Corner Pub-SOLD

5x6

this is the wildly popular irish pub, i spoke of painting the other night.

my favorite part is that one streak of pinkish light coming down the inside of the left column. getting that the right color and value out in the darkness of night with just a little headlight to see by? my crowning achievement! you can tell the bar was very low indeed LOL

Dry Tortugas Ferry Bldg-SOLD

6x8

went out last night after dark and warmed up doing the first in a series of nocturnals i'm going to do. i'm planning on at least 7-10 nights worth doing large and small, and i'm hoping to complete two per outing. some docks, some neighborhoods, and whatever else catches my eye.

plein air painting is tuff in itself, but throw in almost complete darkness (i  use a headlamp thing to get a little light on the palette) and difficulty in mixing and gauging values, and nocturnals turn out to be very challenging, to say the least. just ask the half dozen ladies i did a nocturnal class with last year. one was so frustrated she almost sidearmed her canvas into the water. i still hear from others, most of them experienced outdoor painters,how difficult that night was. for instance, alot of paper towel rolls were ending up in the drink, with the 20 knot wind rolling them out across the dock first. gotta say, it was funny but i restrained myself from laughing.

like my buddy T says "if it was easy everybody would be doing it!" how true T, how true.

i'm looking forward to learning many new things about painting at night from this series. stay tuned

Workshop News

My plein air weekly class is starting at the Studios of Key West this monday morning and there are a few seats left. we'll meet from 8:30-11:30 every monday in february. i'll be showing the importance of values, color mixing, and simplifying forms as well as composition tips, and a bit about how to pare down your gear. if you are in the keys and want to join call me at 919-920-9718 and i'll get you signed up.

then there's the wildly popular knife painting class in march. let me know if youre interested and i'll give you the details.

Also, my first workshop back in the carolina's in spring, will be Bald Head Island around the third week of april. this is a magical island and i'm very familiar with it and can show you (and paint with you) in places on the island most people dont even know about. contact me if you think you'd like to sign up. cost is $300 for three days.

A Corner in the Keys-SOLD

SOLD

8x8

ever have a painting that you love when you get it into the studio from out in the field, and then murder it working on it "just a little more"?

 thats what i did on this one. i was very fond of it till i played with it a little too long one evening from memory. when i was done, the more i looked at it the more i hated it. what went wrong? just a few hours before it was a keeper and now i want to scrape it all off and re-gesso the board.

i decided to let it dry, tape some clear plastic over half of it, and repainted the big shapes on the plastic. this time darker on the trees, and lighter and cleaner color on the boats in shadow, and darkening the reflections in the water. you see my hand there on the right? i'm pulling back (from left to right) the plastic. see the darker trees and shadows.  when i stood back, it made a huge difference in the painting.

 putting on the plastic and painting on it lets you try out things without trashing the painting underneath. if you dont like whats on the plastic, wipe it off and try something else. when you have something you like, duplicate that on the original painting.

what i was doing mucking around in the studio was lightening (and cooling) the trees and reflection without realizing it.inadvertantly lessening the contrast to 1/3 of the painting and changing the relationship between shapes in the area of contrast, color, and temperature is not what you want happening if you have any hope of a decent painting. 

easy explanation? stuff was out of whack! i'll post it when i've got everything fixed. if i dont kill it that is  :D

$75-Red Doors-6x8

$75 plus $10 s/h

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

while i'm standing painting these paintings the Conch Train is always going by giving the tourists the history of key west. its the key west version of the charleston carriage rides. 

as i was doing this cool two story house with red doors, the conch train goes by. he says "see that building with the red doors? that used to be the roughest bar in florida. when you went in, back then, they'd ask you, 'Do you have a gun? you'd answer no and they'd give you one!"

 i always wonder how much is true of what these guys say but that one just sounds too incredible to be true doesnt it?

SOLD- a 7x9 commission piece for the new owner of this cool house on the corner of fleming st.

Angela St. View-SOLD

6x8

i'm always drawn to this view to paint year after year. the pinkish house on the right that sticks out over the sidewalk, the light on the yellow building and the conch houses and bouganvillea at the end of the block are all super cool to me. in this one i tried to make every shape a different color. sorta like doing a color study but there's tons more to look at. i just take one big shape at a time to keep from getting overwhelmed. there are conch train tours, scooters, sightseers, and bicycles going past me every minute too, adding to the challenge.

SOLD-Blue Shadowed House-6x8

SOLD

was wondering the other day what the attraction is with this type of scene i do so much. i think its the simplicity of the house thats so charming, and the fact that theyre literally inches away from their neighbors on the left and right. i like the abstract shapes they make.

SOLD-Side View-6x8

SOLD
 

i like these side yard vignettes.some bouganvillea (the red flowering bush) and purple shadowed side of a house. there's no shortage of these around KW.

upcoming workshops

february at Studios of Key West-plein air weekly classes

march at Studios of Key West-weekly knife painting classes
april- west palm beach fl. and fort pierce fl. plein air workshops

april- bald head island 

SOLD-Seven Mile Bridge-6x8

$OLD
 

went over to pidgeon key for this one. you leave marathon and walk (or ride your bike) on this bridge over there. it really looks like your own private deserted island. there are the coolest huts and houses over there. i will definately be going back with some bigger canvases.

On the one above i had about 20 minutes before sundown (and a two mile ride back across the bridge) no time for thinking on this one. just sketch quickly and throw quick color in. why is it every time you work super quick, they look so cool? i like this one!

Truman Street in the Morning-8x10
SOLD

Pidgeon Key Front Yard-8x10

SOLD

this was one of the houses over there on pidgeon key. how cool right?

Shotgun House-SOLD

5x6

well it happened again. everytime i'm in key west painting plein air i'm mistaken for a homeless guy! its because here, anybody scruffy looking, riding a bike with all kinds of crap in the front basket and/or having a backpack is homeless. guess what thats me. all my painting stuff is in the basket and i'm loaded like a pack mule with a backpack. paint all over me, beard and hairs getting shaggy (the wife's in NC, no need to snazz up) All i do is paint, paint, paint and backpack painting on a bike is the best way to get around town, and the side streets. anybody that plein air paints knows you tend to look scruffy on a good day after painting a few in 80 degree heat.

so i'm at the convenient store getting lunch today, and as i reach for my wallet in my backpack the lady says "sorry! we dont take food stamps here".  i'm like... "i dont have food stamps, i've got a job"  OH she says, surprised looking!

honest mistake, i think to myself snacking on a jamaican pie out on the curb with the roosters and chickens. the way painting sales have been the past few years, i would probably qualify for food stamps!  :D

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.

Conch Republic Two Story-SOLD

6x6

tried to keep the semi abstract feel of these shapes. they just happen to make a house set in some lush tropical vegetation. everywhere you look in old towne this is what you see rising above the picket fences and motor scooters.

Workshop Update

ive added a two day workshop to the schedule on the right sidebar. it'll be a two day (half day plein air/half day still life) in West Palm Beach April 9 and 10 (tentatively) . if you'd like to sign up it will be an intimate little group and we'd love to have you. just email me for more details and to get your spot.

SOLD-Lavendar and Awnings

SOLD

more metal awnings!

rene and i during a one-on-one plein air class

after simplifying the scene i showed rene how to block in the scene quickly using blue for the shadows and yellow ochre for the light shapes. then we added the real colors where they went. he was having a ball as you can see from that big smile on his face and his painting came out great!

SOLD- Caroline St. Sunshine-5x7

SOLD

there are no buildings up or down the east coast that look like these stuccoed houses with the old style metal window awnings. i love em! then throw in low humidity (= clarity of light) and then a little afternoon sun on em and theyre irresistable. 

today i taught the second of a three day workshop on knife painting. i used the  hensche method of having them paint colored blocks and stressed how everything in the shadow family MUST be darker than everything in the light family. this will guarantee that the objects have form and you dont have a mamby-pamby middle value mess! they did great. as always i took my camera but forgot to get a shot of them slaving away. tomorrow i'll do it for sure. yeah, right!

SOLD-Near Fleming St.-5x7

SOLD

the hardest part of painting these street scenes is there's so much your mind says needs to go in that doesnt. simplifying shapes, editing out things and only allowing in only the most necessary shapes, is the best plan of attack. if not you'll get frustrated and the sun will taunt you as it streaks across the sky confounding the light and shadow pattern you already have on the canvas. work fast and do lots of  these street scenes and they wont seem so scary and will get easier and easier. you'll soon be ignoring the crowds, traffic, and your umbrella falling into the busy street every time you turn around. shoot that's what keeps plein air painting in crowded urban areas so challenging and fun. anybody could paint a cow in a deserted field out in the country!

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.

On Shore Dr.-6x8-SOLD

A little ditty from Shore Dr. 

Gotta love that cold and crisp winter light

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.