SOLD-Stock Island Gray Day 0119B-7x9

note: this is a little bigger than normal for the same price as a 6x8 

SOLD

after being sick in bed all day yesterday i went out and painted with my buddy john clayton (go check out his blog) this morning in the overcast. he really appreciates the colors of that light key. i'm learning to. i love these studies that are quickly rendered with no muss or fuss.

$100-30 Minute Figure Study 0116B-9x7

$100 plus $10 s/h

to purchase with PayPal or credit card click the "buy now" button below

Figure salon has begun at the community college and this was the 2nd of a few 30 minute studies. if you want to learn to paint (draw) paint the figure.

SOLD-Atlantic Cottage-7x9

SOLD

this ones from a few months ago on a painting trip to atlantic. i think.the only thing they do in this very remote downeast coastal town is fish, oyster, fix boats, and raise misquitos.  when i saw that old grill on the side of the house i knew i had to paint  this watery vignette.

note: i could use some help. i 'm trying to get back into my hotmail account and i have to prove who i am. theyre asking for some recent emails as proof. here's what i need. if you emailed me anytime around the end of june or the first two weeks of july could you give me your email address and the subject line of that email? you would be helping me get back into my account that has my 800 favorite email addresses in it. thanks so much!

SOLD-Western Union Schooner

sold

this is the Western Union schooner out of key west.  dont quote me on the exact details but i think it was first built way back in the maybe 20's/30's/40's??? it hauled the underwater cables as they were being layed in the keys. then it was used briefly as a ship where troubled youth worked in a program up in new england. the key west locals missed the boat and realized how a piece of maritime history was gone so they bought the ship and got her back in key west.  since then (one or two decades) she has taken tourists out on sunset cruises. my buddy gary is the ships musician and asked me to come along on a sunset cruise and play some tunes with him. as the sun turned fiery orange and the sky went crazy with color we played somewhere over the rainbow on ukelele's for the passengers. we were totally powered by the wind and there was no sound except the ukes and the water hitting the front of the ship. then gary gave us a celestial lesson showing us the major planets and constellations in the twilite sky. magical!  it was one of the best nights i had in the keys. thanks gary! if youre ever in key west you gotta go out on her at sunset. she's a beautiful schooner and seeing the sunset from a mile out in the ocean (south towards cuba) is something you'll never forget. and also you can say youve been the furthest south you can go in the united states without entering international waters!

The Buildup- 9x12 

email for price and availability

SOLD-Other Side of the Tracks-7x9

SOLD

note: pleased to announce that i'll be one of the featured artists in the Cape Cod Life Arts Edition. the magazine will hit the newstands nationwide in early june. the article was superbly written by mary grauerholz and will go out to the magazine's subscribers worldwide. i'm so honored to be included. the cape cod market is hard to break into and twice as hard if youre not a fulltime resident. a big thanks to my gallery owner Liz Rowley at Elizabeth Rowley gallery for making this happen after just a few years selling up there. Thanks Liz, youre the best!

the painting above was done while i was "crawling around" looking for something to paint in raleigh. i spotted this view while crossing over a bridge on boylan avenue. i love the railroad track signals against the majestic raleigh skyline in late spring.

SOLD-Historic Seaport Key West-7x9

SOLD

SOLD-Afternoon Light on Elgin Lane-7x9

SOLD

Great workshop in fort pierce yesterday and today i drove up to savannah where  i'll paint downtown this evening. thanks jimmy craig for the tip on a decent spot to set up my mobile"studio"   :D

then into charleston tomorrow morning!

 the painting above is again street in key west to paint, Elgin Lane. the good thing about painting on this particular street is that  its so narrow (so there's not a lot of traffic) and the bad thing is the streets are so narrow (so when someone DOES come down you have to move all your stuff out of the way)

the guys that live where the fence on the left is, begged me not to paint the house on the left. they think its an eyesore and were adamant that they didnt want me giving it any attention. then when i didnt concede to them they wanted to know why i would paint such a ramshackle house? i was like, "dude look at the light on it" (thinking duh-h-h to myself)

He then stared at me quizically for several seconds before shaking his head and cursing me under his breath.

SOLD-A Little Help from my Friends

7x9
Titled this because my painting buddy john clayton was rubbing off on me on this one, when he was down here. he helped me push past my comfort level in color. thanks john for your influence and help. had a blast painting with you!

today i want to discuss a little talked about subject in the artistic realm, and thats  your muse. a muse is commonly referred to as some impish pixie that makes you want to paint, play music, write and create (in general)

your muse is very important to the process. have you ever had a spell where you just didnt want to create anything. some use the word inspiration, as in "i had no inspiration". i know what they mean but you must remember the old adage "painting (writing or whatever) is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration" this is certainly true if what you create also feeds you and puts gas in your car. i think working everyday at your craft is what gives your muse something to work with. and travel to places that your muse loves. for me thats key west. i love key west for several reasons, a million really. its a creative town. my muse works overtime here. i want to paint. i want to play music, also to think about life in a far different way than i do in northern latitudes for some reason. the tropics 

have a way of reminding you to cheer in unison with people nearby when the sun goes down. when's the last time you cheered the end of a beautiful day? appreciate the little things that make life, well, life.
 it reminds you to take a nap in the middle of the day, when its so hot. and without guilt because you know you'll need the energy for the nighttime (day part two) that happens after another breathlessly beautiful sunset. down here you are constantly running into poets. musicians, artists, writers, and their overactive muses. a menagerie of eclectic "characters" assemble here, in this judgement free zone and can ranges from the buttondown polo shirt crowd to barefoot, shaggy haired, beachbum types all attending the event. also noticed that signs telling you not to do things are an oddity here. probably because it wouldnt do any good! its the 21st century version of the wild west pretty much.

i said all this to say. if you have a hard time getting your muse to help you out, take him/her/it to a place where there are thousands and thousands of other muses running amuck. yours is bound to get excited and start giving you words, music, paintings galore.  

but for me right now....its getting hot and its past my naptime!

then gotta get up and paint that golden hour painting ive been wanting to do for weeks. go muse!

Shell Motif #2
SOLD

SOLD-Up the Block on Elgin-7x9

$OLD

Workshop Updates

West Palm Beach April 9 and 10- Plein air Loose and Colorful in the mornings and outdoor still life in the afternoon

Fort Pierce- Paint Camp sessions-Paint along with me in acrylic as i show how to mix color, do an underpainting and pop light to the scene.

Bald Head Island Plein Air Retreat- Thurs April 26- Sat. April 28, this one will be a retreat with tons of painting during the day on beautiful Bald Head Island, and lots of "hanging out" time after class. we'll cook together and talk art into the night. one of the students allison has offered to rent for crazy low price two more spots at her house and its first come first served. so if you werent coming because you were afraid you couldnt find a place to stay, well now you can come and hang at the house with us for the whole three days. let me know quick as there are only the two spots.

Just Off Newton St-SOLD

7x9

a cool set of houses in the afternoon sun. the thing about painting these narrow streets is that you cant back way up from the scene so you have to drop the size of things (for instance) to get two houses and a car on a 7x9 panel and you feel like your painting it 10 feet from the houses. most times cars have to pull over to let another past, the streets are so narrow. i like that i have a car in this one but it doesnt call out for too much attention. 

the show went great and i sold Keys Waterfront Dining and the 8x10 i did on Pidgeon Key, last night. guess i'll have to start doing larger ones more regularly. s my friend ray from tidewater gallery says, "those big ones have wall presence!"

SOLD-Angela St in the Meadows-7x9

SOLD

Marathon Shores Cottage-SOLD

7x9

days and days of painting on the streets of key west can start to take a toll on a painters vibe. its people on people down there. scooters miss me on my bike by inches daily, everybodies in a hurry, and after awhile the traffic (and tourists asking directions) takes its toll. 

to keep my sanity i run away for a few days, and head up the keys an hour and some change up to marathon and Conch Key (thanks Jim for telling me about the place) Its like stepping back in time there.old cottages, lobster boats and fish houses, real island living kind vibe to the place. everything runs real slow up there. helps me get my easy going vibe working right again. 

this paintings from the north side of the marathon. are you feeling warmer yet?

Stock Island Boats-SOLD

7x9

me and my friend john clayton from provincetown were on stock island today slinging paint. he has a new blog so go over there and check out his post. his website is johnclaytonstudio.com. he paints in the true cape school technique having gone to the school back in the 90's. it was cool to see the difference between his and mine when we were inches apart painting the same thing.

Boca Chica Canal 1-SOLD

7x9

Boca Chica Canal-7x9

SOLD

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.

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.