The Heifer (Under Painting)

This is an under painting of a heifer gingerly making her way towards the door of the barn. The light coming from the entrance was what caught my eye..the way it lit the young cow and then timidly begins to enter the darkness of the barn..wonderful and subdued drama..good stuff. It's always more fun to paint something I'm excited about and to me, it's not so much the subject matter here as it is the playfulness of that light.

This was done with a burnt umber wash where I then wiped out the lights with a paper towel and further enhanced them with an under painting white. I'm going to gently build more color on this for the finish.

Max pen sketch

Sketching a thirteen month old child makes chasing the sun in a plein air painting seem like a breeze. They simply don't stay still long enough.

I put on a Baby Einstein DVD and Max watched a little then played with his trucks a little, he went back-and-forth. I used the opportunity to do a quick pen drawing of my young fella in my sketch book. He's growing so fast.

Bow (redu)

I gave this old painting a makeover by sanding out an area that just didn't sit well with me. In the lower right there was a pile of snow on the dock that I didn't manage to paint well and it simply looked odd. After sanding it, I painted in a blue shadow area and these dark shapes/lines that suggest rope. My wife just saw them on the computer screen and said "what's that?", pointing to the rope...I may be back to square one with this painting, we'll see. I have to sit with it for a while. I've included the before image below as well.

Anyhoot, it was a good lesson in repairing a problematic area, I definitely feel more confident in this procedure, which will allow me a little more freedom in knowing it's ok to screw up...I can always bust out the sander.



*Note the color difference in the photos...the actual painting looks more like the redu above.
This is "Bow" Oil on wood panel and is 11x14".

Motorcycle Hog logo

I just did this quick turn-around illustration-logo for an online motorcycle business. it will be used on T-shirts and other marketing material.

It started with a sketch of the hogs head, then I scanned it and painted it in Photoshop using a Wacom drawing tablet. This was real fun, it flowed smoothly and was done reasonably fast for me..I can't say that for every assignment.
Any-hoot, I'm no graphic designer but I slapped together the wrap-around font, motorcycle wheel and flames and put it all together for what you see here.

Tomorrow, I'll be spending the day in my studio working on a large under painting..nice.

Key #2

I finished painting the Keys and mailed them off to England. I had fun with the wood on this one..there is really something to things that are aged and weather worn. This is "Key #2" it's 6x4" oil on wood panel.

Skeleton in the closet (finish)

I worked on all three Keys at the same time which I think helped give them continuity..although, I think I prematurely sprayed the last one with retouch varnish while the high lights were still wet and it bled a little. I'll post it after it dries and I fix it. Here is "Skeleton in the closet" (6x4") Oil on wood panel.

Key #3 (under painting)

This is...drum roll...."Key #3" ladies and gentlemen! This is the final in a series of three small paintings I'm doing for a gallery in England. One of the gallery owners from the Cape just bought a small gallery in Cornwall, England and is including my work and giving it a go across the pond. The Art House Gallery UK..good luck Joan.