| 21 July, 2011 11:50
Did another painting of Bob in the sunbeams. The sunbeams are on the floor where the vertical blinds break up the light and Bob naps in their warmth. Good Morning Bob and Good Night Bob are each 16x20 in. oil on canvas paintings. Drop me a line if you're interested in purchasing them (I'd really like to sell them together).
| 25 June, 2011 20:05
Got to spend a few days on the Outer Banks of NC. Beautiful, sunny, warm days so no surf, no wind for kiteboarding, excellent painting weather though. Did several seascapes which I'll post later but really liked this little 9x12 of the Ghost Crabs. little different. Study of beach microcosm. These little guys build their little homes and defend them with great vigor. Each one runs around waving thier claws at their neighbor, rarely hitting the other, mostly just waving that big claw around and nibbling tid bits. You can really understand while their antics reflect some peoples personalities. Old Crabs...
| 07 June, 2011 17:20
I'm not usually inspired to paint pets but when It's yours and he strikes such an interesting pose, I couldn't resist. Bob is a manx cat which is characterized by a stubby tail. Don't you like his original insightful name? Yes, he's a bobtail cat. He like all our cats like to lay in the sun patches on the floor where it's warm but this morning he picked a spot lit through our vertical blinds hence the bands of light. Challenging piece to paint but I think Bob likes it...
| 26 May, 2011 16:53
One of my favorite subjucts to paint is shorebirds. Especially those that work along the water edge. The little plovers that run down to the water as the wave receeds then dart back up the beach when the wave returns just mesmerize me. It's like they like seafood but don't want to get their feet wet. I'll bet most of the patrons at the seafood restaurants are like that too...
I find the water the most challenging thing to paint. You're trying to depict motion, constant motion. Clear still water to hurricane swell, it's a real challenge few artist master. Please appreciate my continued attempts...
| 22 May, 2011 18:07
Finally got a chance to go to the beach. Got up early and went to Atlantic Beach and did this little (9x12 in.) plein air painting. Noted a little problem I hadn't encountered recently. It's warm enough the paint is sticky. The oil paint is drying before I finish the painting. It's a welcome change, bring on summer!
| 18 May, 2011 20:32
I was driving up to Greenville last week and this little red tractor caught my eye. It was half under this weathered awning that used to be the front of a county store. It was half in the sunlight, half in the shade. Half warm red and orange, half cool purple blue. Half in, half out. Don't know how long it's been out there but since the tires looked a little flat and dry rotted, I think it's been a while. there's a lot of metaphor there to be developed later. Did a quick plein air (2 hrs.). Took some photos. You'll see this subject again...
| 16 May, 2011 08:18
This is a small, 9x12 in., piece I did at the Kinston Plein Air Paint Out. A painting event hosted by the Community Council for the Arts in conjunction with their Barbecue Festival. Very nice event hosted by this river town. The area has several scenic roads, especially Heritage St., Queen St., and King St. which provided inspiration for the plein air crowd. It was cloudy and raining when I did my first 2 pieces on Heritage St., but the sun came out on Friday when I did this small piece down by the river:
Placed my other pieces into the juried competition without taking a photo 1st (duh?).
All the works will be on display at the Arts Council building on Queen street starting with an opening reception May 19 from 6 to 8:00 PM. Please come down for the reception!
One thought for this event. All the painting days are prior to the Bardbecue Festival. If they want to highlight the Barbecue Festival with artwork, wouldn't it be good to have one days painting during the event? I'm sure they would get some pics with people cooking, viewing the vendors, bands, etc. then make a presentation at the event when the paintings are submitted (i.e. display by band stand with MC inviting attendees to view the works).
Just a thought...
| 08 May, 2011 14:04
Several weeks ago, Sarah Merritt, the director of the Arts Council of Wayne Co. asked if I would paint a picture to use as the award to be given to the Wayne County Artist of the Year. I was honored that she would even think of me for such an important project and welcomed the opportunity.
The award was to be given to Mrs. Peggy Wingate. She has been the gran dame of Goldsboro School of Ballet for 27 yrs. She has also been instrumental in the reconstruction of the Paramount Theatre, the annual Christmas presentation of the Nutcracker, and countless civic and school programs over the years.
Where do i begin to provide an appropriate honorarium? Fortunately, Sarah had a good starting place. She e-mailed several photographs of one of Mrs. Wingate's students. Fleming Lomax had been a star pupil and had gone on to high aclaim after her early training in Goldsboro.
One of the photos immediately caught my eye. It showed Fleming being lifted with her arm extended skyward. That would be the pose. The pair were standing on stage with the curtain drawn part way across. I used the curtain shape to devide the canvas emphasizing the vertical height of the ballerina. The space behind the curtain was dark so I could emphasize her extended arm by contrasting her light flesh tone against the dark shadow. I also wanted to emphasize her toe shoes so i placed one white foot against the dark lost space behind the curtain and the other foot in front of the dark trousers worn by her supporting dancer.
I considered using different colors for her gown thinking white or light pink were more traditional ballerina colors but I was sure Mrs. Wingate was familiar with these photos and would better recognize Fleming as the subject if the gown appeared like that in the photo. It was an unusual cranberry purple-red. I mixed alizarin with raw umber and some titanium white to get the basic color. Added some cadmium red for highlights and umber for shadows and it really came together. Attached is a photo of the final 16x20 in., oil on canvas painting used as the first award for Wayne Co. Artist of the Year.
| 03 May, 2011 07:48
I've not been to the beach recently and have been inspired by some of the old unkempt houses in the county. I did a plein air of one just a couple of miles from my home. What interested me was not the house itself, but the trees and wildflowers growing around it. We've had a wet, warm spring and the purple and red henpeck was blooming in the fields all around the house. The china berry trees where not just growing around the house but were sprouting through the floorboards of the porch and growing out window frames. This once site of order and domestication was now the home of wildlife and wildflowers. A truly feral house.
If you are interested in this painting or would like to see other 'feral houses,' please contact me.
| 01 May, 2011 09:46
Welcome to my new blog.
Most know me as a veterinarian and a growing numer know me as an artist. For years, I have been a full-time vet and part-time artist. I've had a room over my garage where I escaped to paint. It's how I relaxed and rejuvinated after a hectic day at the veterinary practice.
My favorite medium is oil paint. I statred in the early 80's with water color but later found oil paint suited my mindset better. It seems more natural to work from darks and shadow to lights and highlights which you do with oils rather than working light to dark and around the highlights with watercolor.
I've also seen my technique evolve. I've always persued and impressionistic style. That is, used a limited palette, juxtaposing primary with secondary colors to attempt to express the effects of light. It also seemed the more stress I was feeling, the thicker the paint and brighter the colors. This 9x12 is a great example:
This must have been a stressful day. It was started on a rose tinted canvas so the greens would pop. Then cadmium yellow and orange were plastered over the pink using a palette knife. No brush touched this canvas. Painting with a knife, impasto cadmium primaries, now that's venting!
Compare it with this piece. Painted from a live model in a studio in Raleigh. I hadn't been in the clinic that day. Quiet earth tones layered with filbert brushes. Just enough cadmium colors to give highlights. Done on a relaxed weekend morning in a cool comfortable studio. No venting, practiced technique:
Hope to see more of this style of painting but if they don't sell, you'll see more frustration, anxiety, cadmium and impasto!
Both of these paintings are still available for sale. Contact me if interested.
Come back soon...
| 18 April, 2011 06:39
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