#9-Near Mallory Square-SOLD

8x6- $50

Started out the day on a bad note painting in flat overcast light. i hated it real bad and i'll be gessoing over it for sure. chalk that one up to practice. i should know better than to paint when the lights so flat. booo!

rode around looking for something to paint most of the day. nothing was striking my fancy. really hate that silvery light you get when the sky's real milky looking with high thin clouds. there arent any shadows! i should have called it a day but thought i'll ride the bike down around Mallory Square when i saw this orangey building lit up with bright signs and people walking around everywhere. set up in front of the Weston hotel thinking maybe somebody from the sunset celebration crowd would buy it. had a few bites but couldnt get any buyers. gave out a lot of biz cards tho'. you never know when somebody'll check you out online and decide to buy one.

did take an order for a commission earlier in the day that i can go do when this front passes monday night. need some cloudy weather where i can slow the pace down some. i'm getting tired and a bit rundown from all the peddling, painting, and 12 hour days.

Stand up paddleboarding in the mangroves tomorrow morning should get me jazzed back up. been here a week and havent gotten wet once yet. all work and no play makes mike a dull boy!

#8-Stock Island Boat 6x8-SOLD

#7-Midday Boats-6x8

SOLD

#6- Overhanging Palm-6x8

SOLD to KB

I have found the perfect plein air vehicle, this trusty bike. i can park free anywhere in key west (saves me $10 a day) and peddle to all kinds of places to paint that you cant reach by car. i went on Stock Island today and was able to peddle up to all kinds of out-of-the-way places. ive got at least two weeks worth of spots picked out on Stock Island alone! i'm thinking of adding a bike permanently to my plein air gear arsenal. it would be great around wrightsville beach during the summer and in Provincetown (cape cod) when i head up there in the fall. the streets are narrow up there like they are here in key west and parking is expensive. the long walk finding paintings can wear you out before you even pick up the brush.

this photo is in the Key West cemetary, a beautiful place to paint in the late afternoon when all the sepulchers and grave stones are lit up with yellowy/orange light on one side, and purple/blue color on the shadow side.

theres a full moon tomorrow night and if its not real cloudy i'm going to attempt a nocturnal painting in the marina on Stock Island. the last time i tried a nocturnal was a trip to key west i took two years ago. some street thug kids started throwing rocks at me while i was painting. i tell everybody i got "stoned" that night. literally! LOL

Hopefully tomorrow night will be uneventful but you never know.

#5-Keys Airstream-6x8-SOLD

$50

#4-Swaying Palm-6x8

SOLD to KB

#3-Upright Palm

SOLD to KB

OK, here it is! a key west sunset from mallory square, the southernmost spot you can see one without being in havana. ive been painting everynight when the sun was going down, so this is my first one this trip.

tonite there were several hundred people lined up around the water to watch the sunset in Mallory Square. when it finally slips below the horizon everybody cheers. its a real event and you can see why.

i took a shower in the outdoor shower last night. it was about 68 degrees at 10 pm.

sunsets and outdoor showers in january. as you can see, it doesnt take a lot to make me happy now does it?

#1-Key West Alley-8x6-SOLD

$50

SOLD

#2

Yellow Door Blue Shutters-8x6

$50

SOLD

Off to a great start on the 50 for $50 Series! Two sales on the streets painting today and a commission for a series of palms ordered by email from one of my fave repeat collectors K.B. in Raleigh. thanks K!



ive found a common denominator for places i love to paint.... they have certain things in common and if the place has these things, you can bet i'll want to spend lots of time there. here are a few off the top of my head. the place will have-- the thermometer stuck on 70-80 degrees. it will be surrounded on at least two or three sides by water, and will have non-stop tours being given all day downtown.



the keys are a funny mix of bohemian types. from the offbeat, to those just trying to escape the winter chill. rich and poor rub shoulders down here daily without any sign of class distinction. millionaires and debutants hang with drugrunners and scalliwags and its hard to tell which is which.



whats not to like about a place where youre not judged on what you have or dont have, and that you dont have more or less value, because of what you own or dont.

Binky's Boatyard-8x10

SOLD

sorry y'all. after 9 hours of driving and getting re-aquainted to the key west traffic and street names, moving two months worth of stuff into the place i'm staying, then painting number one of fifty, i'm too bushed to shoot a pic of it and upload to the blog. i'll be fresh as a daisy tomorrow and i'll get it up tomorrow night for sure.

getting down here is a marathon drive but "ole bessie" made the trip like a champ! she's the best! loaded with so much stuff (and a 11 foot paddleboard sticking out about four feet) that she sat REAL low in the back right on the shocks. made for a bumpy ride. but all my stuffs here (kitesurfing gear and other toys included) along with about 90 painting panels (ranging from 6x6 and 6x8 to 8x10) ready to capture my two month stay at the southernmost spit of land in these united states!

lets try something new too...
if you have any requests for a "custom" daily painting (6x6,6x8) for the $50 i'll try to accomodate you. just let me know what you'd like your painting to be of and i'll go paint it for you. as long as it has general appeal to the rest of the buying public you dont have to buy it if you dont like it for some reason. hows that for personal service?

Wanchese Pair-8x10

SOLD

i'm on the road heading to the keys so i'm posting this one from my Nags Head painting trip a few weeks ago. its from one of my fave marina's in Wanchese. keeping it loose on this one while maintaining accuracy.

tonite, i'm in flagler beach florida about 500 miles from the keys. i'm always amazed that even being this far down into florida after driving all day (8-9 hrs) that i'm still 500 miles from key west.

hope to be painting tomorrow near the wharf, the first of my "50 for $50 Series" after which i'll drink a Red Bull and watch a sunset from the southern most spot in the states.

in the last four years i've spent most of my money on paint and Red Bull. the rest i've just wasted. :D

Kitchen Building- Bartlett House-8x10

$275 unframed

contact me for availability if you like this one

you can get it in the next couple of months but it'll be going to Tidewater Gallery when i get back from my trip if it hasnt sold here first

Heading over to raleigh to teach at Jerrys Artarama on sunday and then off to key west on monday morning.

50 for $50 Series

i've decided to do a "50 for $50 Series" while in the keys. i'll do at least 50 daily size paintings while i'm down there, and sell them for $50 to the first one to email me for it after its posted online.

It'll be first come, first served based on the time stamp on the email

the dailys from the keys were extremely popular last year, so i decided to commit to doing 50 of them!

thats almost one every day that i'll be there. sounds daunting when i say it, but since i love to paint so much it sounds fun, and i cant wait to do it!

Side by Side-6x8-SOLD

$100

Found this little tip on the internet so i tried it out and loved it! thought i'd pass it on.

take an old phone book and put it on your taboret. when you want to clean the knife or brush use the top page. when the page is full tear it off. the paper in a phone book is extremely absorbent so it soaks in the dirty thinner out of the brush like a sponge. you can even clean the palette with it.

this saves tons of paper towels and the time it takes to tear them off the roll every few color changes. not to mention recycling old phone books.

i'll paint even faster now!

Morning Cottage Nags Head-6x6-SOLD

SOLD

From my recent Nags Head jaunt teaching and painting. Did this on the beach just down from my painter friend Sue Morris' house. she was so gracious to let me stay with her there while we painted together for a few days. love the way these old cottages nestle into the dunes as if to hide from the ravages of the atlantic ocean when she's kicking up.
I'll be teaching private lessons in the Keys while i'm down there so if you're in south florida and want a lesson or two, email me from now until the end of march, and we'll set something up.

Subtle Marsh-8x10

SOLD

Did this one early in the morning on a diffused light day. high thin clouds cause a "milky" effect which tones down color and puts a gauzey veil between the viewer and objects in the distance.

258 Barn-5x7-SOLD

SOLD

Got to jump out and paint this on the way back from the last workshop. these little barns are dotted all over eastern NC. alot of times they hung tobacco in them to cure. now most of em are used to store farm equipment or hay. Gonna start scanning these small ones so when they sell i can still use them as a study for a larger painting. mixing and holding it up to an image on paper is more accurate than looking at the computer screen. since the computer screen is actually throwing light at the paint or the back of the knife (when you hold it up to the screen) its nearly impossible to get the value and color correct off a computer screen.

i've got one more workshop here in carolina this sunday at Jerrys Artarama in raleigh. its a one day class and there's a spot or two available, last i heard. let me know if you want me to hold you a place.

Still getting some info together for the Tuscany Italy workshop but wont know anything for a few weeks. i do know its in september for 10 days. i'll probably be teaching five half days. you and your honey get to chill in tuscany the rest of the day until we cook and eat the authentic "poor food" that tuscany is famous for. if youre interested let me know and i'll get you some prices etc when i get it all sorted out.

Charleston Blue House-8x8

contact me for availability and price if you like this one

Kinda been slack on the blog lately. this year started off with a bang. two back to back workshops, and lots of planning for a possible workshop i'm planning in italy, in addition to getting ready for my two month exodus to key west next week. oh yeah i have to spend at least a little time with my family before i leave (or the wifey gets mad). did i mention i had to paint some too, since thats what they tell me i am. dont feel like it sometimes.

this economy has made my self marketing efforts even more important, so i keep that in mind if i feel guilty when i'm not painting every minute. if you dont sell them, you dont get to keep doing it.

todays painting is from a cold charleston sc morning a few weeks back. sat in the cab of my truck with the heat and cd player cranking to do this one.

Wanchese Airstream-6x6-SOLD

Charleston Morning-10x8

SOLD

ok... two workshops down, one to go till i leave for key west.

I'll be teaching a one day workshop at Jerrys Artarama (classroom) in raleigh on Sunday January 24th. if you'd like to learn how to loosen up, and really put color in your paintings why not call sharon at jerrys and sign up. its for beginners thru advanced and there are a few slots still open.

went out plein air painting with my friend sue today and we headed over to wanchese to paint in the first weather this year above 40 degrees. the water was frozen and the fishing boats had to break thru the ice to get out into the sound. that was cool to see. doesnt happen unless its been real cold for a long time.

i did the little airstream above, and two more 8x10's, while we were there, which i'll try to post tomorrow.

Charleston Battery Sidestreet-8x8-SOLD

Missed me didnt you? been awhile since i posted by my standards

what do they say? absence makes the heart grow fonder?

i apologize but youve gotta know i'm knee deep in my second back-to-back workshop. i'm on a teaching blitz! its kinda like painting, there's a groove that happens and its either working or its not. so far so good. this nags head/manteo crowd is a group of fast learners because tracy bell is their regular teacher and kinda organized for me to come in and hit 'em with some new stuff. tracy does a good job of teaching her "crew" the basics so theyre catching on really quick.

we covered values all day today, only painting with a dark color adding white to get five different values. then we spent a good deal of time learning how to "sight size" draw. a very good way of quickly and accurately drawing figures, buildings, etc.

the result are that you had some students with less than a half dozen paintings under their belt, turning out some really decent stuff! Hooray. tomorrow we'll cover color mixing any color imaginable (and out of a magazine) with only red,yellow, blue and white paint.

now..... i have a very large can of RedBull calling my name, so i must go for now

almost forgot..... i'm planning a painting trip for 10 days to Tuscany italy, in late september. i'll teach half a day for about three days, you can take mornings with two other teachers i'm partnering with, you can paint or sightsee around in the afternoon and we'll teach, cook and eat italian food (and drink wine-if you so choose) in the evenings (along with hanging out and talking art, i'm sure)

so if this sounds like something you'd be interested in email me and i'll shoot you the details.

Rocky Mount Workshop

Today was the second of three days, teaching a fantastic group in rocky mount, nc. they are so stoked on painting! some came up after class today and said "is it all right if i do some painting on it tonite, when i get home"

this after being in class all day! thats being stoked.

i'm bad for not taking pictures during workshops but i promise tomorrow i'll have something for you to see.

the nags head class has one more spot open, so if youre interested give me a "holla", as they say in win-saaahhhh!

South Cape Shimmer-9x12

Headed to Outer Cape Auction

if youre interested in it i know the minimum bid will be around $150

here's the underpainting. a little more magenta in it than yesterdays because thats how the original looked. working on this one really brought back the feeling of being in that same exact spot five months ago. its like reliving it all over again. that is so wild! if everybody could paint nobody would ever take photos again. thats why they take all those pics of vacations etc. but if they ever experienced repainting a plein air piece they'd throw their cameras away!

got good news yesterday that both my paintings in the Outer Cape auction sold. i'm on cloud nine because i know that most of the artists in that auction were ex-cape school students. i'd be stoked ordinarily selling two of two but against that talent pool? they must like my bastardized version of their cape school influence, up there. the one from yesterday and today are both going to the next auction up there in late february and had to ship today to make the deadline.

Charleston Harbor View-6x6

just as the sun was setting i stood on the dock of the Charleston Harbor Marina and dashed this one out. the blaze yellow-orange sliver was a great contrast to the cool blues and purples and the cool whites.

Ive got a workshop in the nags head/manteo, nc, area that has one spot open. its a three day and starts next monday. if you'd like to sign up, let me know.

here's a step-by-step demo of a 12x16 painting on a stretched canvas headed to Outer Cape Auctions for their February auction

Step one- laid in a wash of alizarin crimson with just a touch of green in it for the shadow shapes. then i laid in yellows in some of the warm shapes.

Step two- laid in some of the realistic shadow colors. greens, blues, and purples.

Step three- here ive laid in the sun shapes with more realistic colors

Cape Street Vignette-12x16

$450 unframed

Email me if you want it before it ships to Outer Cape Auction

Charleston Ride-6x8-SOLD

$75

when youre on the streets painting, you cant go five minutes without seeing these horse and carriages sauntering around charleston. they add to the charm of the city.

i've got a workshop starting next week in rocky mount, nc and i'm getting stoked since its been a few months since i last taught. i get such a kick out of watching someone have that "aha" moment. theyre looking at me after i explain something and theyre dazed and confused. then i say something else and all of a sudden the light comes on! WoW, i get it!

thats too cool when it happens. makes up for some of the frustrations that teaching inevitably has. one is having multiple levels of proficiencies, from absolute beginners to painting, all the way up to professional painters all in the same class. that can be difficult. you dont want to go over the beginners head and you dont want to bore the more advanced in the class. its a high wire act, for sure. thats what makes it challenging and satisfying.

if you'd like to have me do a workshop in your city all you have to do is get 6 other students lined up and i'll give you your workshop free. just drop me an email and we'll work out a date.

Small Town Silos-6x6-SOLD

Sat in the truck for this one! coldest day of the year so far, i think (25 degree windchill). really like painting in the cab with the radio and heat going full blast.

have been concentrating on accurate drawing and values as of late. want to narrow the value range back to about three light values and three dark values. using accurate color is what will make similar valued objects stand out from each other.

ive done this place once before several years ago. this time i changed the composition.