Rebecca

"Rebecca," Oil on Panel, 12x9"

I managed to do one more portrait before the end of the year.  It's amazing how motivating it is to have the kids at home...can't wait to sneak out to the studio!  This is my wonderful sister-in-law.

Helena at Fourteen

"Helena at Fourteen," oil on panel, 14x11"

This may be the last portrait I'm able to complete before the holidays. It has been a fun month of doing portrait. Getting a likeness is a challenge -- plus the eternal challenge of making it look interesting from an artistic perspective. This is my gorgeous niece. I loved painting her golden skin tones - so different from my own kids' fish belly paleness!

Reluctant Model

"Reluctant Model," Oil on Panel, 20x16"

Given how cute the last portrait of my son was, I felt compelled to show a more representative image.  He's not always thrilled when I want him to model for me.

Stunner

"Stunner," Oil on Board, 8x8"

I had so many complaints from family members about the last portrait I did of my daughter that I thought I'd give it another go.  This is just a little study.  I worry that my brushwork is getting too tight - losing the movement and spontaneity of my earlier work.

Young Skeptic

"Young Skeptic," Oil on Board, 12x9"

The latest in my month of family portraits - my son, Teddy.  I may go back and tweak some of the colors, but I like the expression.  He insisted that I put in his braces.

Queen of Hearts

"Queen of Hearts," Oil on Board, 20x16"

Here's installment #2 in my month of family portraits.  I found this dress at Goodwill during the Halloween season and had to paint my daughter in it. I like how it feels like an old-style royal portrait, but the expression is all her own.

Not an Odalisque

"Not an Odalisque," Oil on Board, 24x36"

I've been spending longer and longer on each painting. I don't know if this is due to the new medium (oil) or the fact that I'm taking more time to represent the figures. On this one, I also spend a quite a bit of time playing with the patterns. And reworking the background 2-3 times...

I like that the pose is a (literal) twist on the classic odalisque theme. I was also playing with the idea of figure as landscape - which is why I chose to put a sky in the background. I like the contrast of interior and implied exterior space.

Neverland

"Neverland," Oil on Board, 18x24"

This is the first painting from a series of reference photos I shot w/Rebecca Wood.  I've drawn her before, but this is the the first time I've painted her.  I love her face - great bone structure.  I may go back and refine this one a bit (the danger of working in oils...) but it's pretty close to done. I had her pose with a big pile of daughters stuffed animals.  I love the variety of patterns.

Loft

"Loft," Oil on Board, 48x36"

Here's my latest take on the Alaskan landscape -- so hard to capture the feeling of height, but this one comes closer. I'm loving working in oils, though it has completely changed my technique. This one was a lot closer to finger painting.

Tenakee Springs

"Tenakee Springs," Oil on Board, 18x24"

This is my second landscape in oil.  I think it turned out better than the first (Echoes).  I saw many beautiful trees in Alaska, but this hard thing to convey is the cathedral-like feel of the trees together.  This one comes pretty close.

Indigo

"Indigo," Oil on Board, 24x30"

I know that I almost always like the painting I just finished, but I think this one is something special.  I love the angle looking down on the figure and the visual richness of the pattern, drapery, etc.  I'm inspired to more in a similar vein.

Books

"Books," Oil on Board, 36x24"

I'm quite happy with how this one turned out.  I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of oils.  I may noodle around with this a bit more, but it's pretty much done.

I love the pose and expression. Thank you Kelli Bland!

Northern Forest

"Northern Forest," Acrylic on Board, 24x18"

Second painting from the Alaska trip.  It's so hard to capture the sense of the soaring trees in two dimensions, but I'm ok w/how this one turned out.  Somehow the wild colors work with the subject matter - make it look oddly more realistic.

Wake

"Wake," Acrylic on Board, 12x16"

This is the first of the painting inspired from my recent trip to Alaska -- such a beautiful place!

Inverness

"Inverness," Acrylic on Board, 30x40"

I tend to be a homebody, but luckily I have a sister who travels often.  She's gotten in to the habit of taking pictures of trees that she thinks I'll like.  This specimen is on the shores of the river Ness in Scotland.  So beautiful that I might even be tempted to go in person!

Willow

"Willow," 24x30", Acrylic on Board

When I took the kids back to Ohio this summer to visit their grandmother, I spotted a beautiful willow tree growing in someone's front yard.  I went to photograph it, hoping to get something worth painting and my daughter, 6, decided she wanted to come along.  I took a dozen or so photos and then my daughter asked if she could take some pictures too.  So I let her.

When I was home developing the pictures I saw that her, more unusual angles of the tree were much more interesting than anything I captured.  I'm giving credit where due. :)

Huddle

"Huddle," Oil on Board, 20x16"

I'm continuing to develop my technique in oils.  I like many aspects of this painting, but am not as happy w/the likeness.  I may go back to it.  I find it so hard to 'finish' a figure in oils...

New York View

"New York View," Acrylic on Board, 48x60"

I've taken my woodcut-esque technique to a new level w/this big one.  Check out the detail image below.

The view was inspired by a pix my sister sent me several years ago.  She says it's the George Washington Bridge.  One of the things I'm struck by when I visit New York is how much natural beauty is integrated with the manmade structures.  Some of the most beautiful trees I've ever seen are right there in the city.

Perch

"Perch," Acrylic on Board, 24x18"

I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of oils -- now it's hard to imagine doing figures any other way!  The results aren't quite ready for general consumption, but they're getting closer.

Shades of Rose

"Shades of Rose," Acrylic on Board, 48x36"

I challenged myself of this latest big one to use a different color palette.  Typically in my landscapes is lots of blues and greens.  The only ones I allowed my self on this one were a green/gold and a muted mixing blue.  Most of the color comes from burnt sienna, raw sienna and van dyke red.

Helen's Grove

"Helen's Grove," Acrylic on Panel, 12x9"

A dear friend of mine wanted to buy one of my paintings (below).  Unfortunetly, it had already sold, so I decided to make her another.  I didn't look at the original painting for color reference and it's  interesting to see the different choices I made in this version. It's almost the inverse of the first. I also found it interesting to see how my technique had changed since I painted the first -- more translucence and layered colors.

Red Tree

"Red Tree," Acrylic on Board, 30x40"

It seems that every time I finish an oil painting, I feel the need to do one in acrylic w/extra bright colors.  It's hard to tell in the small version, but this one is an homage to woodcut.

Look Left

"Look Left," Oil on Board, 20x16"

I'm continuing to develop my work in oils.  I think this is the best so far, though I'm not totally happy with the likeness (Meghan again).  The danger (for me) about oils is that I feel like I can always go back to it later, so I don't think of any of them as 'finished'.   This isn't particularly rational, since I can  always go back to the acrylics too, but somehow, it doesn't feel the same.  One of these days I'll declare one of the oil paintings done and sign it.

Ineffable Violet

"Ineffable Violet," Acrylic on Board, 48x36"

I started this painting before I went out of town (visiting my sister in NYC) and it was hard to resume.  I'm much better when I can keep working on a painting without any long break until it is finished -- especially a big one.  It came out better than I thought it would mid-process.  This view is from Laguna Gloria.  I liked how the dock blended in to the water (which wasn't by the way, actually violet).

Echoes

"Echoes," oil on board, 16x20"

I forgot about my blog for the last week, so I thought I should try to get back on the wagon.  I find all of the social media overwhelming.  For every painting I finish I have the option of blogging, tweeting, instagram-ing, or posting to Facebook about it.  I suppose I could link them all, so I could post once and it shows up on most of the sites, but then do I end up spamming the people I want to engage? Sigh.

In any case, here's my latest.  The workshop I took a couple of weeks ago whetted my appetite for oil painting, so I've been experimenting.  The colors are much more subtle, I think, though I suspect I could get the same effect in acrylic if I tried.  Maybe I'll experiment with two similar paintings, one in each medium, and see which I like better.

This painting was inspired by a drive through Bastrop on the way back from Houston last month.  I hadn't seen the devastation created by the fire before and it was striking.  As someone who loves trees, this was particularly sad.  Drought or scary amounts of rain....which is better?

Defiance in Color

"Defiance in Color," Acrylic on Board, 48x60" 

It's been a slow month as far as the blog is concerned.  I suppose I could retroactively post images from the oil painting workshop...

In the meantime, here's my latest big acrylic painting.  I was forced to use such a subdued palette while figure painting, that I couldn't help using lots of color in this landscape.  The building peeking from the distance is the pedestrian bridge near town lake (aka Ladybird Lake).

Monarch Sunset

"Monarch Sunset," Acrylic on Panels in Vintage Window

One last painting before the West craziness starts.  I was inspired on this one by Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver (great book).

Rumpelstiltskin

"Rumpelstiltskin," Acrylic on Board, 40x30"

This is my second attempt at using gilding in a painting.  Again, it's hard to tell in the photo, but the gold shine is pretty great in person.  I loved this tree image for the complexity of the branches and the way many sweep to the left.

Depth of Green

"Depth of Green," Acrylic on Board, 48x60"

I just finished this enormous painting.  I love the way they look when complete, but wow, halfway through I am so ready to be done!

Plein Air

"Plein Air," Acrylic on Panel, 9x12"

I tried painting landscapes outside (plain air) with my colleague, Daniel Burns.  It was an interesting experience - though I'm not thrilled with the results.  It probably didn't help that I was trying a new kind of paint too...  I'm game to try it again.

Daniel came up with the idea of having a few paintings of the same view interpreted by each of us in our distinct styles.  I took a lot of photos too, so I'll do one in the studio from the same session.

Harlequin

"Harlequin," Acrylic on Board, 30x40"

This is my first foray into gilding (fake gold) in a painting - a nod to Klimt.  It was much more time-consuming than I thought it would be and I'm not sure about the results.  It's hard to get the full effect in a photograph.  I love the figure in this one though - the flesh, especially around the head, is luminous.

Sun Cube

"Sun Cube," Acrylic on Board, 12x12"

Here's a little one that I did for the West group show.  I've been having a hard time working smaller lately, so it was good to practice.  I like the way the branches on the left turned out.

Lavender Shadow

"Lavender Shadow," Acrylic on Board, 36x24"

This one was a struggle.  The problem with worrying too much about likeness in a painting is that my brushwork gets too tight.  I need to try to loosen up a bit in the next one.

Cinderella

"Cinderella," Acrylic on Board, 36x24"

Here's a last figurative painting to end the month.  As much as I dislike March, it ended up being a productive month this year.

This is a new model, Michelle - so fun to paint a pregnant lady!

Contortion

"Contortion," Acrylic on Board, 40x30"

I'm finally getting back to some figure painting.  I like how this one turned out, though I may still mess around with it a bit.  I'm shooting a brand new model on Friday, which is exciting.

March

"March," Acrylic on Panel, 11x14"

Here's a little study of my daughter walking in the park.  I love the determined stride.

Tempest

"Tempest," Acrylic on Panels, ~20x28"

Another day, another window.  The little windows frames are much faster to paint and have the added benefit of accommodating pre-made 8x8" panels.

Path

"Path," Acrylic on Panels in Vintage Window, 28x40"

Another window - not sure if the path is too prominent.  It used to be red, but I knocked it back a bit.

Natural Sadness

"Natural Sadness,: Acrylic on Panel, 14x11"

I did this quick self-portrait today to see if I was still able to paint freehand and from life (a mirror).  The exercise was mixed (not too thrilled w/the final painting) but it was interesting to see the pros & cons of not working from photos.  I feel like the rendering itself has extra depth (see eyes in particular), but was unable to get anything interesting in the expression.  I think my 'concentrating' face makes me look like I'm sad.

Curtain

"Curtain," Acrylic on Board, 20x16"

Here's a small landscape I did today as an exercise to create material for my next newsletter.   I took a series of photos while I was working that I assembled into a time-lapse video of my process.   It's a bit embarrassing to show the world how much my process resembles paint-by-number, but I thought people might be interested.  Subscribe to my newsletter if you'd like to see the video!

Dew

"Dew," Acrylic on Board, 40x40"

I'm usually drawn to the trees, but in this case it was the dew on the grass that caught my attention.  It's the simple things you see that are the most beautiful sometimes.  I'm glad that February is behind me. Somehow the shorter span of days makes me feel stressed.  I'm glad to be in a more normal month again.

Window on Shoal Creek

"Window on Shoal Creek," Acrylic on Panels in Vintage Window Frame, ~31x34"

Here's the latest addition to my windows series.  If you look at it up close, it's very loose/abstract, but when you step back, it looks fairly representational.

Huntress

"Huntress," Acrylic on Board, 30x40"

This one is much looser than some of the previous figure paintings and I like the effect.  I also like  how her face is at the far left of the composition, as if she can't be bothered to pay attention to the viewer.

Shadows on Snow

"Shadows on Snow," acrylic on panels in vintage window frame

It's odd to be painting images of snow when it's nearly 80 degrees outside.  As a child of the Midwest,  I miss having a 'real' winter.   Having a window on snow, without the cold, is a good compromise.

Caught

"Caught," Acrylic on Board, 40x30"

This is a new model and I'm pleased with the results.  In the original reference photo, her look is more challenging and less "deer in the headlights".  Looking at this small, it seems crazy that I spent the time to put so much detail into the background.  I like the contrast of the natural foliage w/the sporty jack and sneakers though.  I'm getting better at painting dark skin tones too.

One thing that I struggled with on this one is that I didn't sand down the previous painting well enough resulting in ridges on the surface.  If you look closely, she seems to have subtle scars running diagonally across her face.  It's actually kind of a cool effect, but was not my original intention.

Fall View

"Fall View," Acrylic on 4 Panels in Vintage Window

Here's my second piece in the window's series.  I played around a bit with the window finish.  I though gold would look good, but I was wrong.  The piece is much better set off by a simple white frame.  I did however add a new coat of white paint. Vintage can be good, but yellow water stains, not so attractive, imo.

Perch

"Perch," Acrylic on Panel 50x30" (L-shaped)

I have no idea why the transparent bit is showing up as grey, but here's my new piece.  As part of the boxes series, I wanted to play around with odd-shaped boards.  Here's an L.  I picture her sitting atop the corner of a door somewhere.