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.

Topsail Bound

Working our way to the beach, It is nice to have Julie with me, there is actually photographic proof that I exist....

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Cotton Pickin' Booth

Been absent from the blog in prep for the only "fair" I do here in my new hometown of Gay, GA, population 136. This is my 3rd fair and, as usual, it was a blast. Got to meet lots of great people and sell a bunch of art. The fair isn't an art fair necessarily and is in middle Georgia, so I was very pleased to turn over some pieces and pick up a few commissions along the way. the weather was great, with the exception of the gale force wind gusts we had on Sunday.

Lookout Moon Pie, 224

Love this retro logo with the name of it's hometown in the title. Good Stuff.

Red Tractor, 222

I am loving doing these smaller pieces. I should have done them before I did the larger pieces, but it is just as fun and half the pain! They are much more free and take a LOT less time to complete. I know that big may not be "In" at the moment, but I really hope to do some larger scale pieces of these tractors and trucks. I think it would be really cool to have an almost life siZe painting of a junk car on your wall.

In the meantime, I am going to enjoy burning up these smaller linen panels I have.

Red Ford, Green Field 221

Going a bit off the reservation with this one. Weird siZe for me... 11"x14", and on a linen panel. I must say that I love working on panels. I love the spring of the canvas, but there is something I find very appealing about the hardness of the wood on the linen panel. I normally work very small or very large, hitting something in the middle was fun and I hope to do a few more of these before the show. I really like the freedom of this piece, from an artist stand. It is not plein air, but i approached that was and did not spend any time on the drawing... unlike the larger pieces. I really like the look of the drawing aspects of this piece, I will have to apply that to a larger piece if i ever have the guts!

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.

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.

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!

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.

Destroyed Tide, 213

I really pushed the limits of this painting, abstracting almost beyond the point of recognition. I still don't quite know where these are going, but the journey continues to amuse me.

Sinclair, 212

Love this Sinclair logo... How braZZEn to use an actual dinosaur on a logo used for fossil fuels! Sometimes the obvious is the way to go. Easily one of my favorite gas logos, next to the pegasus used by Mobil. There is a great story there I am sure. I am sure there has got to be one behind this dinosaur as well!