Yellow Blankets-6x6-SOLD

More beach girls.

the photo i used for this was taken last year. you have to sneak photos like these. the people think your stalking them or something! so you have to make them think your taking a picture of something behind them or wait till they both look away.

i think my figurative class with Luana helped on the girls bodies. when you feel confident of the drawing you can focus on painting them more boldly.

i like this one. especially the color on the girl lying down. there's some really subtle temperature shifts on the painting that the photo's unforntunately not showing.

Southern Shores-6x5

Doing some beach girls, hoping that the warm weather will hurry up and get here for good.

Waterside Parking II-SOLD

Steeples and Palms- 10x8- SOLD

Low Country Side Yard- 10x8- email for availability

Here are a few painted plein air in Charleston and Beaufort. i usually look at them on my "drying/viewing couch" directly across from my "sitting" couch. that way if something really irks me about a shape, color whatever, i can fix it before calling it done. the trick is not to nitpick them do death. they lose their sponaneity when you do. it has to be a glaring problem for me to mess with them after leaving the field.

The Dean Dome-8x10-contact me if you like it

UNC Tarheels- 2009 NCAA Champions- they beat Michigan good 89-72!

The Chapel at St. Mary's- 8x10- contact me if you like it

Luconi Winner Workshop

No paintings to post today but i wanted to write about the workshop i'm taking this weekend with Luana Luconi Winner winnerstudios.com - check out her awesome figurative and portrait work. she has won international awards for her stuff and she's an NC treasure. she trained in chicago, new york, and italy and does some mindblowing stuff. so cool to have that kind of talent so close (raleigh)
i found out she was teaching at Jerrys Artarama on the same day i was doing a half day demo. so i signed up for the two day workshop on the figure drawing/painting class she was teaching.

i'm out of my element for sure, but i dont mind. learning is always happening outside "the box" or comfort zone. i know my students are experiencing it when i take a studio painter into windy, buggy, noisy, and oftentimes uncomfortable conditions, outside plein air painting. i know they are like fish out of water but i tell them thats how they'll learn to do it..... by doing it, even tho' theyre not in their cushy studios with the temp just right, some mellow jazz playing, a bathroom steps away. i dont want to get graphic and go into what i do when i'm downtown painting and no businesses will let you use their facilities halfway thru a painting. these are the things you have to have planned out when you know that youre going to be painting outside every minute of every sunny day. so i understand when they dont want to leave the studio and theyre trusty photos. they dont want to feel "out of sorts."

this is how i feel this weekend. she has us drawing with vine and compressed charcoal and chalk on paper. i havent done that in 30 years since i was a student at Virginia Commonwealth taking freshman figure drawing classes. i want to use a brush. i want to use paint and color, i want to use a medium i'm used to, i want to be outside, not cooped up inside when its sunny and 70 outside. well.... for me to learn what i need to learn i need to do what i'm told. i trust her. and when its all said and done, my figure painting will be better for it.

i think this is what learning is all about. trusting the process enough to let go of whats comfortable and not always doing what you know (or think you know). as i said... learning is always done outside of that "comfort zone".

hopefully my paintings of people from here on, will make it all worthwhile. and thanks Luana for being gentle :D

Dark Reflection-SOLD

Had a great turnout at City Art show tonite at the Spring Fling show. thanks everybody for coming and hanging out! we had a ball and i sold some paintings.

here's one from Georgetown SC. neatest wooden boat painted dark blue. i'm a sucker for wooden boats. i love em. what am a saying... ive never met a boat i didnt like LOL

Dukes Mayonnaise-SOLD

6x6

Just finished this commission of a good ole southern fave Duke's mayonnaise. The collector is giving it as a gift for her kids that live out west where they dont have Duke's.

I like how i teamed up the yellow in the cap with a purple-magenta tabletop. sets up a nice vibration. just that sizzle it needs.

St. John AME-8x10- contact me if you like this one

Miss Nicole-8x10-SOLD

Cru's Cafe-8x10-SOLD

if you like any of these give me an email. theyre brand new from my trips to charleston, beaufort and georgetown SC.

Georgetown Waterfront-SOLD

Found a really cool place to paint in South Carolina called Georgetown. i saw something i thought i wanted to paint and was trying to get to it and stumbled on a honey hole of boats, marsh and quaint old houses. so i did this one and about two more before the clouds covered up my sun. Back at home for a day or two before off to raleigh to paint college campuses for a theme show i'm in at ArtSource in raleigh. one of these days i'll sleep in my own bed for more than a night or two. and you thought us painters were slackers lying around goofing off and painting a picture once in a while. c'mon i know you did. thats what i used to think before becoming one.

come see me at City Art Gallery in Greenville thursday night from 5:30- 9 where i'll be doing a demo. my friend Jacqueline Perry will be doing one too. come check us out!
almost forgot.... doing a demo at Jerry in Raleigh Saturday from 1-4 also. where can i get one of those slacker job applications LOL

Strolling the Battery( Charleston) -SOLD

Still painting in charleston, sc. this is a little warmup from this morning at first light. loved how the building lit up in the morning sun. this area is right on the waterfront.

White Awning(Del Ray Beach)-6x6

Leaving in a few minutes for Charleston again. got rained out in the middle of that painting excursion a few days ago. the weather channels saying sun for the next two days there, so back i go. around a 3 1/2 hour drive. have to be back thursday for City Arts opening of a current show where i'll have lots of new work and also doing a demo. come visit if youre in the neighborhood (Greenville, NC)

alot of folks dont realize the miles of road a plein air painter travels to find subject matter. i'd venture to say i travel 12,000 miles a year to get to the places where i like to paint. more if you factor in dropping off paintings at galleries, picking up supplies etc. Poor Bessie (my 93 toyota)

as my good friend says all the time to me "if it was easy everybody'd be doing it"

he's right!

Overcast Roofline-5x7

I was in charleston and it was overcast and rainy. the architecture looks so cool there that i like to paint it even in the overcast, shimmery atmosphere. i usually dont like this lighting effect but i did a few i'm happy with. this is the first. the other one was larger and i had fun painting it too (will show after some tweaks). hardly any yellow is used on a day like this. to show the difference in overcast scenes (cooler colors, no hard shadows) and sunny (the opposite)

compare with the one below.

The Lane (Key West)- 8x8- SOLD

This one has a funny story.

i accidently left my tripod for my painting box about 6 blocks away and didnt want to walk back so i slapped the box up on a trash can sitting on the sidewalk and duct taped it to the trash can so it wouldnt slide around. the wind was blowing that day around 30 mph but the adaptation worked like a charm. you gotta be inventive to be a plein air painter. always, always carry a roll of duct tape. its saved me more than once, out there in the wilds.

Near Schooner Wharf- 8x10

to purchase email me

Bay Street Boats-8x10

SOLD

Rainy King Street- 10x8

to purchase email me

Waterside Parking (Marathon Key)-SOLD

Here's one painted from a scene on Marathon Key a few days ago.

that place is a boat painters paradise. theyre everywhere. in the water, on stanchions, in back yards, and parked up and down Hiway 1. i'll have to go spend more time there next time i go to the keys.

i put a slash of pink on the boat and what a nice complement to the turqouise water. even tho' its really not there it looks like it belongs. its just that spark needed.

Key West Stroll-6x6-SOLD

Here's what the scene looked like. i always take a photo during the painting just in case it gets cloudy or a big truck pulls up in front of me.

Gallery season is about to take off and i want to keep high quality small work on my blog here at reasonable prices so i've increased the cost to $75. This will keep me from just putting all the really sweet ones in a gallery (where i can make more money) and the ones i dont think much of on my blog.

if theyre $75 here i have as much incentive to put them on here as in the galleries. i may go back down to $50 next winter when my coastal galleries close again. We'll see.

Another reason i'm going up a little is that i cant keep up with demand right now. i've always said i wouldnt go up until i couldnt keep up with demand.

These little studies are still a real steal, as i sell paintings this size framed at my galleries for close to $300.

Sunrise in the Keys-SOLD

6x6-SOLD

Five Brothers- 7x5-SOLD

A Day on Schooner Wharf (Key West)- 8x10- SOLD

Here are a few that were done a few days ago in the keys. i was in Charleston painting and it started raining on me. the weather man said it wasnt going to stop for days so i headed home. lots of shipping to do and have to get some things together for the Morris-Whiteside Gallery catalogue coming out soon.

so tired from the drive....must sleep! more later.....

Lunch on the Docks-SOLD

Well.... i'm near Hilton Head today painting in a spanish moss covered town named Beaufort SC. will post todays soon.
This one's from the keys. it was a hazy, cloudy day. i loved these yellow umbrellas and the catamaran.

Stopped by Morris Whiteside Gallery in Hilton Head and talked to Jack Morris and Ben Whiteside and they've invited me to show in their summer catalogue coming out soon. i'm really stoked! Morris-Whiteside Gallery is a very prestigious gallery and i'm honored to be asked.

Southard St. Scenery(Key West)-SOLD

One from the neighborhoods in Key West.

by Bob Wilson- P.A.C.R. (Plein Air Academy of the Conch Republic)

Morning on Sugarloaf Sound- 8x10- SOLD

The Keys are really affecting me. i'm missing days posting, dont know or care what time it is, and hear steel drum music in my head while i'm painting.

My friend Bob and i are tearing up Key West painting near the wharf and in the neighborhoods painting conch houses. The above painting is by Bob done right off the back deck i talked about in the last post or two.

Sugarloaf Key Leisure-SOLD

Threat over Shark Key- 9x12

SOLD

Today's been kinda stormy here in the florida Keys, with a few minutes of sunshine in-between. hot and sticky of course. it is swimming distance from Cuba after all.

Did Sugarloaf Key Leisure this morning in my friend Bob's backyard. i cant resist a palm swaying to tropical breezes. he was upstairs putting the finishing touches on a sunrise painting. i showed a huge cloud bank over the keys silohuetted agains a beautiful magenta/coral sky. he nailed it, when he was finished i had to have it. its gonna look great on my wall at the house!

Later that day a storm popped up off the Atlantic and i had to paint it. it was magnificent, threatening to rain me out or blow me away. the easel was rocking a little from the gusts. the water took on a muted turquoise glow below the blue gray swirls. just too cool. this was done fast for obvious reasons. and as always i seem to like my hurried paintings because i dont load them down with unnecessary detail or (a new term ive come up with) "brush antics" LOL

Hope youre enjoying this taste of the tropics as much as i am being here doing them. Probably not! *)

Beach Boy like!

Clouds over the Keys-6x6-SOLD

SOLD

Sugarloaf Key Abode-6x6

SOLD

Sorry all... i cant write much tonite. its after 12 pm and i'm bushed from all the travel. i'll just say that i made the grueling 18 hour trip down to Key West and without much trouble. Old Bessie (my '93 toyota) has a funny noise or two she didnt have when we left and i got lost in downtown Miami after midnight last night. i kept thinking "i hope Horatio Cane finds the punks who are gonna kill me tonite" but i found where i made the wrong turn and got the heck outta there. its a scary place for a beach bum after midnite. anyway i painted these two today, with my new friends Bob Wilson and his charming wife Sharman. we talked painting all day and did a few when the rains cleared out. then we watched painting DVD's. what a great day wearing flip flops, surfing baggies and hanging out with cool people. dont tell my wife about any of this... she thinks i suffer for my art. thats my story and i'm sticking to it!!!

we're going into Key West tomorrow to paint. i'll post em if theyre any good.

Upcoming Palms-6x6

Getting my bags packed for the painting trip to the keys. Last night i wanted to brush up on my palm tree skills. those buggers are hard to get right and i dont get alot of practice on em up here in NC. we do have them but theyre not coconut palms like in florida. you have to keep them loosey goosey or they dont look right. theyre almost always swaying in the wind so the leaves have to look windswept.

this one is from a reference shot i took last year. starting to realize that i need to take more photos of stuff i want to paint instead of thinking i have to paint them all the time. sometimes youre pushed for time or the crowds are too big, or theres no place to set up. all kinds of things can make painting difficult if not impossible sometimes. i can always paint it next winter from a photo right?

the trip starts tomorrow and i'll post paintings daily from the road. i'll even ship them from the road when theyre dry enough to mail.

Precarious Cottage- 6x6-SOLD

Did this one from a reference photo and the little plein air study i did like it when i was out on the Outer Banks a few weeks ago. i really like how this one came out. direct brushwork, good color harmony and artistic license on the rickety old roof make this one of my favorites from out there.

Off 5th St. - 8x10

Going to a gallery soon. email me with title in the subject line if you want to purchase this one.

Here's my new ad in the April issue of American Art Collector. on shelves around 3/20/09