Quick Sketch

January John

7" x 5"

oil

Really fast sketch of John in the sun, mudhead style (Henry Henche).  Created a new blog for John's work today.  Will post contact information later.  And here's a cabinet he finished today for the Venice gallery!  Venice Dunes Cabinet, wood and aluminum.

Small Boat Study

Old Sailor Again

4" x 6"

oil

Another small boat painted for fun and practice.  This is the bow of one I painted earlier, (see December 17, 2010 in archive) done in a looser, faster style.  Water's a fascinating subject, always changing, reflecting sky and objects in a soup of its own color.   Dark colors reflect lighter and light colors reflect darker... what a mystery.  And it's amazing how a stroke will either read as water or stick out like a floating, well... stick.  I spent many hours in New York staring at Monet's  paintings, entranced at how his "loose" brushstrokes worked together to create the flow and sparkle of water.  What a master he was!  And what a beautiful challenge painting water is!

Watercolor Show

Winter Light

28" x 36"

watercolor

An exhibition of my large watercolor paintings went up today at the Goff Gallery, Visual Arts Center, Punta Gorda, Florida.  Most are works from a few years ago and many have never been shown before.  The show will continue until February 26.  Here's a snapshot of my paintings this morning.

Dog Tale

Salty

4" x 6"

oil

SOLD

Swept off their boat in a fit of passion, the naked couple watched their boat and dog continue on without them.  After treading in shark infested water for several hours, they were finally rescued by some grinning fishermen.  The dog however, spent a dark and lonely night traveling until the boat ran out of fuel.  The sunburned couple and their thirsty dog, Salty, were happily reunited the next morning after the Coast Guard located their boat well on its way towards Cuba.  (Based on a true Floridian story!)

Portrait Sketch

January Me

6" x 8"

oil

John said, "If they use this in a Wanted Poster, they'd never find me!"  

Mirror Lake

Mirror Lake

4" x 6"

oil
Word Sketch Painting

One day the lake was smooth,  reflecting watercolor clouds.   They rowed out to the middle and drifted on their mirrored image.  He faced backwards watching the past, while she worried ahead to the future.  And suspended on this slice of time, with clouds above and clouds below, they became a mirage in an empty boat.

Beach Painting

Cloudy Day

8" x 10"

oil

There are butterflies that don't fly unless the sun's out, and this day it was so cloudy, even the gulls stayed on the ground.  I feel the same about painting.  I'd much rather paint sunlight and shadows.  The highlight of the day came when I checked out what my friend was working on.   Her painting was filled with light, color,  and energy...  and the subject was me! 

Morning Blues

Morning Blues

4" x 6"

oil
Story Painting

We weren't surprised when they slept late that morning, but we were the night before when she stood on the bow, lifted her skirt like wings, and posed naked as a moon goddess.

True story... only the bows have been changed to protect the innocent.

Small Boat Series

 Tied to an Oar

4" x 6"

oil

I heard them arguing all the way over.  "You make every day a pleasure!" he growled.  She jumped out and walked off as soon as the dinghy hit the shore.  He jabbed an oar in the sand and tied a line from the bow.  Glancing over at me,  he nodded and said, "Another day in paradise."  At least it was for me, I thought, opening my paintbox. 

Blue Umbrella

After Lunch

8" x  10"

oil
SOLD

Everything changed after lunch.  The beach filled up with sun roasting tourists slowly turning cadmium orange and a hideous shade of vermillion.   Once in a while, one would sneak up behind, footsteps muffled by sand, and say, "That's pretty darn good," making me jump,  tossing my brush.  But still I stayed and painted away as the angle of the sun slanted towards the west burning the only spot on my neck not protected by suntan lotion.   The owners of the blue umbrella packed up and left before I had a chance to finish... how rude.

But still, it was a wonderful day, two paintings by me and one by my friend.   Unfortunately, she took a sharp turn in her car after stopping at an orchard and her fresh, wet oil painting was rolled by oranges.

Perfect Day

Perfect Day

8" x 10"

oil

Painted on the beach all day.  Does not get any better than this.  Pushed paint around and it  behaved the way I wanted.  Colors fell in place.  This is why I keep doing this.  And my artist friend was perfect company.   She painted tourists, too blissed out by the sunshine to move.

Palette Knife Painting

Lacy Lady

10" x 8"

oil

My first palette knife painting!  Except for the drawing with a number two bristol flat, this entire portrait was done with two palette knives.  Took about two hours with an excellent model (yes, painted from life) at the Venice Portrait Studio.  Really globbed the paint on thick and smushed (fancy art term for blending) it around like putty.  Had lots of fun and learned a lot about painting with the knife.  Even the finishing details were slashed on with a knife.  

Trouble was, I went through a lot of paint.  My solution: make two piles of the left overs, one warm and one cool.  I put them in the corner of my paintbox (which keeps paint wet without refrigeration) and used them for the next painting.  Started with two mystery colors, or colors-with-no-name.  Leftover paint could also be used to tone future canvases.  I hate to waste paint.  Oh, and this painting was also done without using any mineral spirits or turps... just plain old linseed oil.  

I don't want to paint with palette knives every time, but will be wonderful to use with brushwork also.  This was just a self-challenge to see if I could do it.

Sunday Afternoon

Venice Train Depot

8" x 10"

oil

Spent a Sunday afternoon painting with an artist friend who has a lovely, lilting southern accent.  Her slow, gentle way of speaking fell into the rhythm of our brushstokes.   I had to pause and smile when she described the color of the rafters and tiles as a soft, sort of "pank."  Later, we set our paintings up against a wall to decide if anything needed to be changed or adjusted.  I thought her painting was excellent, just a few minor strokes here and there and it was finished.  Put it away and start another, I said.  It's interesting how two different artists can paint the same scene in totally different ways (wish I had snapped a photo of her painting, maybe later.)  And her advice to me was to remove the light fixture that I had hanging from the ceiling over the arch.  She was right!  I painted it out and my painting is stronger for it.

Southern Atelier Portrait

The Shell

10" x  8"

oil

Difficult to get a good photo of this, the paint is still wet and glossy.  Have stopped using turpentine or mineral spirits and only use linseed oil as a medium.  It works!  And wash brushes with Ivory soap and Masters Brush Cleaner.  No need for toxic chemicals... who knew.  Walnut oil, which I haven't tried yet, has also been suggested.  Can use the type from the food store.  And buy large containers of linseed oil from Home Depot.  I still use artist's linseed oil for medium but the less expensive kind is perfect for cleaning brushes.  I don't have an allergy but a few other artists do and it's better for everyone. 

Old Yellow

Old Yellow

4" x  6"

oil

Study of water and reflections of boat in Sarasota harbor.  Used alla prima technique of painting wet into wet and finished painting in one sitting. 

Small Boats

Canoe Number Two

4" x  6"

oil

Doing a series of small boats to practice painting water and reflections, palette knife work, and brush stroke technique.  This canoe was painted from an old photo that I changed quite a bit.  The location was Mohonk Moutain, upstate New York, a magical place in my back yard when I lived there.  Used the palette knife to create the light reflections on the water, upper right.  

I've always had a bias against painting with the palette knife, probably because I've seen so many horrible paintings done with it.  But just got back from a slide show by visiting artist, Dan Thompson, at the Southern Atelier in Sarasota which changed my mind.  The works of colorist painter, Henry Henche and other artists were inspirational.  Painting is a life long learning experience... learning to "see" and translate that vision with paint.

Fast Painting

Venice Pier Again

6" x 8"

oil

Second plein air painting for the day.  Left unfinished, then fiddled with in the studio.  Experimented with a palette knife.  Found it useful for sea oats stems and curly weeds.  Sometimes, for blending areas.  Also for loading more paint on the surface for texture and to give brushstrokes depth and direction.  

Seascape

Sea Oats

6" x 8"

oil

Small sketch of Venice beach, touched up and finally signed.  Busy getting ready for a show at the Goff Gallery, Punta Gorda Visual Arts Center next month.  More information later.

Englewood Sketch

Crab Boat

10" x 8"

oil

Painted this a few weeks ago and touched it up from memory, and some advice from a sharp-eyed artist friend.  "Lighten the sky, darken the area behind the boat."  It's a sketch, not a finished painting.  (Good excuse for paintings that aren't working yet!)  Subject was too complicated to do on location all at once.   The boat looks awkward because of the way it's built... the cabin is near the bow so the crab pots can be spotted quicker.  Tons of clutter that I left out.  Not a pretty boat, but practical and I liked the way the sun bounced off the decks.  Location is about ten minutes from my house, so I'll go back and try again one of these days.

Windy Morning at the Beach

Venice Dunes

8" x 10"

oil

My favorite way to spend the morning!  Painting on the beach with my dune buddies.   We had to weigh down the easels because of a brisk wind.  And sand blew in our paint giving our creations lots of realistic texture.  Marjorie took a half way decent photo of me!

Remembering a Friend

Drifting Pram

4" x 6"

oil

Friends and family remembered Jeff today with tears and joy.

May all beings be happy

May all beings be peaceful

May all beings be free

from unnecessary sufferings.

Namaste

Venice Portrait Studio

Beauty

10" x 8"

oil

  Sometimes, a model will walk into the studio while we're setting up our paints and easels and there's a collective sigh of exasperation.  How will we be able to look at this person for three hours?  Some people are just not inspiring enough to paint.  Tiny beady eyes, artificial hair color or make-up, unpleasant rolls of fatty tissue.  Today, the opposite happened.  This young woman walked into the studio and blinded everyone by her beauty.  The problem was how to paint fast enough to capture it.  Three hours or three years wouldn't be enough time.

Local Cruiser

Yellow Boat

4" x 6"

oil

This boat zipped by while we were painting on the shore.  Snapped a few photos as it buzzed south on the Intercoastal.  And today, the UPS truck delivered a few tubes of Williamsburg paint to my front door.  Oh, happy day... I love getting art supplies.   Had to try them out right away.  Perfect yellow.   This quick study will be useful as a bright spot in a larger painting.

History Park

Trabue House

10" x 8"

oil

Painted with the Punta Gorda plein air group early on a chilly morning.  A bald eagle was flying in and out of its nest in a pine tree behind this cabin.  Lucky photo I shot below!

Portrait Sketch

Gary

8" x 10"

oil

An instructor and talented artist posed for us at the Venice Portrait Studio.  Red acrylic underpainting with oil over. 

One Little Tourist

Venice Pier

8" x 10"

oil

Cloudy but pleasant painting near Sharkey's with two other artists.  We really entertained the tourists!  "How much is that painting?" a little girl asked my friend.  "Well, I usually sell them for a hundred," she answered.  "I only have fifty dollars," the girl said.  "Could we make a deal?"  My friend said she could have it for twenty, so the girl ran off to ask her grandmother.  When I was packing to leave, my friend was waiting for the girl to return.  She planned on giving her the painting and saying she could mail the money someday.  Smart bargaining sense for a six year old! 

Cloudy Day

ICW Englewood

8" x 10"

oil

Painted today with another artist at the edge of the Intercoastal waterway, Englewood.   Great sigh of relief all around town... police have arrested a man for the murder of our friend.

Sad Drawing

Christmas Cactus

6" x 6"

pastel

It's difficult drawing when you're not in the mood.  A horrific and senseless tragedy happened to a friend this week.  He died last night.  It will take time to sort things out.