Red Blossoms 055

I was very excited about starting this piece. It is a larger one, done in one sitting, 18"x18" in about 2 hours early this morning. I love being able to wake up and blunder into the studio with a cup of coffee, put on the headphones and plug into some tunes and get lost in a painting. Pure heaven. Tomorrow I leave for Paris, TN and I am painting with wild abandon, like it is my last chance. I try to make the best of every vacation I get from teaching. The weather is going to be pleasant in Paris and I am taking my outdoor painting rig and 4 canvas's. Industrious, I know. I hope to at least paint 2. I will be balancing being social with painting and the MASTERS!!

This is such a glorious time of year that used to be topped off with a trip to my garndmothers in Washington, GA and a pilgrimage to the hallowed grounds of the Augusta National with my father. It was always so special and magical. You have never seen anything like it. It has changed now. Used to be everyone was dressed to the nines and the crowds were intimate back then. I would walk the course and then follow my favorite golfer... from Tom Watson and Nickolaus, Freddy Couples to Tiger. The concession prices are still rediculously low. You could eat all you want on $15. Drinks were under a dollar, sandwiches under 2. I would eat as many pimento cheese sandwiches as my stomach could hold and the move to egg salad and maybe a club, and still come home with money in my pocket.

A few years ago my sweet grandmother passed away and the tickets were lost to the next person in line. My father had been to over 50 Masters since my grandfather got the tickets in the beginning, I have been to every one since 1978 or so. I still have most of the badges pinned to a hat in my studio. It is hard to feel good about losing the tickets, but I guess we had a good run. However, I doubt you will find any one there more in love with the history and the course than my dad and me.

Happy Easter!

Rusty Fender 038

I dove into a larger piece today, I had more time to paint that usual. I also went back to some old photos I had taken of a rusty , old dump truck in Washington, GA. I got a ton of great photos of it, it is rust perfection. I wasn't real happy with the outcome, I can't quite put my finger on it. I wasn't very pleased with the cast shadow on the ground, so I re worked it, which made it tolerable. But there are still other issues. Overall, it works, but I guess they not all can be winners!

Williams Seafood, Savannah 037

I got a snow day today, so I took advantage and dug into a larger piece. I had taken a picture of this sign in Savannah of one of my favorite seafood places. It is no longer there, but the sign is! The restaurant was famous for it's deep fried seafood caught fresh of the Georgia coast. According to rumor, the restaurant was burned for insurance money, what a shame. This piece was very time consuming, it took much longer than anticipated, and since I paint standing up, my back is paying for it!

Hot Tap 030

It was great to break the stride with a larger piece. This is a companion piece to Cold Tap, although this is a larger painting... 18"x18". I attacked this one a bit more with the palette knife when I was done, always a scary proposition.

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Stand of Pines in Oranges and Greens 004

Breaking with my monochromatic studies, I tried a orange and yellow green scheme this time. The other piece were more nocturnal or foggy, I am not sure what this one is. I like it, I think. It is loud and wild, but I like the square format and those 2 colors together. It should appeal to my Irish clientele.

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Stand of Pines in Violets 002

This is the second installation in the Stand of Pines series. These pieces are typically night scenes, this one especially. The sense of that piece of time just before it goes completely dark. There is an interesting color relationship that occurs between color of the sky and the color of the trees. This piece was also done with a palette knife, but on a wood panel that has the same profile as gallery wrap. I have almost given up on stretched canvas, the brush loves the springiness, but the palette knife does not.

Make sure you click on the image to see the knife work... these look amazing lit from above...

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