Jack

JACK

oil

10" x 8"

Painted Jack at the Venice Art Center with limited palette...  cad red, cad yellow pale, ultramarine blue, and white.   His skin really was that red.  Must have been fishing, playing golf, gardening, or just hanging out at the beach.  Nice man, great model.  Thanks, Jack!

Portrait Studio

TERRY

oil

10" x 8"

Another portrait from Punta Gorda's portrait studio at the Visual Art Center.   Used limited palette of ultramarine blue, cadmium red, and cadmium yellow pale, and white. 

Dangers of Plein Air Painting #2

Little Vizcaya

oil

6" x 8"

Danger of plein air painting #1 was the fatal attraction of rainbow beach umbrellas (a visual challenge I hope to torture myself with again),  and danger #2 is COCONUTS!!!   While painting this scene in Boca Grande I was nearly conked on the head by two falling coconuts!   They landed with a thump about four feet away from me.  I looked up and saw dozens more in the tree over-head.   The owner of this house drove over in his golf cart to warn me: "More people are killed around the world by falling coconuts than shark attacks or lightning strikes!"   He also told me his house was built by the same architect that built Vizcaya Mansion in Miami, so he named his house, Little Vizcaya.  The architect's name was F. Burrall Hoffman who built Vizcaya in 1917, so this Boca Grande house must be from the same period.  Took the coconuts home and celebrated this painting with pina coladas!

ENGLEWOOD PLEIN AIR ART FEST

TAYLOR'S PLACE ON LEMON BAY

oil

16" x 20"

      Caught the last patch of blue sky this morning before the clouds moved in.  Annual Historic Old Englewood Village plein air festival.  Exhibition will be at the Englewood Art Center, 350 South McCall Road, Englewood, Florida.  941 474 5548 for more info.

Dangerous Beach Umbrellas

Beach Umbrella Magnet

oil

8" x 10"

  A familiar scene along the Gulf beaches... beach umbrellas.  And a dangerous subject for plein air painting.  I'm pleased with the background and foreground, but the umbrella, which drew me to it like a magnet, dominates the scene too much.  It didn't help that the folks sitting under it packed up an left before I could finish.  Beware.  This summer I'll try to tackle umbrellas again, anyway.  Nothing like a challenge!

Painting available at Melange Gallery, 252 Tampa Ave W, Venice FL 34285

Portrait Demo

ELAINE AGAIN

oil

10" x 8"

       During this demo, I found it difficult to talk and paint at the same time.  Discovered my observations were shared by Betty Edwards in her classic book, DRAWING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN.   "... that I couldn't talk and draw at the same time, and that I lost track of time while drawing."  I've watched many artists give demos and most seem to overcome the obstacle.   Daniel Greene chattered away as fast as his brush.   Hodges Soileau elegantly mixed paints with words.   Romel de la Torre paused to talk and then kept the audience mesmerized with confident splashes of color.   Sally Christiansen blended pastels with energy and inspiration.  And this weekend, I watched Greg Biolchini paint a still-life and keep the room entertained with flair.   Painting demos are a skill acquired with practice.  I'm thankful for my students patience as I practice switching from left to right brain-mode.

       Elaine Again, the demo for my Artist's Bootcamp started out with the Zorn palette ( black, white, yellow ochre, and cadmium red).   Reworked at home with ultramarine blue.  

Plein Air Reworked

Venice House Again

oil

8" x 10"

      Painted this house before and it was no problem.  This one took lots of reworking but liked it enough to finish.  A woman was raking leaves at the bottom of the driveway.  I painted her in, then out.  Loved the red wheelbarrow in the garage.  Like the first time I painted this house, the white front door called out to be turquoise.  It's great to finish a plein air painting on the spot, but I have nothing against reworking it later if it can be a better painting!  This was another Venice Invitational painting from that one week when the sun only came out for a few hours. 

Portrait Sketch

The Conductor

oil

10" x 8"

Venice portrait studio sketch.  Wes Schumacher, conductor of Sarasota Orchestra, posed for us.  I experimented with a limited palette of vermillion, naples yellow, white and black.  Worked perfectly because of his tux and hair color!

Venice plein air

Venezia

oil

10" x 8"

      And another from last month's Venice plein air invitational.  I'm so far behind posting here, but busy painting away and teaching.  Did three paintings in Boca Grande today!  They were only little ones.  And I was almost conked on the head by a coconut.  I'll report more on that event later.

Self-Portrait

ME

oil

8" x 6"

     Self-portraits are not easy.  Wanted a loose, plein air style, but had to work and rework the likeness.  From a snapshot I took myself and painted from computer monitor. 

  Happy Easter.  Happy Spring!

Plein Air

Windy March

oil

8" x 10"

      Another from Venice Invitational last month... blowing sand chased me off the beach in less than an hour.  Sky cleared then clouded up again.  Nothing held still even for a minute.  Clouds streaked by, waves pounded, colors changed.  A painting like this has to be done mostly from imagination.  Memorize one cloud, a patch of sky, a wave, and then put it down in a convincing pattern.

Andrea

ANDREA

oil

10" x 8"

      Portrait study, Punta Gorda Visual Arts Center.... because of Spring Break this young beauty was able to pose for us.   Many great sketches were produced!