Windmill Hill

Windmill Hill

Did this from my photo excursion around Salina Kansas this last September.  Experimenting with knife and brush painting the prairie grasses.

It's always an adventure...

Reflections

This is from my photograph taken along the Seattle waterfront this last summer.  

I thought it would be interesting to let the eye decide what is not in the picture, using only information seen in the reflected images.  I tried some finger painting with this to smooth out the water.  

It's always an adventure...

Homage to Frank

Homage to Frank

I have this stained glass panel at my studio, on the door.  I bought it at the Frank Lloyd Wright home, studio and book store in Oak Park, Illinois back when we lived in Chicago.  

It's a panel replica of a series of panels in one of his dining room window designs.  I did this in acrylic paint and oil pastel pencil stick.  It's on 12 x 12 x 2 stretched canvas kinda sketchy and the lines aren't straight, but it's what I wanted to do.  It's fun doing what you want to do.  Boy, that red really pops!  

I'm going to submit it to our Parklane Gallery "around the block" show coming up in October when I get back from Kansas.

It's always an adventure...

Kansas Cotton

Kansas Cotton

When I was a kid the sheer size and majesty of the clouds over the prairie made me just stop in my tracks sometimes.  I wanted to capture that feeling of how absolutely enormous the clouds could be.  I painted this from that memory.  Somewhere north of Salina, Kansas.   The green is the rich, spring color of the winter wheat coming up.

This 12 x 12 will be at the 'Around the Block' show this October at Parklane Gallery.

It's always an adventure...

Sarlat Market

Sarlat Market

This is another view and study of life at the market in Sarlat, France.  Trying to capture the sense of being there and walking into the painting.  The sun was extraordinarily bright that day and I wanted to get a sense of it.  I'm not that tall, I was standing on a step.

It's always an adventure...

Roof Jam

Roof Jam

I've had this floating around the studio as a study ever since we lived in Seattle.  Finally decided to paint it, keeping the detail simple as possible.  It wanted to be 18 x 24, so I let it be that.

It's always an adventure...

Charcoal study - Grain depot

Grain Depot

This is another perspective and value study for an oil painting.  It's a fictitious place out of my Kansas boy mind.

It's always an adventure...

“SPLASH” Members Only Exhibition: 8/26- 11/1, 2013

Evergreen Association of Fine Arts,
Seattle Design Center, 501 6th Ave. South

Three of my works accepted for the show:

  "Edge of Town"

 "Main Track Open"

 "Roof Dance"

Two others were not invited, but I am very happy to have these to be shown in the exhibition.

It's always an adventure...

Saturday Market

SAturday Market

I painted a different view of this scene last year.  This is a weekend market in the Village of Sarlat, France, known for their foie Gras.  I did this primarily with a pallet knife, trying to stay loose but capture the essence of the energy that was there.

It's always an adventure...

Kansas River Bank, Study 1

Kansas River Bank

This is an 8 x 10 oil composition study I did in one sitting last evening, just to practice really if for no other reason.  I want to capture depth, color and a study in reflection, all with minimal strokes.

I always do a charcoal study first, or some sort of value sketch.  This one I blurred the image in Photoshop to test the value and depth....

The composition pretty much works, and I like how the reflections turned out.

On to the next

It's always an adventure...

Barn Light

Barn Light

A friend of mine sent me a photo of a barn with the dawn's light striking it through the morning mist over a rise of a small forested hilltop.  I got more shafts of light coming through than the original soft misty light, but it's still effective.  A combination of palette knife and brush strokes, plus some 'finger painting' that I've started to try.  It's an experiment of sorts, but then everything I do seems to be in this vein.

It's always an adventure...

Jerry

'Jerry'

Ok, so this is a real departure for me.  I saw this guy's face on the internet, a generic photo with no specifics to it.  I'm still trying to find out who he is and if there is a photographer, but to no avail.  I had to draw a charcoal of this guy's face.  There's something about Jerry.

It's always an adventure...

Market Place

Market Place

A change of pace from landscapes.  I wanted to capture the dark and light as it danced off the multi colored items at the market in Granville Island, Vancouver, B.C.  I wanted to do this with as little detail as possible, leaving the observer to fill in what they saw, from their own past experiences.

It's always an adventure...

North 40

North 40

Finally finished this one last week.  I liked the way the sunlight came in through the vine stalks.

This will be at Parklane Gallery for the month of June.

It's always an adventure...