Blog
Autumn Reflections
Here is another small study of my backyard. Hopefully I will introduce different color schemes ...
Solo Guitar
Did I ever struggle with this painting. There must be 3 or 4 versions of it underneath all the paint. It was not until I had given up and threw all caution to the winds that I feel the real me emerged. I am a drawer- I love the line and the feel of drawing and when I finally yielded to it, this evolved -and I love it. . . ...
Seven Year Itch
Everyone has their favorite memory of the movie theaters in which they spent hundreds of Saturdays. The Palace is not one of mine- it was closed in 1940- but it holds memories for many people of Newport News, Virginia. This inaccurate rendition says just enough to make anyone of a certain age wonder where they were when they saw this movie ...
After Dark French Quarter
Last February we went to New Orleans during a cold snap. Although folks were not wandering around the French Quarter in freezing temperatures, tourists like us didn't have the luxury of waiting until it warmed up. So in this interpretation I used a little artistic license and added more people ...
Finish Line
One of a series of bicyclists, this painting is based on nothing more than my interpretation of three racers. There is very little detail. Hopefully the feeling of cyclists racing has been successfully captured. Several members of my family are serious cyclists. I am happy to paint a little abstractly. Those who enjoy activities, even on a hobby level, can get very uptight about details and accuracy ...
Jazz Quartet II
This painting was one of a series of female musicians. Although I use reference material to position instruments and fingers and body language, inevitably I wind up "making it up." Jazz Quartet II was used on a wine label for Wilson Creek, a vineyard in Caifornia. . ...
Gathering of Sail
Gathering of Sail This is the first version of the diptych. I have examined it for a long time knowing it just did not work for me. Too rigid, too many primary colors that were confusing. This is the revised version which I like so much better. I think is has better unity ...
Sketching the Virginia Symphony
This is an 11x14 canvas sketch of the Virginia Symphony. I have seen so many versions of classical musicians (including some of my own) that in the attempt to delineate the setting, the artist has frozen the musicians in time. Like taking a photo of a runner at a high ISO so that the movement is stopped. Accuracy is there, but the feeling of the event is not. When I feel I am successful, it ...
Sweetheart
If I take the time to sketch out an idea using India ink and mutilated brushes I often solve my design and value problems with less angst than when I start with just an idea. Ink flows; it reacts differently to wet and dry canvas or paper. By using brushes that I either create by cutting old brushes with scissors and exacto blades I feel more freedom than when I work with color. I am ...
Hot Summer Night at the Fair
Despite the fact that we have been going to Busch Gardens since it opened it never occurred to me to see the park as a subject for my art. Then through my daughter I became friends with the family that runs the fair that comes to Hampton every year. The carnival at night was more like the ones we went to as children-rides on a smaller scale, hot dog stands, popcorn, lots of kiddie rides ...