$75-Corner Pub-5x6

$75 plus $10 s/h

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this is the wildly popular irish pub, i spoke of painting the other night.

my favorite part is that one streak of pinkish light coming down the inside of the left column. getting that the right color and value out in the darkness of night with just a little headlight to see by? my crowning achievement! you can tell the bar was very low indeed LOL

$75-Blazing Light on Stock Island-6x6

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headed out to stock island last night to do this dock scene and then drove to key west and set up in front of a popular irish pub. 

i love painting in hard working harbors like the one on stock island. the piles of lobster traps, boat parts laying around, piles of bouys, and boats make interesting paintings day or night. the light at night is different to paint than daylight because the shadows dont all run in the same direction as they do in the day. you could have a light here, causing shadows to run in this direction (say left to right) and over here is a light pole way up high causing shadows straight down, not left to right. the light shapes also get darker and cooler as they run away from the light source.

 night painting really trains you to observe. you feel like youre just learning to see for the first time. i can see where this nocturnal series could enhance my daylight stuff by helping me to group objects by value better. also to edit out the un-necessary like you end up doing on the nocturnals because you cant see half the stuff out there at night.

Dry Tortugas Ferry Bldg-SOLD

6x8

went out last night after dark and warmed up doing the first in a series of nocturnals i'm going to do. i'm planning on at least 7-10 nights worth doing large and small, and i'm hoping to complete two per outing. some docks, some neighborhoods, and whatever else catches my eye.

plein air painting is tuff in itself, but throw in almost complete darkness (i  use a headlamp thing to get a little light on the palette) and difficulty in mixing and gauging values, and nocturnals turn out to be very challenging, to say the least. just ask the half dozen ladies i did a nocturnal class with last year. one was so frustrated she almost sidearmed her canvas into the water. i still hear from others, most of them experienced outdoor painters,how difficult that night was. for instance, alot of paper towel rolls were ending up in the drink, with the 20 knot wind rolling them out across the dock first. gotta say, it was funny but i restrained myself from laughing.

like my buddy T says "if it was easy everybody would be doing it!" how true T, how true.

i'm looking forward to learning many new things about painting at night from this series. stay tuned

Workshop News

My plein air weekly class is starting at the Studios of Key West this monday morning and there are a few seats left. we'll meet from 8:30-11:30 every monday in february. i'll be showing the importance of values, color mixing, and simplifying forms as well as composition tips, and a bit about how to pare down your gear. if you are in the keys and want to join call me at 919-920-9718 and i'll get you signed up.

then there's the wildly popular knife painting class in march. let me know if youre interested and i'll give you the details.

Also, my first workshop back in the carolina's in spring, will be Bald Head Island around the third week of april. this is a magical island and i'm very familiar with it and can show you (and paint with you) in places on the island most people dont even know about. contact me if you think you'd like to sign up. cost is $300 for three days.

Figure Study with Hat-SOLD

10x16

the other day  i spent a whole day drawing quick gesture drawings from YouTube dancing videos. you just hit pause every few seconds and draw a one or two minute gesture drawing. get the feel of the gesture, no ears, toes, etc. since there's no time. after 7 or 8 hours i had done well over a hundred of them. sure felt that day kick in when it was time for life drawing this past tuesday. i felt like i knew the human form better and was then more accurate drawing it two dimensionally after all that practice.

whether its plein air, still life or figure painting there's no replacement for constant repetition.

8x8-Stock Island Triad-$100

$100 plus $10 s/h

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this was a fun one making every grayed down shape a different temperature. used a big very worn down bright style brush to "chunk in" the shapes and left em alone. very hard to leave a stroke alone for some reason. hmmmm. 

$75-A Corner in the Keys-8x8

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ever have a painting that you love when you get it into the studio from out in the field, and then murder it working on it "just a little more"?

 thats what i did on this one. i was very fond of it till i played with it a little too long one evening from memory. when i was done, the more i looked at it the more i hated it. what went wrong? just a few hours before it was a keeper and now i want to scrape it all off and re-gesso the board.

i decided to let it dry, tape some clear plastic over half of it, and repainted the big shapes on the plastic. this time darker on the trees, and lighter and cleaner color on the boats in shadow, and darkening the reflections in the water. you see my hand there on the right? i'm pulling back (from left to right) the plastic. see the darker trees and shadows.  when i stood back, it made a huge difference in the painting.

 putting on the plastic and painting on it lets you try out things without trashing the painting underneath. if you dont like whats on the plastic, wipe it off and try something else. when you have something you like, duplicate that on the original painting.

what i was doing mucking around in the studio was lightening (and cooling) the trees and reflection without realizing it.inadvertantly lessening the contrast to 1/3 of the painting and changing the relationship between shapes in the area of contrast, color, and temperature is not what you want happening if you have any hope of a decent painting. 

easy explanation? stuff was out of whack! i'll post it when i've got everything fixed. if i dont kill it that is  :D

$75-Red Doors-6x8

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while i'm standing painting these paintings the Conch Train is always going by giving the tourists the history of key west. its the key west version of the charleston carriage rides. 

as i was doing this cool two story house with red doors, the conch train goes by. he says "see that building with the red doors? that used to be the roughest bar in florida. when you went in, back then, they'd ask you, 'Do you have a gun? you'd answer no and they'd give you one!"

 i always wonder how much is true of what these guys say but that one just sounds too incredible to be true doesnt it?

SOLD- a 7x9 commission piece for the new owner of this cool house on the corner of fleming st.

$75-Lobster Boat and Traps-6x8

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used a number six bright on the whole thing except the thinnest of lines in the outriggers and lines in the traps.when you do this you learn how to put it down fast and chunky. and you figure out how to make small marks with just the tip of a corner. its a very good brushwork exercise.

Angela St. View-SOLD

6x8

i'm always drawn to this view to paint year after year. the pinkish house on the right that sticks out over the sidewalk, the light on the yellow building and the conch houses and bouganvillea at the end of the block are all super cool to me. in this one i tried to make every shape a different color. sorta like doing a color study but there's tons more to look at. i just take one big shape at a time to keep from getting overwhelmed. there are conch train tours, scooters, sightseers, and bicycles going past me every minute too, adding to the challenge.

Figure Study 1/24-SOLD

9.5x9.5-$30

hooray! life drawing sessions have started back up and i've been looking forward to painting the figure for months. we have about 8 or 9 regulars who show up with everything from pastel, to gouache, to ink, charcoal, and today there was another oil painter besides me. these classes are fantastic for working on your chops drawing and quickly laying down color. they hold the pose for only 30 minutes so ya gotta be quick and decisive. figure studies really help my painting, whether its plein air or still life. they say if you can draw the figure, you can draw anything.

$75-Stock Island Docks-6x8

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Behind KW Bait and Tackle-8x10

Aquablue-16x20

Diane's Bouquet-10x8

Fleming St. Corner-8x10

$75-Blue Shadowed House-6x8

$75 plus $10 s/h

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was wondering the other day what the attraction is with this type of scene i do so much. i think its the simplicity of the house thats so charming, and the fact that theyre literally inches away from their neighbors on the left and right. i like the abstract shapes they make.

$125-Crystal Blue Persuasion-8x8

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just so you dont think all i do is paint and dont have any other kind of fun, i posted this pic of a fun night of playing ukelele at the reknowned green parrot bar in key west (almost as famous as sloppy joe's).they have a uke group that meets monthly for a jam session and you can get on stage and be a rock star (was tiny tim a rock star?) for a night. at least i can scratch "play a musical instrument in front of an audience" off my bucket list. its a really cool happening because about 30 people show up with every kind of uke imaginable and you take turns on stage.and even when youre not near a mic, youre out in the crowd playing, so its like surround sound uke music. the folks not playing are singing along, dancing, and its a real hoot. cant wait to do it again next month.

$75-Side View-6x8

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i like these side yard vignettes.some bouganvillea (the red flowering bush) and purple shadowed side of a house. there's no shortage of these around KW.

upcoming workshops

february at Studios of Key West-plein air weekly classes

march at Studios of Key West-weekly knife painting classes
april- west palm beach fl. and fort pierce fl. plein air workshops

april- bald head island 

$75-Seven Mile Bridge-6x8

$75 plus $10 s/h

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went over to pidgeon key for this one. you leave marathon and walk (or ride your bike) on this bridge over there. it really looks like your own private deserted island. there are the coolest huts and houses over there. i will definately be going back with some bigger canvases.

On the one above i had about 20 minutes before sundown (and a two mile ride back across the bridge) no time for thinking on this one. just sketch quickly and throw quick color in. why is it every time you work super quick, they look so cool? i like this one!

Truman Street in the Morning-8x10
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Pidgeon Key Front Yard-8x10

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this was one of the houses over there on pidgeon key. how cool right?

$75-Overcast Harmony-6x8

$75 plus $10 s/h

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this day was very overcast so i went out looking for the color in it. mixing the right color notes will give you the light key with its coolish harmonies, compressed values, and landscape objects silouetted against a shimmery sky.

Shotgun House-SOLD

5x6

well it happened again. everytime i'm in key west painting plein air i'm mistaken for a homeless guy! its because here, anybody scruffy looking, riding a bike with all kinds of crap in the front basket and/or having a backpack is homeless. guess what thats me. all my painting stuff is in the basket and i'm loaded like a pack mule with a backpack. paint all over me, beard and hairs getting shaggy (the wife's in NC, no need to snazz up) All i do is paint, paint, paint and backpack painting on a bike is the best way to get around town, and the side streets. anybody that plein air paints knows you tend to look scruffy on a good day after painting a few in 80 degree heat.

so i'm at the convenient store getting lunch today, and as i reach for my wallet in my backpack the lady says "sorry! we dont take food stamps here".  i'm like... "i dont have food stamps, i've got a job"  OH she says, surprised looking!

honest mistake, i think to myself snacking on a jamaican pie out on the curb with the roosters and chickens. the way painting sales have been the past few years, i would probably qualify for food stamps!  :D

$75-Overcast Arrangement-7x9

$75 plus $10 s/h

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left this one juicy, loose and did it fast. compare the difference to below

Goya Bouquet-12x16

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this is knifed and brushed, bigger, tighter and took longer. the key to my excitement about painting is that i dont paint the same way every day. one day i'm using bold bright colors and brush strokes, the next i'm toying with subtle tighter color and strokes. i tend to get bored easily so i shake it up all the time. if you paint for a living, it could keep you from feeling like you have a real job (God forbid)

Near Whitehead St.-SOLD

7x9

a knifed street scene done in the morning. i love the simplicity of that little house in the background to the right. 

when ever i'm painting around the edges of a painting (away from the focal point) i make sure to keep value and color changes close together and do everything very simply. this keeps from dragging the viewers eye over there. basically its two colors and values whose shapes make a building.

$75-Pink and Lavendar Morning-6x8

$75 plus $10 s/h

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this was a demo for a lesson this morning. pretty light on a cool house!

Stock Island Contre Jour- 8x10

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