June Light on Homestead-8x10

if youre interested in this one contact me

this ones got some of the simplicity and the spontaneous look that i'm chasing right now. painting is way more fun when i challenge myself to grow in a certain direction, get out of my comfort zone. chase the dragon so to speak. i think burnout occurs when you do the same old thing the same old way, time after time. by simplicity and spontaneous looking i mean how you dont need to see grass shapes going vertically in front of you to know that this is a grassy yard. see the three strokes of paint right on the line between the dark green and the warm light green? thats simplicity. observe the shape, the "gesture" of it, then determine what is the most simple way to express that with the brush. the modulations in the dark green shape "suggest" grass without a tiny brush painting vertical grass. the trick for me is knowing what to paint with a tiny brush and what not to paint with a tiny brush. down with tiny brushes!

We Three Kings-6x8-SOLD

The cottage series continues

Dead End Road-6x8

did this commission for a nice family from Goochland Va. I met them while painting in the lot next to them. Tho' i think most would agree that plein air painting is tough, it does get you out there meeting nice folks. thanks margaret.

Topsail Shapes in Midday Light-9x12

just came in out of the field with this one. based on yesterdays little study

Topsail Shapes Near 5th St.-6x8-SOLD

another in my topsail cottages series. this week i worked what i call my summer schedule. thats where i paint first thing in the morning when the sun is low, and then surfing or kiteboarding the whole afternoon, then back outside painting around 7 pm when its cooler and the light is better for a painting. i'm trying hard this week for simplification. i want to boil down the scene and only put down what "has" to be on the painting and nothing else.

On the Edge of the Sea-6x8-SOLD

i love these old topsail island cottages in the morning light. soft and beautiful. i painted this barefoot standing in the sand. when i get hot i just jump in the water you see just under the deck around the house in the painting. what a job to have eh?

I'm excited to announce that my works will be represented in the wilmington/wrightsville beach area by Spectrum Gallery (http://www.spectrumartandjewelry.com/) Nancy came and picked up 7 pcs. and 7 more will be delivered in about a week. they were cottages, boats, and marsh scenes. theyre located in that shopping center across from Mayfaire on military cutoff rd.

Go check it out if youre over that way!

Cape Cottage-6x8-SOLD

we went over to cape lookout national seashore park today on ducky's boat. it was neat seeing the south core banks area closeup. painted this from the elevated position on the lighthouse staircase. loved the view of the water and one of the barrier islands in the distance. there are no buildings on them, and wild horses roam freely. they look today like they did several hundred years ago.

Doug's Dock-6x8-SOLD

one of three from my beaufort painting trip today. thanks for dinner, the redbulls and place to stay Ducky! youre the best!

onward to cape lookout to see whats over there to paint tomorrow.

From Pivers Island-6x8-SOLD

The second one of the morning on pivers island. i liked the feel of this one. cant really say why

heading over to beaufort and cape lookout for a painting excursion for a few days. i'll post any i get done.

Pivers Island Marina-6x8-SOLD

SOLD

went painting with my buddy jimmy womble yesterday and we drove over to pivers island for a morning session before we went over to atlantic and painted with julyan davis a painter from asheville. after painting all day, we just sat around talking about the business and painting methodology for hours. it was great hanging out with these guys. they all (like me) make their living from painting. its a very solitary profession and hanging with other painters for a few hours was a real boost.

Former Crest Theater-12x12-SOLD

Did this one on Lumina Ave. in Wrightsville Beach this morning. then a little surf session in the afternoon. now thats what i call a great day. if i had eaten sushi or hot wings that would have been the Awesome Trifecta.

you know this may seem weird but i love the telephone wires in this one. theyre there but dont look too dark and artificial. i painted them a whole value lighter than i usually do and then made em real thin in places, almost disappearing. cool, i found the trick to wires! thats what doing something over and over will do. you stumble on the answer to stuff.

Surf City Thunderhead-6x6-SOLD

Went to a collector in Key West! thanks b.w.

Low Tide Reflection-16x20-revised version

(bounce up and down from the image below to see the differences)

revised and improved this painting from my last post. i put more cool colors in the the mud to reflect more of the sky and make it look wetter. also added alot of broken color to the large shapes and seperated the marsh grass from the reflection with wisps of reeds, darker tree reflection in water, and then put more emphasized streaks in the reflection to make it look more like water. also got rid of that oversize house in the distant tree line, replacing it with one that normal size people live in, not giants 12 feet tall :). also lightened and blued the distant tree line to give more atmosphere and aerial perspective.

Working on the piece in the studio some is the trick i think. when youre painting outside in that two hour session youre in the equivalent of a fire fight in war. you need to get back to the studio where the bullets arent flying and bombs going off, sit down with an iced tea, play a tune or two on your ukelele (or put on your fave Pandora radio station), chill, and then get up and look at the painting critically. what areas arent making sense, or look rushed? which shapes are too repetitive? and in some cases, do you have single dwelling homes the size of an office building? a tip: changing the color of something while keeping the same value breaks one object out from another without nullifying your on site observations about value.

out there when the winds knocking down your umbrella, the no-see-ums are gorging their microscopic bellies on your flesh, and people are asking what you are doing (duh! ive got a painting on the easel and a brush in my hand-could be i'm waterskiing?) there is no time for the quiet, sophisticated tweaking i'm enjoying doing at the end of the "war" with the painting. any painter worth his salt will tell you its like wrestling the paint and canvas into submission. trying to wrestle it into looking like the thing they have in their mind for the thing. another reason paintings ain't (and shouldnt be) cheap!

Quiet Mooring in Sneads Ferry-7x5

$99 plus $10 s/h
to purchase with PayPal or credit card click the "buy now" button below

Low Tide Reflection-16x20

available soon at Tidewater Gallery in Swansboro

Went back to the marsh for a second go on a more square panel. wanted to catch the tide lower and on a day where there wasnt any wind so i get the tree's reflection in the shallow tidal pool.

On another note- i'll now be represented in the Morehead City/Atlantic Beach/ Beaufort area by The Mattie King Davis Gallery on Turner St. in Beaufort. Stop in and see the pieces i just dropped off if youre in the area

Workshop Update- i'll be teaching a one day plein air workshop on Saturday June 4th at Jerrys Artarama in raleigh. planning on going to a really cool spot at the neuse falls dam/fishing center. very scenic. there are a few spots left so if you'd like to go drop me an email or call the raleigh jerrys store to get signed up. i'll be covering values, simplifying the landscape and blocking in a plein air painting quickly.

Mid Tide- 18x24

at ArtSource Gallery

i just dropped off over twenty new paintings at ArtSource Gallery in Raleigh today. if youre near North Hills Mall on Six Forks Rd. (off 440 beltline) check em out. lots of beach, marsh, boats, etc. including the larger piece above.

Been working bigger in multiple sessions plein air, something new to me. the big ones are fun to do outside when you know you can go back a few times. i work the drawing/underpainting on the first session and then over paint in color on subsequent visits. having done all the small ones over the past few years has prepared me for these larger paintings and the challenges that come with painting that size outside.

Swansboro Glimpse Mid May-16x20

just SOLD at Tidewater Gallery

one of the goals i set for myself this year was to start painting larger. ive done several 12x16's that have sold well so i'm bumping it up to 16x20.

did this in two sessions. the first day i went out and did the underpainting with special emphasis on really accurate drawing, getting the proportions of things right, as well as the value structure of the painting. like i always stress in my workshops--if you do everything else right on the painting and dont draw it well it will look like... well you know.

the second day i went out and put the color on it. separating into a drawing/value session and a session concentrating on accurate color keeps everything from rushing at you too fast at the beginning (the critical time). going to put this one in a sweet frame in dark expresso with a nice gold fillet. cant wait to see it in the frame on the gallery wall (or better yet on somebody's wall at home) ;D

House on the Hill-6x8-SOLD

cant believe how good it feels to be painting all the time. i love doing dailies. they are so freeing. there's no pressure to make it a masterpiece, and it makes me paint, paint, paint which i know is the absolute best way to get better. as the fairy tale jack in the beanstalk illustrates, there are no "magic beans". its tons of painting followed by tons more.

the other benefit is that doing something almost daily is it helps you find things to paint in the ordinary world around you. take a mundane scene that catches your eye and make art out of it. finding interesting compositions, light keys, subject matter, etc. as close as the next town, or right down the road from your house. you dont have to go to awesome far flung locales like Provence or Italy, to find cool things to paint. it takes less and less time driving around looking for something to paint. thats almost as important as how you actually paint the thing.

Marsh Panorama

did this off the side of the road the other afternoon. i never get tired of the scenery where i live. marshes and water everywhere. its a painters paradise!

Wilmington Waterfront 9x12

Majestic Rebuild-6x8-SOLD

SOLD

another from the same marina. different time of day. i never get tired of painting in this place

Preparing Panels-nodp

i get alot of questions about what i paint on. i go to the home supply place and buy tileboard. its over in the paneling section of the wood dept. Its painted shiny white on one side and the other side is brown masonite. they use it for bathroom walls sometimes because its waterproof.

i cut it with a skill saw or table saw (depending on the size of the panel i want)

then i roll gesso on it with a foam roller three times and sand it lightly with 220 grit sandpaper for a super sweet smooth and absorbent panel. for $12 you get tons of panels for just a little work. give it a try. i think you'll like it.

The tileboard cut up and ready for some gesso

here's an 18x24 getting rolled

Diffused Light on Boat-6x8-SOLD

Finally back out in the field behind an easel. it was so great to look out the window this morning and see sweet sunshine! i dashed out the door eager to paint in Swan Quarter marina and saw this boat sitting on mirror smooth water. it was nice to push the paint around again. i discovered today the secret to doing dock poles. instead of using sap green as the base color (like i used in the treeline) i used some toned down viridian. keeps the poles from fading into the tree colors. then i repeated some of the viridian into the stripe on the boat.

Jacksonville W/S

well its been a few days since last posting and i wrapped the 3 day BHI workshop up and did the Jacksonville class on Cape Cod Underpainting today (saturday)
i'll deliver the show of my new work to City Art Gallery in Greenville NC and then i'll start doing some painting on a regular basis again. been about 7 or 8 weeks teaching everyday (or flying or driving) without much painting going on.
i noticed that you really have to devote yourself to painting alone to get some done everyday. after putting all my energy into teaching i didnt feel the painting mojo. so i havent painted in quite a while.
so if you lost your mojo like i have, go do what i'm about to. Find your fave place to paint and spend a couple of days there painting 6x8's. you'll soon be stoked to paint again! I CANT WAIT!

Bald Head Crew

Here's the Bald Head Island workshop crew hard at work at the office this week. we were working on one of the prettiest pieces of real estate on this ruggedly beautiful island called "the Shoals". Sandbars stick way out several hundred yards out into the ocean and theyve grounded and sunk many a ship in the days before marine electronics.

Next workshop is jacksonville nc this saturday and is the Cape School Underpainting course. let me know if want to attend.