SOLD-Overcast Harmony-6x8

$OLD

this day was very overcast so i went out looking for the color in it. mixing the right color notes will give you the light key with its coolish harmonies, compressed values, and landscape objects silouetted against a shimmery sky.

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

SOLD-Overcast Arrangement-7x9

SOLD

left this one juicy, loose and did it fast. compare the difference to below

Goya Bouquet-12x16

sold

this is knifed and brushed, bigger, tighter and took longer. the key to my excitement about painting is that i dont paint the same way every day. one day i'm using bold bright colors and brush strokes, the next i'm toying with subtle tighter color and strokes. i tend to get bored easily so i shake it up all the time. if you paint for a living, it could keep you from feeling like you have a real job (God forbid)

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.

$75-Pink and Lavendar Morning-6x8

$OLD

this was a demo for a lesson this morning. pretty light on a cool house!

Stock Island Contre Jour- 8x10

email me for price and availability

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!

Fort Zach View-SOLD

6x8

Palms are a tricky tree to paint. too loose and it doesnt look finished. too tight and it doesnt look like it sways in the breeze or that a bird could land in it.

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!

South Florida Abode-SOLD

6x6

so many tropical houses to paint. so little time!

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.

SOLD-Barn in Overcast Light

SOLD

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!

SOLD-Orange Distortion-8x6

SOLD

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

SOLD-Country Crossroads

$OLD

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.

SOLD-Marsh Pattern-5x6

SOLD

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.