asparagus theme from yesterday...

Asparagus on Blue, 217

Ramping up to get back into the swing of daily painting. I spent most of January and February painting the large pieces for the restaurant in NC, now it is time to get back to some smaller observational work. This piece marks the first of many smaller pieces I did last week during my spring break. I tried to do at least 3 a day.

Roscoe Field, 216

This was done in Paris late one night from a photo just to get the dust off...

Buttercup, 215

I am always reluctant to share really bad pieces, but I am not here to mislead or lie to myself! They cannot all be great or even good. This one is what I call a transitional piece... meaning, i have to get through this one to get to the next! Who knows, someone may like it!

After leaving Savannah, I went to Paris, TN for Easter with my fiancee's family. Her mother had beautiful buttercups (as they say in Tennessee... in Georgia we call them daffodils) with permission, I picked several and painted from them in my bedroom at night.

I had hoped to get out and paint, but our schedule was full. I did get a folder full of great tractor and truck photos as I usually do!

Mini RC, 209

Here is another experiment performed on RC Cola...

Royal Crown 2, 205

Version 2 of the RC Cola logo, a bit smaller than the last one and painted on a colored background. Another great retro logo, they used this up until the late 90's! I think it was introduced in the mid 70's. I love the font and the sweeping design. It is amusing to me what an impact Coca Cola had on ALL soft drink designs. You can really see it in the old Pepsi logo. RC is one of my favorite logos and soft drinks of all time.

Chatov Workshop, 202

Just finished a 3 day workshop with figure painter Marc Chatov, a third generation painter considered to be in the top 10 of portrait painters in the US. It was humbling, amazing, frustrating and refreshing.... sometimes, 3 days is not enough. That was the case here. Day 3 was great, day 1 and 2 were the days you try to shed your old habits and get in a place to try something new.

Marc had his work cut out for him with me. I DO NOT do the figure or faces, they scare me to death, which is why I signed up for the workshop. I never had drawing lessons in high school and in college they assumed that I already had drawing skills. Thrown into figure drawing at 19 years old was daunting, and needless to say, every time we had a male model, I hid in the back away from his "junk" or just left. Very 19 year old boy of me. That was drawing too, we didn't do any drawing in this workshop... lots of massing in and big shapes of bold color.

I really enjoyed the workshop and Marc. He was amazing. It was great to have some friends there as well... my sis Bonne, Margot, Dana, Millie and Pam were all there to witness the "Deconstruction of Dave."

I plan on continuing to work with figures and absorb what I have learned. I am very interested in bettering my skills... looking into ateliers and the infamous Art Students League which has been pulling me to NY for the past decade...