A bit more progress here: the bank of leaves on the right have been more filled in, with the brushstrokes becoming more judicious, and then I went back and reinforced and refined the tree trunks. On the left I have started to add the unlit background leaves (the light will be coming in high and in front), careful to maintain the gap where the ( Read more... )

As promised, here is the first installment of my latest painting. Nothing too interesting yet - just getting the proportions and overall feel set (color selection and style of brushwork). The tree trunks set the stage, framing the center of the composition and narrowing the focus. The sky is uneven in tone - but that's OK, because THERE WILL BE ( Read more... )

All right, so I just completed a painting. This week I intend on doing another series like last year, where I display a sequence of photos of a painting in stages of increasing completion. But first, I wanted to show the photo that originally inspired me, taken by a high school classmate of mine who just happens to also be a professional ( Read more... )

Actually, it's the room I use as a studio. The Great Mound of Debris I must navigate to get to my chair is behind the camera. Everything is configured to facilitate painting, though not comfort. The oak chair from the dining room, for example, is as hard as granite. But one must expect to suffer a bit for one's art, no? All I really need is some ( Read more... )

Oil.  My sister-in-law asked me to do a painting for her house, which is somewhat lacking in décor.  But she had a specific request: the painting should prominently feature a unicorn, as her daughters were going through a unicorn phase at the time. Although I initially demurred, I became inspired despite myself, and quickly set to work after ( Read more... )

Oil. Lots of glazing here - quite the exercise in getting the values of the colors just so. I am quite pleased with the color transitions and the balance of the different components.  This composition gives me a weird feeling, which I suppose is what I intended?   It’s based off an actual location with intriguing and fluid geometry - some touristy ( Read more... )

Oil.  One of a series of paintings inspired by the work of Charles Demuth.  Well, by series I mean two - an intended third painting never made it out of the sketching stage.  This I based off actual derelict, now demolished industrial buildings in Cleveland.  I was trying to get more into cubism, and aggressively “break down” elements and then ( Read more... )

After an intensive study of Van Gogh, where I cracked the code that lead me to make a successful duplicate of Starry Night, I decided to see if I could extrapolate that style for a bit and attempt my own impressionistic work.  This is actually a rendition of my own abode.  It turned out more as less as expected, though a few “realistic” effects ( Read more... )

Acrylic.  My still life tour-de-force.  Carefully arranged the items with a fresh egg bagel on an old pillowcase, then took and developed an 8x10 photograph to work from (I needed that table for actual meals!).  This was mid-90’s; I hadn’t been painting that long and I wanted to see just how realistic I could be, and damn if I didn’t pull it off.  ( Read more... )

Decided to feature some more of my art over the next few weeks - particularly older material that hasn’t had internet exposure.

Today’s work: Urban Majesty
Acrylic (in fact, my last).  Not a landscape, but a cityscape.  The city, as it was supposed to be - fulfilling the promise of the Art Deco dreams of the 1930’s.  The composition - which took ( Read more... )