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!

SOLD First Light 302

I have been wanting to paint another large landscape after the one I painted for the Southern Living Idea House. I think I have redeemed myself for now...

Stand of Pines in Violets 257 SOLD

Did this monster for an old high school friend of mine and her husband. There had been whispers of a commission of the Pines for a while now. It's is always nice when someone identifies with imagery that is so special to you. These are not done from pictures or even from life. It comes from the heart and from the soul. This one is the largest of the series I have ever completed at 30"x40". It was a challenge, but so much fun!

This picture doesn't do this painting justice. I have 3 more and each one looks different.

Galvaston Caddy 253

Thar she blows! This is the piece I entered for the OPA Eastern US Show... I don't know if it will get in or not. My style and application are pretty wild and don't show a great deal of control... but that's me. I like the loose feel of my work, I have worked very hard for that. The subject matter is strange as well, but you never know! These guys are pretty damn good... the best really. But I feel like there is a place for me in there, but that is up to them.

After looking at the booklet from the national show, I felt like I was ready to at least start trying! This piece will be on hold until after I hear if it made it or not. If it does not, it will be the first David Boyd, Jr. auction piece on EBay

This piece is a departure for me... I painted it on a tinted background... aliZarin Crimson, instead of drawing in great deatil in pencil, I drew rapidly with the brush. I normally do not do an underpainting when I work this large, but I did this time. I also went back to some old palette knives I used to use... both over 3" long. I hope to work larger later this fall, I have some canvas over 6' wide and a couple of large trowels. This piece took several large tubes of Gamblin oils, I am going to need to invest in a great deal more if I work larger.

Buicks and Bouquets, 236 SOLD

Did this beauty for a friend of mine who got our VW van up and running. next he will be working on my '77 Land Cruiser FJ40. Travis is very talented and was so happy that he was willing to swap out with me. I am short on cash and heavy in paint.

Trav wanted me to paint his young daughter. I told him that peeps were not my strong point but that I would look for the perfect picture to work from. he burned a copy of all of his pics and i went through them. I don't think he knew what a car freak I am, but when I saw the images of the Buick, I knew that the car meant a great deal to him. I found a picture his aunt took right after the wedding and it had a picture of his wife's bouquet in the window. I know that this would stand a better chance of hanging on her wall!

Very happy with this one, and glad to get it to Travis after all of his hard work!

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.

Red Tractor V, 190

This may be the last of this specific tractor that sat out on Hwy 85 here in Gay. I think I have spent all of my photo reference. This is the 3rd large painting of the week and it did not feel as good as the rest. Perhaps because I have done so many this week. We are headed to the mountains in NC this week, so I am taking my plein air kit and looking forward to getting out of the studio and photo reference.

Drugs 187

I found this sign in Blue Ridge, GA this summer. It is beautiful. No rust, still used as a sign for the Rexall Pharmacy in downtown.

Red Tractor II 169

It felt great to produce a large piece this weekend after what seemed like an endless sea of small pieces. This piece is the cream of the crop for the pieces for Southern Palettes auction this weekend. I used a bit of the old and a bit of the palettes i normally use for this piece. After being exposed to the Vasari grays, I don't think I could ever live without them. Either way, it has helped me to see the grays in everything and use them to my advantage. This piece also has a minimal use of the palette knife and I worked on it in 2 sessions over 2 days. I didn't enjoy doing it that way, but I wasn't so tired and sore, but I had cartoons to do and just didn't have the 8 hours it usually takes to paint a large alla prima painting.

Robins Egg Blue Caddy, Front 145 SOLD

Here is another big one for the week, I hope to do one or 2 more before the Cotton Pickin' Fair. I painted the back of this car earlier this summer, so I thought it was time to do the front. I lobe the bumper and front of this model Caddy almost as much as I love the fins in the back. It is a beautiful example of American design in the 50's, on of my favorite time periods as evident by my Googie Art sign series. As a friend of mine mentioned the other day, "Is it in a hole or is it supposed to look like that?" I will let you decide for yourself...

Savannah Compliments, 130

With school starting, I have had trouble getting into the rhythm of painting. As I ease back into a full time work schedule, it will be easier, I have done it before! To make up for my sloth, I overcompensated with a really big painting. I have really been missing painting large. I have found that since joining DailyPainters, I have been hyper focused on the smaller pieces, building inventory for the Cotton Pickin' Fair hasn't helped either. I used to pump out a couple of large pieces a week, now it is 5-6 smaller ones. I guess that is ok now that I think about it. In this economy, buyers for larger pieces are few and far between. The smaller works move just fine. Anyhow, this piece was based on a photo I took last time I was in Savannah, I did a smaller study that I put on DailyPainters and it was the least succesful piece I have ever put up. I was blown away. So much for my theory that DP is a great place to get feedback for what I should do larger, I hope this one blows it out of the water...

Sorry Charlie's 048 SOLD

Sunday's are sacred to me... and that usually involves a NASCAR race and/ or Formula 1. I also try to balance a painting in there as well. Today, I decided since I was going to be chained to the indoors watching the Bristol race, why not tackle a big one! And I did, and it wore me out... and so did the race. I should really consider sitting down, but I enjoy the energy you can put into a pianting while standing. I actually drew the painting out weeks ago and a started putting paint on it yesterday intending to complete it. However, the pull to paint outdoors was greater. I know now that my techinque only works when painting directly, or alla prime... no 2 day paintings for me... Anyhow, I love this painting and even though it wore me out, it was worth it.

From the Floor 039

This is the first painting I have done since Wednesday! I have been going crazy to paint, but I have had a very difficult time balancing my usual hermit ways with my new social life with Julies back in town. I have no need or desire for socializing anymore, but she isn't a freak like me! I draw my cartoons on the weekend, which have a deadline, so they take precedence on the weekends. It makes it difficult to paint on the weekends when I am not recovering from a day of teaching high schoolers. I am going to have to try much harder to carve out that time during the week. This piece is a monster, hopefully it will make up for the time lost. To date, it is the largest oil piece I have done, measuring 30"x40". This one is based on a picture I took almost 3 years ago. The idea to finish it came to me when I was trying to think of something to do for an upcoming group show called Rites of Passage. I hope it is dry enough to take to the gallery on Saturday! I did this piece in one day, maybe 5 hours, and it was a long 5 hours. I hated it every step of the way. I am very pleased with the outcome, however!