Sunday, March 15, 2009

Upcoming Palms-6x6


Getting my bags packed for the painting trip to the keys. Last night i wanted to brush up on my palm tree skills. those buggers are hard to get right and i dont get alot of practice on em up here in NC. we do have them but theyre not coconut palms like in florida. you have to keep them loosey goosey or they dont look right. theyre almost always swaying in the wind so the leaves have to look windswept.

this one is from a reference shot i took last year. starting to realize that i need to take more photos of stuff i want to paint instead of thinking i have to paint them all the time. sometimes youre pushed for time or the crowds are too big, or theres no place to set up. all kinds of things can make painting difficult if not impossible sometimes. i can always paint it next winter from a photo right?

the trip starts tomorrow and i'll post paintings daily from the road. i'll even ship them from the road when theyre dry enough to mail.




Precarious Cottage- 6x6-SOLD

Did this one from a reference photo and the little plein air study i did like it when i was out on the Outer Banks a few weeks ago. i really like how this one came out. direct brushwork, good color harmony and artistic license on the rickety old roof make this one of my favorites from out there.






Off 5th St. - 8x10


Going to a gallery soon. email me with title in the subject line if you want to purchase this one.

Here's my new ad in the April issue of American Art Collector. on shelves around 3/20/09

6 comments:

Leslie Saeta said...

Nice painting! Hey, I saw your ad in American Art Collector (the on line version). Very nice!

Steve said...

Mike, have a safe trip to the Keys, and good painting. If you decide to eat at Lazy Days in Islamorada (just prior to Bud & Mary's Marina), or the Keys Fisheries off of 35th St. bayside in Marathon, or the 7 Mile Grill at the north end of that bridge, you can't go wrong. There are some photo ops at the last 2 places that make for nice reference material for future paintings, too.

mike rooney studios said...

LSaeta- thanks for the nice words. appreciate the heads up about the AAC ad too. didnt know it was online. ads going in the april issue coming out on the 20th of this month i think. i'll check it out. thanks

Pohocker- i'll keep an eye out for that stuff in marathon and islamorada. appreciate the info so much!
keep an eye on the blog for my painting escapades.

Jeff Mahorney said...

Mike, Upcoming Palms is a beauty! You caught these colors right on. The brushwork on the tree gives such a feeling of wind. Great work!

Have a safe trip man!

Anonymous said...

Mike- this is what I love about the simplicity of your work. The palms are center stage and those buildings appear a bit blurry and set back into the distance.
The movement, the feeling of wind, the swaying, it's all here.

Have a wonderful time in the Keys and pass around your brand of the Joy of Painting.

mike rooney studios said...

jeff- thanks man. i'm here in the keys now looking at the real things. they are challenging thats for sure. hope to get better at em as the days go by. preesh man

Bonnie- i'm close to you now. well sorta! closer than i used to be. i'll swim over with my gear and we'll give it a go virgin island style! you live in a beautiful place like the keys. i envy you!