Pics from MHC Workshop

here's my work office this week. short sleeves, blue skies, and scenery to die for. i'm doing a demonstration here on how to block in a painting in 30 minutes or less. here we are talking about blogging and internet marketing, approaching galleries, and how to price their work. some drank coffee and some of us were drinking Red Bull and orange juice, a drink we coined Bull Mosa's because they taste like a Mimosa.

what other job can you have like this one?

Workshop a Success

PopTart Pair

6x6 oil on canvasboard

SOLD

Another in the junk food series. I'm probably going to start doing all my still lifes from now on outside under sunlight. i'll try some in overcast too but i love the sunlight.

the workshop wrapped up today. this morning we did an inside session in a cool coffee shop. it was on blogging, internet, marketing etc. and i told everybody about this cool blogosphere community of collectors and fellow artists. we talked about how to price your artwork, how to work with galleries etc. then they painted all afternoon and i wish i had taken some pics to upload. these ladies did some great work and put into practice everything they learned about "full color seeing".

There's one more slot for Saturday and Sunday if you want to sign up. just email me.

Morehead Workshop Going Well

Tea Time

SOLD

Today was the second day of my three day workshop in Morehead City. yesterday i did a demo of a marsh scene with a backlit house in it. i showed the ladies how to underpaint using the Cape Cod School technique of underpainting all the shapes with 'straight out of the tube' colors on the first round of painting and add the necessary colors to those shapes to get it closer to the real thing.
Today we painted Hensche/Hawthorne blocks using palette knives and then set up a cosmetic bottle and painted it in the same manner. these excercises train the eye how to see past local color and to see bright vivid, luscious color and scoop it on like cake frosting. how fun is that?
tomorrow we cover internet sales, blogs, and marketing in a morning coffee session, and then more painting and a wrap up with a critique session.

I have a slot left in the weekend class if youre interested in signing up. just email me and i'll save you a spot.

Junk Food Series

Semi-Nude Snickers

SOLD

Thinking of doing a junk food series. candy, pop tarts, chips, cupcakes, all the stuff i'm going to hate to eat after painting. Must suffer for my art!!

here's my first offering. hope your sweet tooth likes it. these little gems would look great in a grouping or scattered around the house, dorm, or apartment. Buy now before it goes to auction on EBay.

Morehead City, NC Workshop Starts Monday

Nail Polish on Blue

SOLD

There are a few slots left for the Monday Oct. 27th -Wednesday Oct. 29th and the Saturday Nov 1st and Sunday Nov 2nd workshops coming up in a few days. email me if you'd like to attend.





i just set up several '09 workshop dates on Bald Head Island for the spring and fall. dates to be announced. hard to believe i'm setting up 09 workshops already!!

A Couple of Daily Paintings

Nabs

6x6 oil on canvasboard

SOLD

UHaul It

6x6 oil on canvasboard

SOLD

Here are a few that i've done in the last few days. it's really late so i cant think of anything interesting to say about them. i think i'll just let them speak for themselves.

i'm off to Bald Head Island to paint tomorrow so i better get in the bed now!

New Buying Methods and Prices for Blog

Twilite Moon

6x6 oil on canvasboard

SOLD

I'm doing my blog sales a little bit different starting tonite.
i'll post ALL 6x6's and 6x8's for $49 plus $5 shipping and handling here (on the blog) a week before posting them on EBay. the starting price on EBay will be $49 plus $11 shipping and handling.

i'm doing this so my blogwatching friends and collectors can get it first and cheapest! remember....you need to be the first to contact me to get it tho'. its first come, first served!

if a painting does not sell after a week on the blog i'll move it over to EBay where, in most cases, (when it sells) it can sell for higher than the $49.00 starting bid amount.

so if you see something you want on the blog, it'll be cheaper to buy it here (and the shipping will be $6.00 cheaper here) than to go to EBay.

what i'm doing is passing on the savings of not having to pay EBay and PayPal fees to you guys that are buying off my blog. we'll see how this works out for awhile and make changes as needed. feel free to click "comments" if you want to leave some feedback on this new change.
thanks y'all!

More Flowers and Such.....

Stuck in Ceramic

SOLD

Bought these plastic flowers at Dollar General last night and got hooked on painting them. they dont wilt, the colors are nice. i never used fake flowers because i thought they'd look fake in the painting, but they dont. so i'm going to hit flea markets and yard sales for fake fruit and flowers along with some funky glass to put em in.

EBay sales are really doing well for me this week. i'm tickled. its taken a long time to get some traction but the work is just beginning to pay off. thanks to all that have bought these 'little gems' on this blog and EBay. my wife, and son in community college, REALLY appreciate it!

Flowers and Such

Burst of Color

SOLD

Pouring down rain today so i spent the day visiting a few of my galleries and setting up some logistical stuff for the upcoming workshops in morehead city.
i always want to paint after doing all that marketing stuff so i knocked off this one while listening to saturday night TV.

most think that all i do all day is paint, but nothing could be further from the truth. you have to ride around marketing more than i'd like. oh well.. the price to pay to get to live off my art. its a small price i'd say. and i meet so many great folks when i'm out there riding around too!

wanted to de-emphasis the cup and so its edges are softer than the flower focal point with its harder edges, more saturated colors and the orange against all that blue.

Challenging Glass

Smells Good

SOLD

This was a demonstration painting for my Studio 123 workshop i've been doing last week and this week. i took some of my wifey's perfume and other smell good items and threw em up on a still life stand, turned on a flood light and voila!

i wanted to try to show the class how to paint the different shades and hues caused by all the cut glass and different angles of liquid. this was super fun to paint.

its challenging to do something this complicated in front of people, all the while talking to them.

this would really look cool hanging in a bathroom. maybe even pick up one or two more bathroom object paintings of mine and hang them in a grouping. for less than the price of a print youre hanging original art. how cool is that?

From Shenandoah Mountains

Virginia Clouds

8x6 oil on canvasboard

SOLD

Did this the day before the Shenandoah workshop a few months ago. it was the last sunny day of that week. it rained the whole three day workshop. at least i got to see what the mountains look like with sun on 'em before the downpours!

Lemon Slices Times Two

Slice and a Half

4x4

SOLD

Round two of the lemon wedge sessions. on this one i knew it was the last to be painted from Mr. Lemon. the 100 watt spotlight was drying him up by the minute. he was shriveling and changing color so i had to paint fast.
Loved how the light went thru the lemon. you have to keep it in the shadow and still look illuminated.

Still Life Lemons

Lemon Slices

4x4 on canvasboard

SOLD

Really like the looseness and reflected light in this one. who would have thought a little 4x4 would look so BIG!

Still Life Rehab?

Lone Apple

8x8 oil on canvasboard

SOLD

More from my still life binge. i need help. maybe a still-life rehab to wean me off the junk!

especially liked the reflected light on the shiny apple surface. and of course highlites are sooo fun to do!

Seeing Progress Since My Beginning

Fall Sunset (Topsail Dr.)

8x20 oil on canvasboard

SOLD

I can see my progress in learning to paint since i first started doing these beach road scenes. its like night and day. all the work, the small paintings, still lifes, and trying to paint every single day is starting to pay off.
all this architecture, multiple closely related values, saturated vs unsaturated shapes, used to really perplex me. now i just block in the big values first, de-saturate things in the distance and try real hard capture the light key.

i dont know if they look any better than when i started, but they sure seem easier to negotiate these days.

if you will just paint, paint, paint your stuff will get better. its impossible for it not to. so be patient with yourself. remember you are painting as well today as you really want to. WOW that was deep LOL

Pigment and Passion

My Favorite Red -6x6

SOLD- collector in Nevada

Still playing around on the black background. this one fell off the brush. maybe because i'm so familiar with the subject matter? ive heard it say that you should always paint subject matter that youre super stoked with and the passion will translate into the pigment.

this would make a great gift for that painter friend or family member. christmas is right around the corner isnt it?

Rainy Day Fun

My Joy

4x4 on canvas board

SOLD

This one will really look cool in a kitchen grouped with some other kitchen object paintings. and for less than the price of a print on paper youve got an original oil painting hanging on your wall.

this is a really lousy photo, sorry. the black gesso i'm using makes the paint really glary when i'm trying to take photos of the work. it doesnt look like it but its a sweet little piece.

its been raining all day so i cut up a bunch of little canvas boards and gessoed them black. i like just laying in the colors on the panel. its a nice change up from the way i underpaint my landscapes outside.

Back on Track

Warm Light Vignette- 8x8

SOLD

i was holding classes at a new studio/gallery/cool retro furniture resale place this week. saw this little corner of the shop yesterday and had to go back and paint it today. my favorite part is the table. i like the warm wood look i got.

i'll be teaching painting classes there again next week tuesday thru thursday. if youre in raleigh and want to join us its $75 for all day, and you can paint some cool interiors like this with us.

Long Absence

Overcast Restaurant- 8x6

SOLD

Sorry for the long absence. like frank g. says life and art marketing got in the way of painting. i have been doing it just not having time at night to blog.

turned 50 yesterday and went out for my first lobster dinner last night. wow. it was a lot of hype for nothing. its ok but not as notable as turning a half a century old!

the one above is a neat little restaurant entrance in downtown wilmington. learning to paint on those overcast days and liking it! hope you enjoy it too.

i should be back on a regular blogging schedule if life (and marketing) doesnt get in the way. but a guys gotta eat right? LOL

Fall Day Painting on the White Oak

Looking Down on the White Oak-12x16

SOLD

this ones from yesterday. one of those perfect days to paint. no humidity, temps just right and the light was beautiful and clear. this is pretty close to where i painted the one from last week. knew i had to do this one when i was coming back from lunch with Ray (who owns tidewater)

today i just surfed and goofed off. tomorrows a full class for my workshop sponsored by woods gallery at bald head island. theyre rarin' to go so i thought i'd recharge the old batteries paddle surfing all day today. its all part of the business. i wonder if my paddle and paddle board are tax deductible. i better not try that one! LOL

Cloudy day architecture

Overcast Rotunda- 8x6

SOLD

This ones from last week when it was cloudy the whole week so i went out walking around wilmington to see what caught my eye. loved the architecture on this one. the bottom part is a bar and grill and people live over it on the second floor. hearkens back to the old days when families lived over their business on the first floor.

Finishing Up the Concept Paintings for Kane

not for sale

not for sale

These are the 12x16 concept paintings for Kane Realty to show potential customers what their new retail space will look like.
i was happy how these came out because the goal was to get a laid-back, parisian cafe street scene vibe going on. they like this versus the super tightly rendered ink and watercolor illustrations you usually see on building projects. theyre so cold and impersonal. these are warm and fuzzy.