Spanish Point

UNCLE

oil

8" x 10"

   This boat was tied to a foot bridge in Spanish Point, Osprey, FL and kept swinging back and forth.  Plein air of a moving object.   Loved the rudder and reflections... couldn't resist the viridian green algae, dusty rose color, and curvy shape. 

Carlton Preserve

Carlton Cabin

oil

4" x 6"

Painted with a friend at the Carlton Preserve, Venice, FL.  Perfect afternoon to be outside.  Liked how the window reflected the woods.

Venice Ave Plein Air

Venice Ave

oil

6" x 8"

  Sunday on corner of Venice Avenue.  Liked the curves of the VW which matched the awnings.   My painting buddy thought it would be a quiet morning but town was busy because of a crafts fair.  Many people stopped to look at our work and chat until gusty winds sent us packing.

Pastel Portrait

Venice Studio Model

pastel

11 1/2" x 10 1/2"

My first pastel since high school!  And don't want to tell you how long ago that was.  Fun to work with a different medium, although I did miss my brushes.

Portrait Sketch

PORTRAIT SKETCH

oil

8" x 6"

With so many snowbirds (people who flock to Florida in the winter for those who don't know) in the Punta Gorda portrait studio, we had two models posing at the same time.  Like plein air landscapes, it's a challenge to complete the painting on the spot (usually under three hours).  If I start working it again later, it looses spontaneity.  It's also a thrill to scratch my signature through wet paint with a sharp stick... ah, the simple pleasures of an artist.

Venice House

VENICE HOUSE

oil

4" x 6 "

Another experiment (every painting is an experiment).  Used large brushes on small size painting.  This one not on canvas (like the way brush strokes show up without the canvas effect here).  A classic Spanish Mediterranean style house very popular in Venice, FL.  This one was for sale and looked like a cute bungalow, but unfortunately was attached to a larger building in back which put it way WAY out of my price range.  Loved the matching chair set out front. 

Cast Net

CAST NET

oil

6" x 4"

This is a study for a figure in a larger painting I'm working on.  The workboat was  heading out of a channel next to Selby Gardens in Sarasota.  The circular net is tossed over schools of little silver fish called white bait.  The cold snap in Florida has seriously damaged the fish population, a sad situation.  Many tarpon, snook, grouper, and lots of other sports fish have died. 

Plein Air

FISHERMAN'S VILLAGE

oil

6" x 8"

Painted with the Punta Gorda Visual Arts Center plein air group Monday.  Breezy and cool with rapidly changing light conditions.  A couple of dolphins circled for awhile.  A little blue heron and a snowy white egret walked along the shore.  Boats moved through the channel markers and one tied up for lunch at the village dock.

Cirquesa

CIRQUESA

oil

8" x 10"

Cirquesa tents plein air, Venice, FL.  The Cirquesa honored Venice with a performance last week during the coldest period in a hundred years for Florida.  Many circus performers families have adopted Venice as their home.  This was a challenge to paint and many times I was ready to give up and wipe it off, but determined to have a painting to honor the Cirquesa, worked and reworked it until I had something I could stand to look at.  I hope they do a repeat performance next year and I'll try again. 

Pirate Painting

PIRATE

oil

6" x 8"

Painted this pirate during the portrait session at Punta Gorda Visual Arts Center.  Several people asked me if I always work so small.  I find it a comfortable size for a three hour session.  And after many years doing tiny textbook and children's book illustration, it seems huge to me.  Yes, I do paint larger paintings, but save those for my home studio work.   So I consider this pirate painting a sketch and it's fine as it is.  I can use my small sketches (pochades) later as reference for larger works. 

Dingy Painting

DINGY

oil

4" x 6"

Another dingy pulled up on the shore in Sarasota.  There's an endless supply of them to paint.  Great shapes and colors... good excuse to paint water and reflections.

Small Painting

GONE SAILING

oil

4" x 6"

Two dingys and a kayak tied together while owners went sailing on a friend's boat.  Sarasota Bay near Selby Gardens.  Wonderful warm day here after the worst cold spell in over a hundred years!  Golf courses are brown, many plants are toast, lots of yard work needs to be done.

Small Painting

BLACK DOG DINGY

oil

4" x 6"

Small painting of dingy in Sarasota Bay near Marina Jacks.  I added the dog from imagination.  Years ago, I sold a large painting of a black lab sitting in a boat to someone before I got a photo of it.   Have been wanting to paint the same subject ever since.  

Portrait Studio Sketch

MODEL STUDY

oil

10" x 8"

Venice Art Center portrait studio study of musician.  Sometimes I leave the study as it is and don't touch it up later.  I like the sketchy spontaneity.  The same thing happens with plein air paintings... like them for what they are and don't like to rework them later.  Better to do another painting and use the sketches as studies.

Hodges Soileau Workshop

THE WRITER

oil

10" X 8"

Took three day workshop with Hodges Soileau at the Venice Art Center.  Fabulous learning and painting experience.  This is the third painting, will upload the other two later.  Had fun with the color on this one.  Had a greenish underpainting that helped bring out the warm and bright colors of the model.

Yellow ochre

YELLOW OCHRE

oil

4" x 6"

Painting paintings of paint tubes is a favorite exercise of artists.  Larry Seiler has a great video on You Tube called Alla Prima Brushstroke Exercise.  He painted his in a little over four hundred strokes... took me a gazillion.  Check out Seiler's video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8zeSdC5xcs.

RED SAILBOAT

RED SAILBOAT

oil

4" x 6"

Today's quick study, an old sailboat near Marina Jack's in Sarasota.  Couldn't resist the faded red and the way the sun light hit the deck.

Snapshots and Painting

CHICKENS

oil

4" x 6"

Quick study painted from snapshot taken last summer on Doc's Island, Florida.  Doc's Island is actually a forty acre island near Punta Gorda owned by a friend of a friend.  We painted there a few times surrounded by chickens, cattle, peacocks, rabbits and plenty of fire ants.  This piece of old Florida is for sale and will disappear one of these days to become a fancy gated community or golf course.  Painting from life, plein air and direct painting is great if it's possible and the conditions are right.  But I have nothing against using photos for reference in painting as long as it's not just copying the photo exactly, but using it as a starting point to create a new reality.  I need to write more about this later.  31.1 degrees outside right now here in SW Florida!  Imagine that!

BLUE BOWL

BLUE BOWL

oil

4" x 6"

Postcard painting for today.  Small paintings are a great way to practice technique and solve light and composition problems.  This one is painted on a gessoed panel instead of canvas.  Like the way brush strokes stand out, especially in the shadows.  A quick and spontaneous study done with direct painting... painting from life.

Salt Jar and Lime

SALT JAR and LIME

oil

4" x 6"

Another in a series of postcard paintings for the New Year.  This salt jar has been on our table for a quarter of a century or so.  The lime was from a friend's tree.  Lots of ripe citrus in SW Florida this time of the year.  Has been unusually chilly, good time to stay in and paint still lifes... but promised a friend I'd paint outside this afternoon.

Thai Spice Orchid

THAI SPICE ORCHID

oil

4" x 6"

Had lunch with John at the Thai Spice Restaurant in Venice.  This orchid arrived on my plate along with the green curry chicken.  What a treat.  Didn't eat the orchid, though.

Boathouse 3

BOATHOUSE 3

oil

4" x 6"

Third painting of the Bay Preserve boathouse and there will be many more.  Visited it again with John a few days ago.  This is a postcard painting and many more this size will follow.  A great way to practice technique and warm up for larger paintings.  Hope to do one a day this year.  Happy New Year everyone.