Corner Glow- SOLD

how can you not love a cute little conch house with a bouganvillea bush out front in the midday florida sunshine?

on this one i started out the underpainting with different values of pinkish-orange and then quickly putting somewhat close colors down. only then do i go back and color correct and look for subtle temperature shifts. a little pinker here, a little more yellow ochre there. an example is on the shadow in front of the house. look at how its grayer-blue on the sidewalk part to the left, and a little more purple where the bush is casting a shadow. the value is identical but not the color temperature.

 this is the point in the painting where it gets super fun.

Shaver and Petronia St.- SOLD

today was my first day out on the streets since i got to key west on the 26th. to me its like coming home. i love the energy and art culture here, not to mention temps in the 80's and turquoise waters. have a three day knife painting class starting up next week so you might see me working on my chops with knife painting dailies.

$75-Barn in Overcast Light

$75 plus $10 s/h

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this may be the last post till i get to key west in a few days. ive got two eight hour days of driving planned. this year i painted all thru the holiday and will hit the ground running in the keys. last year i took a few days off and then the drive (another two days of not painting) and i felt really out of practice when i did arrive. not this year. i'm really excited about setting up and doing some palm trees!

$75-Orange Distortion-8x6

$75 plus $10 s/h

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i love the way things look thru glass. slightly askew and the color shifts from inside to outside are different in subtle ways. to paint glass you really have to paint just what you see (by squinting alot) but not everything you see. simplify, simplify, simplify.

New River Inboard-SOLD

6x8

was down on the new river the other day crawling around looking for something to paint. saw this scene and got excited about the lovely cream color of the shadow side of the boat where its picking up the light from the reflected sand. it doesnt take much to excite me does it?

On Shore Dr.-6x8-SOLD

A little ditty from Shore Dr. 

Gotta love that cold and crisp winter light

Beaufort Grocery-16x20-SOLD

a local fave eatery in beaufort, n.c.

had a close call on painting this one yesterday. i was studying the best angle to paint this one on the other side of the street on the curb. i was so distracted that i stepped off the curb right into the path of a car. she slammed on brakes and i missed getting run over by a few inches. i'm glad she was paying attention because i sure wasnt! Whew... that was close! wasnt my time right?

 here's a thought i had. if i had got run over yesterday and God forbid didnt make it, i wonder if my paintings would be worth more today? hmmmm

with it being winter i had to use some artistic license to make it look like warmer and "leafier" times

$75-Country Crossroads

$75 plus $10 s/h
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today i'm working on commissioned paintings that will be gifts for the holidays and getting things together to head to key west in a few weeks.

i love to read about how other painters days break down so i thought some of you guys might like to know what mine might look like.

my days usually break down into two types of days. one where its sunny and one where its cloudy/rainy and/or too cold to go outside and paint.

here's the cloudy day description:

get up, sit at the convenient store drinking coffee and looking at the all important dayplanner. i make a list of things i need to do that day and being a list guy i rank them in order of importance. i dont like painting in the morning, so i do alot of the marketing type stuff then, answering emails, doing painting inventory to keep up with what paintings are in what galleries, blogging a daily painting, checking my online galleries, making and anwering phone calls, and handling workshop details for later in the year. there is soooo much logistically that goes into booking and following thru on a workshop. hours and hours of emails, mailing contracts back and forth, calls, etc. i review upcoming gallery shows i'm committed to and other painting deadlines like commissions. i like to do all my nonpainting stuff till just after lunch. also run errands that i didnt have time to get to (when i was out in the field painting too much). then i start combing the web looking at blogs. reading up on painting, and looking at the paintings of painters i like. this is really important because it seems like this gets my mind around painting and i feel the inspiration creeping in slowly. then i turn on court tv shows and crank up the lighting at the easel. painting isnt about inspiration as much as treating the act like any other job that has to be done. if i waited to "want" to paint it wouldnt happen in the studio too much. sunny days tho' i'm itching to get outside and paint. following a routine helps get me going inside. i'll usually work on a small daily painting while i'm making and returning phone calls, go get some dinner and then dive into the bigger paintings after dinner while i listen to the prime time tv shows. occassionally i listen to some reggae while i paint once in a while. around 10 i start winding down the easel. check emails again and then watch the news and nighty night after midnight.

Lesson and Workshop News

if you're heading down to key west to warm up this winter and would like some private lessons drop me an email and we'll get something down on the calendar. i can work with you on basic painting, drawing, plein air painting, and knife painting lessons (and more) or whatever you'd like to cover. whether youre a beginner, or an experienced painter who wants to sharpen your skills, i'd love to work with you.

Marsh Pattern-5x6-$50

$50 plus $10 s/h

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this is a reworked painting that i did at rock harbor last year on cape cod. i liked certain parts of it, but there were some things i didnt care for too. so i reworked the colors and composition a bit.

originally it had some rocks in it and the colors were muted. i used a razor knife and cropped the distracting rocks out and punched up the colors.

Fall Sentinel-8x8-$75

$75 plus $10 s/h
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most buyers of these small online paintings dont realize the amount of time (and money) i might spend to get these small ones up on the blog everyday.

i can easily spend an hour or two to find the scene plus the gas, about 1 1/2 hrs to paint it, 30 minutes to shoot a pic, photoshop it for the web, upload and write a web post about it, and then i spend another 20 minutes taking it to the post office if it sells.

hmmmm. i didnt realize i had this much in em till i write it all down like this

Winterville Two Story-7x9-SOLD

Another of the super size 7x9's for a 6x8 price!!

a late fall home in the megalopolis of winterville, nc. not really. in truth the sign that youre entering the city limits is on the back of the one saying youve left.

this old home was probably built in the twenties? dontcha love the early morning winter light on it.

Capt. Charlies Glimmer-6x8-$75

$75 plus $10 s/h

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today was day two of my atlanta workshop at Binders art store.

seeing the beautiful light on these atlanta skyscapers has been a real treat for this flatlander, beachbum!

kept this painting very edited and colorful, just trying out a different color harmony than on previous paintings of this fave motif of mine.

A Bottle of Medium-8x5-$75

$75 plus $10 s/h
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a knife painting of a bottle of liquin i threw up on the still life stand this morning. i used the cape school underpainting method, a great way to punch up the color a bit too. these are exercises in practicing to see color and to show different planes and turn the form with color changes and not just with value changes (like a tonalist might do). a more sophisticated block study, if you will. i try to remember in these daily paintings that painting is more about seeing than it is technique.

todays Hawthorne quote: "Try to decide the color of your big spots and keep them apart-try everything in your power to keep them apart".