Curls

"Curls", Acrylic on Panel, 5x7"

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Here's another that taxed my resolve to post whatever I paint...  I was trying to capture the subtle light in my daughter's hair, but was thwarted by the size (no brushes small enough to capture the detail I wanted).  I enjoy painting hair almost as much as foliage - all pattern and interesting color gradations.

I like the overall composition though, so maybe I'll think of this as a study and try it larger. I think the background elements (pond and fence) actually came out quite well.

Ribbon

"Ribbon", Acrylic on Panel, 7x5"

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Happy Monday.   Sorry to go dark towards the end of last week, I was swamped getting ready for the West Austin Studio Tour.  It was an exhausting weekend, but it was great to be able to talk to people about my work.  I even made a few sales.  Now I just need to get through next weekend and then my house/schedule can return to normal.

I walk by the tree in the picture above almost every day when I'm walking my dog.  Every time I see it, I notice how much the bark looks like the old-fashioned ribbon candy.  I've taken some liberties with the color, of course.

Veil

"Veil", Acrylic on Panel, 5x7"

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Here's another little house.  It's soothing to paint houses since my house is less than cozy at the moment in its pseudo-gallery incarnation.  I'm looking forward to WEST, but even more, I'm looking forward to it being over so my house can go back to normal.  My family is being very nice about living in the middle of a gallery for a week.

Orbit

"Orbit", Acrylic on Panel, 7x5"

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I can't seem to stop doing these little, colorful houses.  Perhaps I'm in a domestic mood.

Candle

"Candle", Acrylic on Panel, 7x5"

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Another little house to start the week.  I think I may try a slightly larger format for these, 9x12 maybe?

Wind

"Wind", Acrylic on Panel, 30x40"

I said that I'd post my big painting when it was completed, so here it is.  I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.  There is a ton of detail, which is hard to see when the image is this small.  I borrowed some of the techniques from the 'thread' daily paintings.

I've had a number of people compare my work to Van Gogh, which I find vaguely unsettling.  I love van Gogh's work, but I bristle a bit at the idea of my own work being derivative.  I don't intend to imitate the impressionists, but find myself drawn to the bright colors and loose brushwork.  What I like best about Van Gogh is the way his brushwork evokes movement.  I suppose there are elements of this in my own paintings.  One of the reasons I love painting trees is that they always seem like they're in motion.  I try to capture this kinetic energy in my images.

Pepper Pattern

"Pepper Pattern", Acrylic on Panel, 5x7"

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Here's a final pepper painting to end the week.  I thought it would be interesting to put the peppers w/a brightly patterned scarf - but the peppers are so vibrant, that they eclipse everything else.

I'm taking tomorrow off to finish the large painting I have on my easel.  It's very detailed and taking much longer than I'd like.  I don't think I can face the weekend until it is finished.  Perhaps I'll post it here in lieu of tomorrow's daily - assuming it's done.

Pepper Landscape

"Pepper Landscape", Acrylic on Panel, 5x7"

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More peppers for today.  It's funny to see them in this painting, as I ate the last of them (the little yellow one) as part of my lunch.  Poor ex-peppers.

Pepper Tower

"Pepper Tower", Acrylic on Panel, 7x5"

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I decided to revisit the peppers.  First, because I really like the simplicity of the red pepper image I did a few weeks ago.  Secondly, because I've been trying to eat better.

I really like how this one turned out.  I think the thing that makes it work is the almost solid color blue background against the brushwork in the peppers.  Expect to see more of these.

Potions

"Potions", Acrylic on Panel, 5x7"

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A while ago I staged a variety of still life compositions with antique bottles. I had just finished reading The Night Circus, which I enjoyed.  My favorite part was about a tent filled with different bottles containing memories and I wanted to capture some of the magic of the scene in my paintings.

I'm not too happy with the quality of the photo - too much glare, even w/o the flash.  It looks much better in person.

I'm struggling to keep up with the daily paintings as I try to get ready for the West Austin Studio Tour.  I managed to commit most of my stock of paintings to other local shows and have been madly painting to try to have something new to show on the tour.  So, apologies in advance if I have to skip a couple of days this month.

Wink & Pots

"Wink", Acrylic on Panel, 7x5"

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"Pots", Acrylic on Panel, 5x7"

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Here are two to finish out the week, since I skipped yesterday.   I like doing these vibrant images of houses.  

Tribute

"Tribute", Acrylic on Panel, 5x7"

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This image was inspired by some of the recent works of Carolee Clark (on the Daily Paintworks site).  I love her colorful houses.  I used to paint a lot of houses.  I love painting the homes in my neighborhood (Hyde Park, in Austin TX). They tend to be snugged into trees and I like the contrast of the organic and man-made forms.

Breathe

"Breathe", Acrylic on Panel, 6x6"

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A bit earlier in my art endeavor I became frustrated because the subjects I chose (at that time, homeless people in landscapes) weren't selling.  I was fascinated by the subject matter and thought I was doing something important, but the paintings were piling up in my studio - no takers.

In rebellion, I decided that I would paint something that always seemed to sell - pictures of fish.  I bought a fish (christened "Leaf" by my son) and painted it a few times.  It died.  I bought another (my son named him Pablo Rojo) and I painted a few more.  I grew bored with painting fish and moved on to other subjects.  Pablo, lived on.

It's now nearly two years later and Pablo is a bit tattered around the edges, but going strong.  I still like painting him on occasion.

Color Gel

"Color Gel", Acrylic on Panel, 5x7"

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I cheated again, a little bit. I started this painting a couple of weeks ago.  I didn't like the first version, so I kept playing with it until I liked it better.  This one looks even better in person - something about the depth of the colors doesn't translate via computer.

Excuse me in advance if I post a bit sporadically this month.  I'm trying to get ready for a couple of shows and I am frantically trying to finish some larger pieces, mount prints, etc.

Modern Dog

"Modern Dog", Acrylic on Panel, 7x5"

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Here is yet another picture of Stuart.  Can you tell that I spend a lot of time with this dog each day?  I'm still playing around with color and style.  I wonder if it's typical for artists to switch around subject matter and style as much as I do?  I guess that's the whole reason I undertook this daily painting thing, so that I can play without worrying too much about consistency of style and/or marketability.  I still wonder though.  It seems like the other artists on daily painters have a much more consistent body of work.  Oh well.  I suppose if I give it another year or so, I'll get there too.  Maybe.

Pepper

"Pepper", Acrylic on Panel, 5x7"

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Sometime you need to do something simple.  I needed something like this after the profusion of detail in the large piece I just finished.  I like simple.  Maybe I should do more like this?  I love the depth of color in the pepper and shiny highlights.

Green Boots

"Green Boots", Acrylic on Panel, 7x5"

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Another day and more boots.  True confession time...I actually did this one yesterday, right after Rain Boots.  I wanted to play around with some different colors.  I don't think this one is quite as successful as the first, but I like the graphic contrast of the strong colors.

I've been working on a really large painting (48x60") today and I'm hoping to get it done by the end of the week. I get antsy towards the end of a painting - I just want it to be finished so I can move on the next one.  Despite the time commitment, I like working large.  I feel like I can be much looser with the brush strokes. 

Rain Boots

"Rain Boots", Acrylic on Panel, 7x5"

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It's a rainy Tuesday, thus the title of this one.  I decided that I ought to paint my son's boots too.  Cowboy boots are just extra cute when they're little.

Easter Detritus

"Easter Detritus", Acrylic on Panel, 5x7"

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This one is self-explanatory.  I'm recovering from the holiday weekend and too much candy.  This is going to be a busy month, getting ready for several shows at once, but I'll try to keep up with the daily paintings.  Wish me luck...