Today's Painting Progress

2012-01-11T10:54:00.000-08:00

No Longer a Secret!
It's a relief to be able to blog a little bit more freely than I could in November or December about what I'm working on. This was painted as a surprise Christmas gift from one sister to another, so I actually completed it before my cataract surgeries on both eyes.
I don't really notice much difference in my paintings since the surgery. Unlike others, I am not seeing less yellow or any discernable color differences since Dr. Michael E. Snyder of the Cincinnati Eye Institute gave me improved vision via cataract surgery. The big difference to me is the amount of detail I can now see. But my paintings have never been much about detail anyway.
I enjoy tightrope walking the line between abstract and representational painting in my home portraits, especially when I can capture dramatic lighting effects in them. And as long as the people commissioning or receiving their home portraits love them, and can recognize the houses as uniquely theirs, I'm satisfied with the outcome.
One of the stories about this painting is the challenge I sometimes have taking my own photographs of a home when the painting is meant to surprise the recipient as a gift. I don't want to get caught taking the pictures!!
My favorite times of day for capturing dramatic light effects are a few hours after sunrise or later afternoon 3:30 - 5:30 pm. But children are usually home from school or people are home from work at these times, so I often have to take mid-day photos, where lighting is not quite as inspirational.
Surprisingly, this time of year is one of the best times for me to photograph a home, at least in Ohio and the midwest. I can always change the season and the landscaping to spring, summer or fall in the finished portrait. But sometimes I can see the lines (skeleton, bones) of the house through dense foliage, so it's easier to take pictures in the winter, early spring or late fall than in the summer.

2011-12-30T10:52:00.000-08:00

I can see clearly again!

Sometime this summer, after the 4th of July, I realized I was having problems with my vision. But I didn't think much about it until I went to get my driver's license renewed. The state of Ohio gave me a license, even though I couldn't see a single line in the eye test without double vision. Boy, have I ever been a defensive driver ever since!

But with all the eye trouble in my family, I was scared and went to the eye doctor within the week. Imagine my surprise to learn I had severe cataracts in both eyes. Thankfully, that's something the Cincinnati Eye Institute could do something about, unlike my mother's macular degeneration.

However, it was daunting to learn that the solution was to replace the lenses in both my eyes with artificial ones. It's made me think a lot about artists through the years who didn't have that option.

Now that Dr. Michael E. Snyder has implanted new lenses in both my eyes, I can see again! What a miracle! I am so grateful. What's interesting is that the cataracts had not affected my painting as much as it had other aspects of my life. I realize now how little I have seen of people's facial expressions, especially their eyes, for quite some time. And how much communication comes from those things.

Lots of friends wondered if I'd see colors differently. Since they operate on one eye at a time, I could tell that there was really no difference in color, only in the amount of detail and clarity I'm now able to see. I wish you and yours a Happy 2012 and I look forward to the new year blessed with improved vision.

2011-11-23T09:10:00.000-08:00

Florida in November
+ more to be grateful for this Thanksgiving!

1. Those of you for whom I’ve painted portraits of your homes and happy places this year; it’s been my privilege!
2. People who like and appreciate my work, especially those who have bought greeting cards, giftware or prints. And those who visit my studio on Final Fridays.
3. All the family members and friends who support my on my journey. Your encouragement means so much!
4. Artists Glenda Suttman and Margi Meier, who so graciously share studio space with me at the Pendleton Art Center, and all our fellow artist tenants there, who share meaningful information and inspire us every day.
5. Art on the Levee, Cincy Haus, Lavomatic Café, and BOOST! for displaying and selling my work; thank you!
6. So many friends who show up and help me set up and sell my work on Final Fridays and at other events, bringing refreshments, manpower, hope, and joy to the process.
7. Artists I’ve painted with on a regular basis in Mason and in Lebanon, particularly my teacher and mentor, Elmer Ruff.
8. The people who have written about, or promoted, my artwork, especially Therese Wantuch, Meredith Raffel, Mary Anne Frey, Kay Bush and Jason Sandhage; thanks!
9. Everyone who has referred me to someone who’s considered commissioning a painting and all those who have forwarded my eNewsletter or web site URL (http://www.cincinnatihomeportrait.com/)
10. The people who’ve organized artwork for the shows and charitable events I’ve participated in this year; well done!
11. Authors of books and articles that have empowered me. And filmmakers too! Curators who have installed inspirational exhibits that affected me this year. The conservationist who restored the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Van Gogh to its more original colors
12. The people whose years of effort resulted in the computer I’m looking at right now. Never have we had such power at our fingertips. I appreciate all my followers on Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, etc. and the opportunity to see so many artists’ work and follow their journeys online.
13. The workers at FedEx, UPS and the post office who’ve helped me ship merchandise to my customers on time and without damage.
14. Those who have framed my paintings this year, bringing their expertise, knowledge and craftsmanship to finish the work with quality.
15. Life, eyesight, and the God-given ability to draw and paint.

2011-10-18T06:52:00.000-07:00

Halloween Fun on Fri Oct 28

No, I did not think of the idea to decorate this pumpkin; I got it off Halloween magazine's web site courtesy of squidoo.com in an article about 15 things you can do with your pumpkin. But if you come to Final Friday at the Pendleton Art Center this month, you'll get the treat of seeing Marsh's second annual "Pimp That Pumpkin" exhibit as a bonus. Last year, there were several dozen decorated pumpkins: all really creative! I did one with the Chilean miners who were rescued by putting little chili peppers in a glass tube inside a pumpkin painted black.

You can vote for your favorites by putting money in to benefit ArtsWave and a People's Choice is named before the evening ends. If you want to learn more, or are interested in decorating a pumpkin to enter into the contest, see www.facebook.com/marshinc.

If you do come downtown on Final Friday, there is also the Haunted Cincinnati tour. For more details, check out http://www.queencityishaunted.com/.

And, of course, one of my favorite organized walks is the annual "Run Like Hell," where walkers and runners dress in Halloween costumes and are routed through an old cemetery in East Walnut Hills, where "Freddy" and other ghouls jump out behind trees and scare you. The party afterwards with live music, great food (goetta burgers) and costume prizes is in the parking lot of the old F&W publications building near Xavier's campus. See http://cincyrunlikehell.com/ for more info.

I'll be at Final Friday but may stop by the Run Like Hell party afterwards to see the costumes, dance and have a goetta burger and a beer on my way home. Will have to hit "Haunted Cincinnati" another time but you can now purchase my work at Cincy Haus, where these tours begin and end. It's right across the street from Lavomatic Cafe, a restaurant decorated with many of my Happy Cincinnati originals.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-04T06:30:00.000-07:00

Dr. Spock's Prescription
People my age make fun of how our parents raised us per Dr. Spock, but here's a prescription from his book that has stood me in good stead ever since training for my trip to the Grand Canyon. I suggest this might help most of us adults more than all the drugs on the market: check it out!

"Direct sunshine contains ultraviolet rays, which create vitamin D right in the skin. In the days before all babies automatically got all the vitamin D they needed from their formula or vitamin drops, and before the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays were fully understood, I recommended sunbaths for babies. Changes of air temperature are beneficial in toning up the body's system for adapting to cold or heat. A bank clerk is much more likely to become chilled staying outdoors in winter than a lumberjack, who is used to such weather. Cool or cold air improves appetite, puts color in the cheeks, and gives more pep to humans of all ages. It's good for a baby (like anyone else) to get outdoors for 2 to 3 hours a day (!), particularly during the season when the house is heated. ... in the northeastern part of the United States, most conscientious parents take it for granted that babies and children should be outdoors 2 or 3 hours a day when it isn't raining and the temperature isn't far below freezing."

I can testify to an improved life since spending only one hour outdoors a day; what a gift this has been! If it isn't raining hard, or below 15 degrees F, I try to get out there. More time spent outdoors can only help, my painting as well as life in general.

This is my painting of the Grand Canyon preferred by the friend who made the trip possible for me. All five Grand Canyon paintings are available as prints, from 12 inches square up to 18 inches square, unframed. Yesterday, I got my nighttime painting of the boat at Four Seasons Yacht Club sketched out; I hope to work on the real painting at Performance Lexus' event next Tuesday night October 11. Phone them to register if you'd like to attend.

2011-10-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the birthday BOOST!
This painting of the Grand Canyon, along with my top vote-getter -- Bright Angel Creek at Phantom Ranch -- is hanging at BOOST! an innovative new meeting space right near the Regal Cinemas in Deerfield Township.

Today is my birthday and I'm excited to paint with the Mason-Deerfield Arts painting group over at the Deerfield Twp Snider House on the corner of Irwin-Simpson and Snider Rds. My brother says the best thing about Facebook is getting happy birthday wishes from so many people who've graced your life and he's right. I still like sending and receiving snail mail cards and it takes more advance planning but I've already heard from people today that would have never sent me a card, so it's all good!

For life and love, I am so grateful today. And my thanks to BOOST! for hanging my artwork on that bright red wall, where it looks so happy and colorful. And much appreciation for the commissions I have to work on today (Christmas is coming!)

2011-09-21T09:42:00.000-07:00

And the winner is…
A few weeks ago, my email newsletter asked recipients which of my first five Grand Canyon paintings they liked best. And people voted at the Pendleton Art Center on Final Friday August 26.
Voting was pretty evenly distributed across all five paintings, which makes me think that a series is a good idea. Plus I enjoy painting these, because it brings back memories of a great vacation.
The one pictured (#5) did not get the most overall votes but it IS the one I’m going to paint larger, on the 4 ft. square canvas that prompted these paintings in the first place. You know how we often agree with what others say because they actually clarify or reinforce our own opinion? Well that’s what happened on Final Friday in my studio: one man told me his favorite painting was #2 but that he thought he might like #5 more if it were bigger. I realized I agreed and had found my answer about which one to enlarge. Especially when one vote in the basket in my studio read “When it comes to art, listen to your heart!”
As for the voting, each of the five got around 20 percent of the total votes cast but the winner, by a slight margin, was #2 – Bright Angel Creek Near Phantom Ranch. Followed closely by #1 – Morning on the South Rim. All the originals are sold except this one, which I need as reference material right now. And #3, which is on display at BOOST! In Deerfield Township, a unique meeting space available to the public. More about that in the future.
Meanwhile, a big thank you to everyone who responded to my question with your votes and comments. I’m in the process of making prints of my Grand Canyon series and will paint more originals as well.

2011-08-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

See all 5 at Final Friday 2nite
With some votes in from replies to my email newsletter sent earlier this week, there is no clear favorite yet among the five Grand Canyon paintings I've done. South Rim and Bright Angel Creek have a slight lead over The Colorado River, Plateau Point and Sunset at Plateau Point, so we'll see which one emerges as the most popular favorite tomorrow.

All 5 will be on display in my studio tonight at the Pendleton Art Center during Final Friday and three are still for sale. They are about 16 inches square on canvas paper, matted but not framed for $300 each. As it stands, I'll definitely paint more of these when I have time between home portraits. By the way, if you want to give a portrait for the holidays this year, now's the time for us to get started, as I'm almost fully committed for Christmas 2011.

It should be a great Final Friday downtown. The weather's beautiful, the Reds are playing at Great American Ballpark with a big fireworks show afterward that we can usually see from the Pendleton when waiting for the valet parkers to bring our cars at 10-10:30 pm.
Check out Cincy Haus and the ghost tour of Cincinnati tonight, across the street from Lavomatic Cafe on Vine Street and next door to the Senate. My Happy Cincinnati line will be available for purchase there beginning in September and I can't wait to go on one of their tours, which I've heard great things about.

The 8th Street Design District will be featured on the first floor of the Pendleton at Final Friday tonight. I look forward to getting better acquainted with the creativity of RJE, Glaserworks, GBBN, KZF and Marsh along with you. Not sure who the musical entertainment is but it promises to be a good night to sit outside and enjoy them, as well as all the art and artists inside.

If it's your first time or you need directions, see www.pendletonartcenter.com. Valet parking is $5 at the door of 1310 Pendleton St. Cincinnati OH 45202 and we're there from 5 to 10 pm.

2011-08-23T11:22:00.000-07:00

Morning on the Canyon's South Rim: #1 of 5

Yes, it is Final Friday at the Pendleton Art Center this week, on Aug 26 from 5-10 pm and I’ll be in my studio then but not on Second Look Saturday the next day. Friday night should be a great night downtown! Reds Game with fireworks (visible when you're waiting for the valet parkers at the Pendleton to bring you your car). Ghost Tour of Cincinnati departing from Cincy Haus on Vine, right across the street from Lavomatic Cafe, where you can see more of my paintings while dining and drinking in style on the roof garden.

This is one of five 16” square paintings I’ve done of the hike I took through the Grand Canyon a year ago, from the North to the South Rim in seven days with a backpack. We flew into Las Vegas and drove from there, stopping off to see Hoover Dam along the way. I wish we’d also stopped and walked out onto the Skywalk or transparent platform above the Canyon from the West Rim. We passed near it but didn’t have enough time. As it was, we arrived at the historic El Tovar on the South Rim after dark, so my first view of the Grand Canyon (other than from an airplane window) was just a big black void.

My room had a view, so as soon as I woke up the next day I looked out my window and this is what I saw: wow! It did not disappoint. After taking lots and lots of photos, we walked over to the old Kolb brothers’ place, now Lookout Studio, to see the trailhead of the Bright Angel Trail. We planned to hike out there one week later, having started on the North Rim and walked through the entire Canyon from North to South. I felt lots of trepidation standing there, I don’t mind telling you! I really want to do this but can I? Will I make it?
Well you know I did but check back here for the stories that go along with the other four paintings I’ll be showing of the Grand Canyon on Final Friday. They’re not framed but nicely matted and they sell for $300 each. I’m asking for feedback; which one of the five would you paint on the big four foot square canvas I have ready?

2011-08-03T09:22:00.000-07:00

Homes on a golf course

Before getting ready to play golf at Glenview tonight, I put the finishing touches on this home portrait. If you’re going to live on a golf course, this is the way to do it, facing the green. You can watch people putting from your back porch and you don’t worry so much about stray shots breaking your windows or hitting one of you in the head!

For this painting, I realized anew how important taking the reference photos in the right kind of light can be. I usually try to photograph a house early in the morning or around 5 pm, in order to get the most dramatic light effects that inspire me as I paint.

The other thing this painting illustrates is that you can often show the home better by painting it from a vantage point other than the front. In this case, don’t you want to spend time on that back porch or patio?

2011-04-22T08:28:00.001-07:00

Cincinnati Art Club
for a FREE ticket to
Krohn Butterfly Show
Sat Apr 23 & Easter Sunday
Apr 24 from 1 - 4 pm

If you’re in Cincinnati this Easter weekend (Sat Apr 23 – Sun Apr 24), it may be rainy and gray, so why not enjoy spring in the Krohn Conservatory? Each adult can get a free ticket to the Butterfly Show at the Krohn by stopping by the Cincinnati Art Club at 1021 Parkside Place on Mt. Adams between 1-4 pm.

Artists of the Club are displaying original work depicting butterflies and the Krohn. These are the paintings I have on display there; you’ll also find matted prints and frameable greeting cards of these Happy Cincinnati™ scenes on sale at the Club. If weather permits on Saturday, look for me painting outdoors in Eden Park. Isn’t it beautiful in the spring, with all the flowering trees, daffodils and other blooms over the hillsides?

If you’ve never been to the Krohn’s Butterfly Show, it’s a treat! So don’t forget, simply by stopping in to the Art Club’s show between 1-4 pm Saturday or Sunday, each adult will receive free admission to the Krohn. Happy Easter!

2011-03-31T19:03:00.000-07:00

Inspiration Courtesy of Vidal Sassoon

Vidal Sassoon is 81 years old. If I live that long, I hope I will be as full of life and as surrounded by family and loved ones, as he was at the Cincinnati Art Museum last Thursday night. You see, he has a home on Mt. Adams and therefore is a neighbor of a friend of mine, who found out about this “members-only” special event we attended at the museum. With Vidal and his family just across the aisle a few rows behind us in the auditorium, we watched the premiere of a documentary film about his life. Afterwards, he talked onstage with museum director, Aaron Betsky, and then answered questions from the audience. I was moved by his answer to the question: “What kinds of things would you tell people to look at for inspiration?” Sassoon got very animated, touched his heart and said “Nothing outside themselves: true inspiration comes from within!” I understood Vidal to say that he believes we all contain much more potential than most of us ever realize or begin to tap. For him, one of the keys was to look inside to what really interested him, what got him enthused. He suggested doing this and fearlessly daring to be truly ourselves, our best selves. As recently as six or seven years ago, I wouldn’t have understood what he meant, as least not as well as I feel I do today. I’ll remember Vidal Sassoon for that and for two other gems he graciously shared with us. It took him and a whole team of people more than nine years, cutting hair every day, to realize the look that made him famous, he reminded us, emphasizing the importance of hard work and persistence, the old “success is ninety percent perspiration, ten percent inspiration” adage. When I realize I’ve only been at this for a little over five years, I’m reenergized and motivated to keep at it, stick with it, and continue to progress creating artwork. One of these two paintings of the Cincinnati Art Museum was done just a few weeks ago; the other about a year ago. Can you tell which one is my more recent work? Finally, another great piece of advice from Vidal Sassoon: “Eliminate the superfluous.” As I’ve thought about that for the past week, I’m beginning to appreciate that it’s good advice for my life, as well as my artwork.

2011-03-23T10:21:00.000-07:00

To grandmother's house we go
He was going to Idaho to visit his mother’s birthplace, a home that lives in memory of happy times spent with his parents and grandparents. He told me he was planning to commission me to paint it, even if it looked a lot different than he remembered.
It did, but he took a wealth of new photos to complement the old black and white pictures he had from the fifties. We talked about his memories and the things he’d like to have included in the painting.

Home portraits are a good solution when you can’t get everything in a photograph, as in this case. Usually, I can draw a sketch in pencil but this time, I actually painted several sketches in acrylics to see how best to include the main house, guest house, trees with swing, carport with camper, the barn in back, bridge over the creek and a view of the mountain range in the distance.

Trying to put things in context, we kept ending up with a big empty expanse of lawn in the lower right quadrant of the painting. So I thought of moving the truck with the camper shell into that space. The collector liked this idea but asked me to paint his grand-dad’s old Farmall tractor there instead. Once we had a composition that would fit into a standard size frame, we started talking about the style of the painting.

This portrait was to be a gift for his mom. After looking at examples of my finished paintings and these sketches, we decided I’d paint an 18 x 24” watercolor. Here’s the finished work, as delivered. My client had it framed and surprised his mother with it last Christmas. When I asked how it went over, he told me “She cried, which was exactly the reaction I hoped for.”

I really enjoyed working on this, because now I feel like I’ve been to Idaho (even though I haven’t). And his memories of going to grandma and grandpa’s made me remember my own, with gratitude. Thanks, Steve!

2011-01-24T13:05:00.000-08:00

All it can be

My teacher, mentor and friend, Elmer Ruff, says a frame cannot make a painting better, but the right framing can make it all that it can be. Kind of like a jewel in a setting, I guess. Anyway, my primary work today was getting this painting ready for my client to pick up at Final Friday at the Pendleton this week. If you want to see this multi-media home portrait without the frame, check the previous post.

My client looked at this a few weeks ago and liked it, so I just had to finish it off today.

I did do quite a bit of painting this morning: preliminary acrylic sketches of two more home portraits. I'm working on two Hyde Park houses right now. I'll post these sketches later this week.

Got the cold press board for one of those paintings and need to gesso it real good before getting started on the first layer. Laid down a good background for another 16 x 20 inch painting today and dropped my oil painting of the pansies off at the studio so it will be ready to varnish once it's dry.

"Finding your keys after thinking you'd lost them for good" is the often-overlooked joy I focused on today from Neil Pasricha's "Book of Awesome." Yes, that is a great feeling! As was my relief when I dropped my camera on the pavement Friday afternoon and found it's still working fine. Hooray. Not so, my Epson color printer. It's been a workhorse and a great asset to my business, so I gave it a decent burial and a fond farewell as I await the replacement. Boy, I didn't realize how much I rely on my digital camera, computer, and color printer to produce my paintings. These are certainly 3 things that are in my "Book of Awesome" and for which I am most grateful!

2011-01-05T12:52:00.000-08:00

When you hear someone's smile over the phone

That is one of the many "overlooked joys in life" cited in Neil Pasricha's THE BOOK OF AWESOME. I like thinking about little daily blessings like this that we so often take for granted, so I thought I'd add one each time I post a painting to this journal for our mutual enjoyment!

No wonder I haven't posted anything here since Thanksgiving: everything I was painting was for a Christmas gift and therefore was a surprise that I didn't want to spoil.

My client for this painting liked the frame I found for it (I did too), so I'm getting it framed and ready for Final Friday at the Pendleton on January 28, 2011.

Saw that movie "The Social Network" last night and found it quite fascinating. Although I don't spend that much time on Facebook, I would really miss it if I didn't have it anymore.

Thankful for the sunshine today and I think I'll go out and get a little walking in while it's still daylight; that usually gives me some inspiration for the painting I have planned. Got some new source material today so I'm armed and dangerous to paint; more later.

2010-11-29T13:52:00.000-08:00

Lavomatic Cafe

See many of my Happy Cincinnati prints and originals when you're eating at Lavomatic Cafe on Vine Street.

The building is very interesting and their food is great: some of the best mac and cheese I've ever tasted.

It's actually sneaked up on me how many Cincinnati scenes I've painted. It's really nice to see them all in one place. And if you'd like a discount on having lunch at Lavomatic, just give me a call or contact me via my web site at http://www.cincinnatihomeportrait.com/.

My Cincinnati work is also featured at Art on the Levee at Newport on the Levee and you can see new work in progress in my studio at the Pendleton Art Center on Friday December 17, 2010 from 5 - 10 pm.

One of my friends noticed how many bridges I've painted, from the Roebling Suspension Bridge to some local covered bridges, like the one shown here. The original was purchased by a collector in Hawaii but nice giclee prints of this are still available.

2010-10-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

M. Hopple & Company 2010 Holiday Card Contest Winners

I'm thrilled to have had a watercolor of Music Hall entitled "Holiday Opening Night" selected for M. Hopple & Co's 2010 Holiday Card contest. Here is a photo of the six artists who had cards selected. All the work is very different and I think it makes a nice variety. The theme this year was Erich Kunzel's many contributions to our city and distinguished judges of the contest included Michael Chertock, Kathy Wade and Janelle Gelfand.

You can buy individual cards or packages of ten at the store located at 7737 Kenwood Rd., right near Kenwood Mall. The display featuring the cards is right by the cashier and there is free imprinting on the insides of these cards until Oct 31.

2010-10-03T18:47:00.000-07:00

Finished the Bridge: East-facing

Today I exhibited this finished 3 x 4 ft. painting at the Hyde Park Art Show on my birthday. Glad to have finished it and thrilled that it was hung in such a prominent spot 2 weeks ago at the Mason Arts Festival and won an honorable mention ribbon in the City Gallery.

2010-09-11T08:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend's work in progress

I was hoping to finish this big Roebling Bridge painting before I left for the Grand Canyon but still have a lot of work to do on it.

So that's the plan for today and tomorrow, because I'd like to get it framed this week and show it in the City Gallery at the Mason Arts Festival next Sunday Sept 19.

2010-07-07T08:31:00.000-07:00

Homes and family history
The William Taylor McLean home, now Heritage House, in Sidney Ohio
My great-grandfather, William Taylor McLean, built this house for his family in the mid 1800s, after he married Mary Arnilda (Nellie) Slusser, daughter of the original inventor and patentee of road scrapers, Benjamin Slusser. The first scraper was manufactured in Sidney, Ohio in 1876.
Billy and Nellie raised four children in this house: Ben, Taylor, Bertha, and my mom’s father, Frederick Alan McLean. He is the baby in this family picture.
As a little girl, I stayed in this house with Aunt Bertha and remember sitting on the porch for a parade honoring her dad and his standing in the councils of Masonry. Her baby brother, my Pop Pop, ran the Slusser-McLean Scraper Company, until he sold it to International Harvester in the sixties.

I’m often asked to paint or draw home portraits from old black and white photos like this, so I thought I’d do this one for myself and my family. The house is still standing and, although the outside looks quite different today, the inside is much as I remember it. Owners Phil and Bev Weeks have turned the McLean family home into Heritage House, a delightful gift shop. Almost all of us in the family have visited there multiple times and enjoy sharing our memories with Bev and Phil, who were curious about the house’s and family’s history.

2010-06-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

Red Letter Day

This is a red letter day in my life as an artist!

I painted this painting of my friend Therese's homeplace three summers ago. Today I saw it exhibited in the Cincinnati Art Museum, along with a painting I recently did of the Taft Museum of Art. Let me explain.

This summer, CAM is featuring a See America exhibit and they wanted to display some of the work of local artists as part of that. Mason is one of the fastest growing cities in Ohio, so the CAM has a partnership with the Mason-Deerfield Arts Council, of which I am a member.

Almost everyone I paint with on Mondays has at least one work on display and while I was there, two museum employees told me to be sure and see the exhibit and how impressed they are with the quality of the work. I was too! I almost couldn't breathe when I got off the elevator on the ground floor near the DeWitt entrance and saw our paintings. They looked awesome!! I was so proud and happy for all the artists, including myself.

Of course I dreamed that one day I'd have something hanging in the Cincinnati Art Museum. But I never thought it would be while I was still alive to see it! What a great moment. Our work will be up all summer, until mid August, so sign the guest book if you stop by and see it.

Amazing, too, how much better things look displayed and tagged properly. I'll have to pay more attention when I hang things at the studio and at outdoor shows.

For more about Mason-Deerfield Arts Council, see http://www.masonarts.org/.

2010-06-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

My first vertical

Can you believe I haven't painted a vertical or square painting in more than five years? Time to rectify that situation. I think I got a pretty good start on The Ascent today, as I painted with my mentor and friend, Elmer Ruff. He looked at my brushes and suggested I get some bigger ones if I'm going to paint these big canvases. I didn't think of that but he's right. And he gave me a good idea for the Music Hall Christmas painting too.

This is going to be a special painting because some other close friends are a big part of it! The 24 by 30 inch canvas came from Betty and Margie, who got me to start painting again five years ago. I undercoated it with cerulean blue paint that was once Lana's mother's. And the subject, the Ascent, was suggested by my friends who work at Art on the Levee, where my last large painting of the Roebling Bridge sold in just a few days.

I'm picking up a giclee of that bridge painting on canvas next week and if it looks as good as the proof looked, I think a lot more of them will sell. I hope so.

This is the perfect subject to inspire me to paint vertically. I'm very inspired by this building. How did he think of it? How were they able to build it? How is it still standing? The photos I took make it look so different from every angle. My paint dried up and I ran out of time today but I look forward to working on this one again soon.

Tomorrow is Final Friday at the Pendleton from 6-10 pm. Before the guests come, I've undercoated another big canvas from Betty and Margie and plan to start a new Roebling Bridge painting on it. With bigger brushes, maybe I can get going on the Lebanon Christmas parade painting again too.

2010-06-17T12:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Plein Air Painting
Missed painting with the Mason group on Monday, so today I met them in back of Gallery 42 for a plein air (outdoor) painting day downtown. It sure was a beautiful day for it!
Chuck Marshall wants us to paint on the city streets to give visibility to art and artists in Mason. So we agreed to work strictly on site -- no photos, even for reference. It's funny because a group of children came by and talked to me and one boy wanted to know why I didn't just take a photo and paint from that. I could honestly say that, in spite of the rules we set for ourselves today, no photo could ever capture what I was seeing in the bright summer sunshine and I think the painting reflects that. Could this have been painted on anything but a bright, sunny June morning?
Still fighting with the "oriental rug" syndrome (too fragmented) and I know this painting would have been better had I quit about 45 min sooner. I should have. Had to quit when I did because despite using a wet palette and spraying my acrylic paints, they totally dried up on me and I literally didn't have any paint left! Had fun though.
Something's wrong with my Olympus C-5500 Zoom digital camera. There's a "soft spot" in all the photos I've been taking, so I'll have to get it fixed or get a new camera.
Still working on composition for the "Idaho homestead" painting and two very large canvases. One will be another Roebling Bridge and the other either Music Hall or the Ascent as a vertical.

2010-06-15T09:34:00.000-07:00

Moving Away

Here is the pencil drawing and two 8 x 10 acrylic paintings I've done for a collector who would like to give a gift to a friend who has moved away.

These 2 started with two different background colors and, because the acrylic paints I use are transparent, the background color usually influences the entire painting.

Which one of these do you like best? Do you think the choice of background color has anything to do with your preference? Or are there other reasons you like one better than the other? If so, I'd love to know.

Currently working on some family "homeplace" paintings and will have the story of one here later this week.

2010-05-10T14:20:00.001-07:00

Mason-Deerfield Open House Thurs May 13 at Cottell Park

Worked on these paintings this morning with the Mason Painting group. It's been a while since I was able to paint with this group and it was fun to get acquainted with some new members, as well as to catch up with old friends.
Fellow artist Don Shuster and I are hoping for good weather this Sunday, May 16, as we are both exhibiting at the Wyoming (OH) Art Fair on Worthington Ave. from 11 -5 pm. Don was trying to finish a painting he wants to display there and I think I'm set for this weekend, thank goodness.
Still working on paintings for the Taft Museum's Art in the Garden May 26, as you can see.
There's an Open House at the Snyder House in Cottell Park (Snider & Irwin-Simpson Rds.) this Thursday night May 13 from 5-8 pm. Because it's the new home of the Mason-Deerfield Arts Council, our group will probably meet there and I look forward to seeing it. Weather will determine what I paint that night; if it's nice, maybe the house itself.
One of the artists down at the Pendleton Art Center, where I have my studio, recently said "Being an artist means putting forth effort to preserve life on canvas." Usually I'm not but tonight, I am weary of the effort.

2010-05-06T06:31:00.000-07:00

Krohn Conservatory Butterfly Show

This is what I'm working on today, one of three prints of the Krohn's spring butterfly show that I'm making for my Happy Cincinnati series.

One is finished and framed and I'm still working on the other two, including this one.

I've had fun experimenting with a medium brown undercolor, which I'm finding tones down the acrylic layers I paint over it.

These three original paintings, and all the prints I make from them, will be for sale at The Cincinnati Art Club, near the Krohn, on the first weekend in June, 6/5.

Then I'll put any that remain at Newport on the Levee, along with my Roebling Bridge original, which I'm picking up from the framer's today. Can't wait to see how it looks!

Here's an interesting problem I need to solve: where can I buy a mannequin? I need one to display my Happy Cincinnati giftware and merchandise like ball caps, BBQ aprons, and tote bags. Actually I'd like to get an inflatable one (easier to pack and transport to shows), but I'm worried about what kind of store I might have to patronize to find one.

2010-05-04T08:02:00.001-07:00

Taft Museum Art in the Garden May 26-27

I'm very thrilled and honored to be displaying my work at the Taft Museum's annual "Art in the Garden" fundraiser this month. I've been working on acrylic sketches for a "spring" painting of the Taft to complement the summer one I did based on photos I took at an ice cream social on the front lawn one July.

Today I need to get serious about staging my 10 x 10 booth for the Wyoming Art Show on Sunday, May 16. When I helped Glenda Suttman at the Clay Alliance show last Saturday, I asked her why her booth looked so much better than the last time we worked one of her shows together. She told me the reason was that she spent a full day in our studio staging everything and then taking photos of their placement. So I'm going to do that myself and see how much it improves my display at Wyoming this year.

I've got my inventory of giftware personalized with my Happy Cincinnati images like the Roebling Bridge, Krohn Conservatory, and Union Terminal and it's already selling well at Art on the Levee in Newport. And ADC is in the process of framing my 2 x 3 ft. painting of the bridge; Litsa guided me to an even better frame than we'd identified originally.

Lots of little things to fix on several paintings today: the center porch area on my McLean house, butterfly and tent roof on one of the Krohn paintings, and another Taft sketch. Meeting with a client about a home portrait of his family homestead in Idaho; he's emailed me great photo references and now I need to learn more about exactly what he's looking for and I want to understand more about the history of the home and its location.

2010-04-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

Cincinnati Nature Center on Tealtown Rd.
Finished this year's multi-media painting of the Krippendorf Lodge at the Cincinnati Nature Center on Tealtown Rd. where tonight's annual fundraiser will be held. We have beautiful weather for it and there is a lot of wonderful artwork on sale to benefit the CNC.
Last year, I painted three small acrylic portraits of the Krippendorf and all of them sold. This year, I kept the original and donated a limited edition giclee print, nicely framed. When you have both side by side, many people would be unable to tell the difference between the painting and the print. My pieces are in a Silent Auction in tonight's event, so if more than one collector likes this, I'll be able to satisfy them all with the prints, much as we did for Laurel Court.
Here's why I support the Nature Center: not only do I paint out there in plein air but now that I'm hiking every day, I've discovered that their abundance of walking trails offer lots of variety and plenty of workout. A couple of programs I've been to in the last two weeks have been just great! Last Thursday night, Wes from Marvin's Organic Gardens talked about using Ohio native trees, shrubs and perennials to landscape our yards and I left with a beautiful oyster fern. Then Wednesday night, I got to go on my first Full Moon Hike at 9 pm. Director Bill Hopple said he's been doing this since 1996 and I will definitely go again. During the 2 mile hike from 9-10:30, Bill pointed out stars, constellations, and Venus, Mars and Saturn with a laser pointer as we stood in a quiet meadow that brought back memories of learning astronomy from fellow Camp Fire Girls at summer camp. Passages and poetry were read at various times from the Farmer's Almanac and other books about native American lore, various moons (this one was the Pink Moon), local geology, buds and spring; it was just beautiful.
Yes, tonight is also Final Friday at the Pendleton Art Center, so I will have to miss it. Thankfully, Dodie Loewe is going to have our studio open for guests. Tomorrow morning I'll be helping our other studio mate, ceramicist Glenda Suttman, with her display at the Clay Alliance's annual Spring show in Woodburn Corners.
I took my Roebling Bridge to be framed today, so it should be ready in time for the Wyoming Art Show Sunday May 16 and the Taft Museum's Art in the Garden on May 26. Am having a lot of gift items personalized with that image for sale through local retailers like Art on the Levee in Newport KY.
So many things to work on right now, painting-wise: Taft Museum acrylics, my great-grandfather's home in Sidney OH, several home portraits and two original paintings that will be printed in limited editions for the Krohn Conservatory Butterfly Show display at the Cincinnati Art Club on June 5.

2010-04-12T13:35:00.000-07:00

Sketches for the Krohn Conservatory Butterfly Show
Is there anywhere prettier in this city than the Eden Park area near the Krohn in springtime? I took a bunch of photos over there last week around 5 pm but they didn't do justice to the magnolia grove, redbuds, or the daffodils on the hillsides, so I'm just going to have to paint from memory.
Noticed that I hadn't posted anything in awhile but I've been busy. Finished the big bridge painting today, I think, hopefully having fixed the four things Elmer and I talked about two weeks ago. Finished the Krippendorf Lodge multimedia painting for the benefit April 30 and getting the first giclee made for framing this week.
Friday night I finished a painting of the home my great-grandfather built in Sidney Ohio and these Krohn pictures need to be done by the end of May. Also have a few new color sketches of the church. My friend Lana generously gave me her mother's pastels and some of her art books and reference material. Elaine Piazza has had an influence on my work through her style of painting, the good karma imparted through her studio easel, and the support and encouragement of her daughter and I am grateful for it. And for the inspiration of this beautiful spring weather.

2010-03-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

Yes, this will be Final Friday

Hard to believe it's almost Final Friday again but I spent most of the day clearning and rearranging the studio in preparation for March 26.

Work on the new Krippendorf Lodge painting for the Cincinnati Nature Center benefit April 30 is progressing nicely.

Today, I laid down the shadow layer in oils over my pencil drawing and tomorrow will begin lifting out light with a kneaded eraser. Many thanks to C. F. Payne for demonstrating some of these multimedia techniques.

With the success of the Laurel Court painting, I'm encouraged to do more of this style work.

Last Friday night, I was captivated by DeVere Burt's presentation on John James Audubon. I had no idea JJ was the first director of what is now the Cincinnati Historical Museum. Nor did I know his original Birds of America was about 2 x 3 ft. and sold for $1,000.

But I was glad to learn Cincinnati has one and that it's on display in the downtown Public Library. DeVere told the Cincinnati Art Club that every day they turn a page so you can see a different one of the 400+ illustrations. So I decided that whenever I'm downtown, I'm going to pop in and see Audubon's "bird of the day." Today it was a yellow breasted warbler; beautiful!

Kind of interesting that at the same time I'm learning this info, I'm also out hiking and bird-watching myself for the first time; hmmm.

2010-03-17T07:07:00.000-07:00

Winter Wildflowers: Looking and Seeing vs. Painting

If you've ever lived in this part of southwestern Ohio, you've seen scenes like this photo before. And even though I've seen many different paintings and photos of this subject before, I was inspired by the sight on Saturday.

I keep track of how many hours I paint, and how many hours I walk outside, each day. Sometimes those facts can be discouraging. But despite painting fewer hours than I planned Saturday March 13, I did walk outside in the rain and had a successful day as an artist, despite not painting very much.

Let me explain. I am learning that time spent looking and seeing is just as important to my work as putting brush to canvas. I've always been kind of a "fair weather" walker, so I really had to push myself to go out Saturday afternoon. But I'm so glad I did! I'd never been to Withrow Nature Preserve on Five Mile Rd. and will definitely go back there. There's a lovely home on the property that was deeded to the Hamilton County Park district and I toured it and took some great photos for future painting reference.

As you can see from the photo I took of the river, it was a cold, wet, gloomy day: pretty typical of Ohio in March. But when I got down into the forest on the trail, the canopy of trees kept me pretty dry and I couldn't believe all the colorful wildflowers I saw blooming! The naturalist had showed me photos of what to look for and I saw every one: bright yellow, soft Lenten rose, white snowflake and snow drops. They looked especially beautiful I think because they were wet, like seashells look better wet on their beach than they do when I get them home.

Then I got a magical surprise. I saw something large and white flying through the trees in front of me and thought it was some kind of bird, only to realize it was the huge white tail of a deer and then I saw more than half a dozen of them. Their tails were huge and white; they looked like the plumes on marching band helmets. There are definitely some great places in this park to paint when the weather gets nicer. And I am actually inspired to try to paint the more subtle beauty of these river scenes, and I never thought I would be.

Stay tuned for my progress on the large acrylic painting I'm finishing of the John Roebling Bridge. And for more work employing the multi-media techniques I learned from C.F. Payne, like those used in my Laurel Court painting. I'm thrilled that sold as a result of the Cincinnati Art Club show, which runs through this Sunday. So I started a painting today of the Krippendorf Lodge at the Cincinnati Nature Center, hoping to finish in time to sell it at the "Nature's Symphony" benefit on April 30.

2010-03-06T08:23:00.000-08:00

Laurel Court at the Cincinnati Art Club

The Cincinnati Art Club put my mixed media painting of Laurel Court on their invitations to the Associate Members' show opening next Friday night; yay!

The Club is located at the base of Mt. Adams near downtown Cincinnati on 1021 Parkside Place. There will be a nice party there Friday March 12 and I will be there personally from 6-7 pm. Please stop by and say hello if you can!

If you've never been to Laurel Court, on the West side at 5780 Belmont Avenue (next to McAuley high school), it's well worth a visit. My friends and I toured the home and gardens last spring; they are available to rent for events like parties and wedding receptions.

This house rests on the highest point in Hamilton County. It was built 100 years ago by Peter Thomson, the founder of Champion Paper and is now owned and operated by the Moyer family, who can be reached at info@laurelcourt.com, (513) 542-2000, or http://www.laurelcourt.com/.

Resembling the Petit Trianon, Marie Antoinette's home in France, the Beaux-arts designed home has 36 rooms and nearly 20,000 square feet. The grounds include a formal French garden with marble statuary and carved stone balustrades, a Japanese garden with Koi ponds, and a pool near a wisteria-covered pergola.

Cincinnatians may remember this house as a former LaRosa's corporate headquarters or Archdiocese residence.

The Cincinnati Art Club is also more than a hundred years old and famous artists such as Frank Duveneck, Henry Farny and Joseph Henry Sharp were members.

2010-03-01T13:17:00.000-08:00

Was it finished?

We had a really good Final Friday at the Pendleton Art Center on Feb 26; so much so that I had this painting on the easel but never got a chance to work on it!

I haven't touched this since I first started it at Performance Lexus last September for the Mason Arts Festival Kickoff and now I'm eager to get it done.

It was interesting though. Two different people who saw this Friday night told me they thought it was finished and that they liked it!

I don't know about other artists but for me, knowing when a painting is truly "finished" is one of the most difficult things. Often when going back into working on a painting like this, I'll ruin the quality that I liked about it most before starting up again. In fact, the home portrait I finally finished last Thursday was like that; I kept going back and back and back to it trying to regain the freshness and the qualities I failed to preserve when finishing it off.

To see today's work on "The Roebling Bridge," check out my Facebook page. I don't think I'm finished with this one yet, so you'll probably see it here again sometime in the coming weeks.

2010-02-22T20:20:00.000-08:00

More Spring on a Winter Day

This one is acrylics on canvas sheet, matted and framed 11 x 14" under glass. It will be part of the Silent Auction for Cincinnati Nature Center's "Nature's Symphony" benefit on Friday night April 30th at Krippendorf Lodge in Rowe Woods on Tealtown Rd. (also a great place for hiking)

I took the photos that inspired this painting last March or April. Once, long ago, the Krippendorf's held "Daffodil Days" to benefit war veterans.

2010-02-17T10:08:00.000-08:00

Spring on a snowy day

One thing I enjoy about being an artist is the ability to be in spring on the snowiest of winter days!

"What is essential is invisible to the eyes" said Antoine de Saint Expury.

True, I think, and a challenge to the visual artist. When we like (love?) a painting, I suspect it's because it connects with us on this "unseen" level.

2010-02-16T19:18:00.000-08:00

Today vs. May

It's STILL snowing. It's been a long time since I can remember it snowing for more than 24 hours without stopping.

Here's what it looks like out my kitchen window vs. the little study I did last May.

"Becoming," said artist Paul Klee, "is superior to being.

In his Painter's Keys eNewsletter, artist Robert Genn says "you need to see your art as a state of becoming. Vigilance and attentive observation during work in progress provides the opportunity. The process takes place with individual works, over a lifetime of trial and error." In art as in life. Laissez le bons temps rouler!

2010-02-15T05:36:00.000-08:00

Where have I been?

Why haven't I blogged for the last few weeks? Not because I haven't been painting! Home portraits like this one have been keeping me busy and, fortunately, snowstorms and snow days don't prevent me from working on them.

Because I plan to hike into the Grand Canyon this summer, I have been walking 60-90 minutes every day, no matter what the weather. What a blessing and an inspiration this has turned out to be! My life is enriched by spending more time outdoors. Last night I walked with "birders" for the first time and tried to train my eyes to look for birds without binoculars. Looking is what it's all about for a painter and even though I seldom take my camera, I can feel the beauty I'm seeing this winter being absorbed in my heart, mind and soul.

Discovering all that our local Hamilton County Park District offers is a joy and a revelation. It's a great new year.

2010-01-18T07:10:00.000-08:00

Copying Musuem Masterpieces with Ohio Plein Air Painters

Here are some of the artists I painted with at the Cincinnati Art Musuem this weekend. The Southwest Ohio Plein Air Painters have copied masterpieces every January for the past few years.

I learn so much from doing this and discovered a new local artist this time, John Ellsworth Weis, whose painting "Yesterday" I worked on copying.

Born in Kentucky, John moved to Cincinnati (Norwood) as a child. When studying at the Art Academy with the likes of Frank Duveneck and Herman Wessel, he so impressed teachers that he was offered a position on the faculty at the age of 22. Also a poet, writer, philosopher and member of the Literary Club, John taught at the Art Academy for thirty eight years and was president of the Cincinnati Art Club from 1927-1928. I loved the feeling of this painting I'm copying, in acrylics instead of oils, and all my friends here said it looks like one of my "happy houses."

I'm starting out Monday on a great high, for today I realized I sold more paintings in the last six months than I did in all of 2008; not more revenue but a lot more paintings, so I'm excited about that.

2010-01-16T14:30:00.000-08:00

Copying "Yesterday" by John Ellsworth Weis

Here's today's effort: a copy of the painting "Yesterday" by J. E. Weis which is now hanging at the Cincinnati Art Musuem in the gallery displaying the collection belonging to Cincinnati Public Schools.

The musuem recently switched out a lot of paintings in this particular gallery and I found this one when looking for a painting of Bessie Wessel's I admired.

John Weis' original painting now hangs just to the left of Bessel Wessel's Hollyhocks painting that I love. I was not familiar with Weis or his work before trying to copy this one today but I fell in love with it and learned a lot from copying for 3.5 hours today during the Ohio Plein Air Society paint-in. It was a bonus discovering a new artist and I've found other paintings of Weis' that I like while researching him online.

Exhausted from this effort, I'm signing off for now to rest and will write more about this artist, his painting and my copying later.

2010-01-13T19:34:00.000-08:00

Focusing on the journey instead of the destination

Here's my first hour and a half on a new 12 x 16" home portrait, based on the little color sketch in the top lefthand corner. I usually like to paint for 3-5 hours at a time, because things really get rolling. But I'm learning that I can make progress in 1-2 hours and that it's good for me to paint every single day, even if it's just a little.

I'll admit, painting for an hour and a half, like I did today, frustrates me at times because I have to stop just when it feels like I'm getting into the zone. But if I can focus on the journey rather than trying to rush headlong towards the final destination, it helps (in my life as well as in my work:)

I did the little 7 x 9" acrylic sketch for my client to give to her husband for his milestone birthday in November. She knew he'd want to be involved in the creation of the finished work, so we used the little painting to talk about what he liked and what changes he'd prefer. Originally, I used a warm orange background and then painted over it in layers of acrylics. What I like about this technique is that I can paint light over darker values and colors in small increments or glazes, like with oil painting. But I can also leverage what I call "clear color" -- the original vibrant acrylic paint in a single hue -- like my favorite watercolorists do.

Today I really did enjoy the journey, even though it was for such a short time, analyzing where the clear color should remain, as opposed to layering paint to create values and mute colors. I think it will be interesting to take and display photos of this one as it progresses a little at a time, so I'll post those pictures as this painting progresses.

2010-01-12T19:13:00.001-08:00

Which view did she choose?

If I have or take several photos of a house, I usually draw 2-3 different views. These drawings sometimes satisfy clients as suitable for framing in their own right. They're also valuable for soliciting information before I begin a larger painting.

For example, did this customer prefer a vertical or horizontal painting? Which of these three views of her house did she like best? Were there things she wanted emphasized or de-emphasized? (plants, trees, features of the house or property?)

Check back and I'll post the finished watercolor painting I did for this customer, so you can see what she picked. Were her choices the same ones you'd have made?

2010-01-10T17:29:00.000-08:00

A Quilter's Inspiration

No, this isn't my work. These beautiful pieces of fabric art were created by Cathy Pilcher Sperry, who talked about her own journey as an artist, what inspires her, and her processes for creating these beautiful quilted wall hangings in a program I attended on Saturday.

I didn't get much actual paint on canvas this weekend but got loads of inspiration from Cathy's talk and viewing a couple dozen pieces she's created in the last few years. This artwork is so beautiful when you see it in person, these photos really DO NOT DO IT JUSTICE. I think both of these pieces were about 3.5 feet square.

What struck me was Cathy's innovation and creativity in her processes of trying to achieve what she envisions. I had just finished reading David Hockney's book, Secret Knowledge of the Masters and realized that those artists I admire so much did the same thing. Even today, filmmakers like George Lucas and James Cameron envision movies they want to make and then they have to figure out new ways to actually realize them onscreen. I hope to try and do more of this in 2010, leveraging what I know how to do with a computer with making the marks on canvas or paper with pencils and brushes.

The other thing that was really neat about Cathy's talk was hearing about how starting to sew at age 12 and loving it have led her to what she's doing today. I saw a faith walk and spirituality that realized beauty and life beyond what I think human beings are capable of without divine partnership. Now that's inspiring!

2010-01-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

Solitude: enough vs. too much?
While solitude is inherent to the life on an artist, sometimes it's just too much for me! As author John Ortberg writes, "When parents want to punish a child, the number one method is a time-out. And the most hated punishment prison inmates receive is solitary confinement.

The solitude necessary to painting felt like a curse to me today. This is the small color sketch I did in preparation for a 12 x 16" home portrait I'm working on. Talking about it with my client surfaced some important aspects of the final painting: close the garage door, American flag on the front porch, annuals blooming in front of the house and decorative lights on either side of the garage door.

But I've had a hard time getting going today and now am just starting again, at 9 pm. Usually I paint with some other artists in Lebanon on Thursdays but we cancelled yesterday due to snow. They, and the artists I paint with in Mason, would tell you that when it's really happening for me, I lose all awareness of everything and everybody around me. Now I'm ready to try it again, after enjoying the company of friends for dinner and a delightful 7 pm walk in the snow at Sharon Woods.

Tomorrow my major creation will be trying to make a recipe from The Art of French Cooking for a "Julie & Julia" dinner. I tried making a cheese souffle for dinner last night and it turned out great but I didn't love it (tasted like air), so tomorrow I'm attempting French Onion soup. While it cooks, hopefully I'll be cooking on this portrait too!

2010-01-07T16:23:00.000-08:00

Preliminary color sketches for an oil portrait

While everyone was snowed in today, I finished the third and final color study to show my clients for their 18 x 24" home portrait. When we last met, we looked at all the photos I'd taken and they decided they wanted to see the house head-on in an "autumn-like" setting.

With three different little studies like this, I'll be able to find out more about their likes and dislikes before I begin the full-size painting in oils on canvas.

I actually end up liking a lot of these little studies. They're only about 7 x 9" on a canvas sheet in acrylics but they look great matted and framed in a standard size 11 x 14" frame, which is perfect for hanging in a smaller place or space. I sell these for $200 where the big ones go for $400-$600.

2010-01-05T13:15:00.000-08:00

Looking Out at Snow and Thinking of Florida
Here's a photo one of my clients sent me today of a Christmas gift she commissioned for her parents of their home in Florida.
It's kind of fun looking at these paintings of warm weather houses on such a cold snowy day.
Haven't gotten any painting done yet today but plan to start a new 12 x 16 inch acrylic tonight so stay tuned for progress tomorrow.
I'm using this blog as accountability for how much painting I actually accomplish each day.

2010-01-04T19:51:00.000-08:00

Great Start to a New Year!

Congratulations to fellow golfer and artist Joanne Greenway, whose original pastels are on display this month at Bellevue Bistro, 313 Fairfield Ave. in Bellevue, KY.

Joanne kindly let me share wall space at the Bistro and it's already been a very successful venue for my artwork. What a great start to the new year, 2010.

This work was one I was commissioned to paint as a Christmas gift. Today, it was good to get back in the regular routine of painting every day and, once again, I hope to chronicle my daily results on this blog. Stay tuned and Happy New Year!

2009-12-15T06:15:00.000-08:00

Pendleton FINAL FRIDAY this week Dec 18!

For the first time ever, the Pendleton Art Center will have Final Friday on a night other than the last Friday of the month. The reason? December 25, Christmas night, is the last Friday of this month.

So, it will be fun to celebrate the holidays and shop for unique gifts downtown. ArtWorks, at 811 Race Street, will be open until 7 pm selling off paintings that were not purchased Nov 20 at the Westin.

Including all three of the 5x7" ones I did, such as the one above, #1750. The others are #0503 ("The Glimpse" of a plantation in the Florida panhandle) and #2445 ("Taft Museum in July"). They'll sell for $35 each or two for $60 and there will be a whole bunch of original paintings there for $10.

Meanwhile, Silent Auction in the Pendleton's 510 Gallery, where I have some small prints for sale at really affordable prices. Plus, food by the Burrito wagon and plenty of wine, soda and snacks in our studio, #507 on the fifth floor, where you'll also find ceramics and glass as well as jewelry and fiber art elsewhere in the building.

2009-12-08T19:50:00.000-08:00

Secret ArtWorks 2009 Revealed!

Well, it seems like I haven't posted a new painting to this blog for weeks. The reason: most of the things I'm working on are a secret -- home portraits for Christmas and birthday gifts.

This little 5 x 7" multi-media painting of the Taft Museum's summer concert on the lawn was part of Secret ArtWorks 2009 on Friday night November 20 at the Westin hotel in downtown Cincinnati.

I don't believe it has been purchased yet, so the original may still be available all day Friday December 18 and Saturday December 19 at ArtWorks on 8th Street. There are two others that may also be for sale, all for $35 each, to benefit ArtWorks and their programs. I plan to make giclee prints of this Taft Museum painting in various sizes as part of my HAPPY CINCINNATI series of prints.

2009-10-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

Mondays after drawing a portrait in charcoal with Carl Samson, Millie and I head directly over to the Cincinnati Art Club in Mt. Adams for sketch group.

There's a different live model every week, so we eat a quick lunch and then continue to practice what we've learned in our Monday morning class.

I'm not a portrait painter but, as one of our classmates, Cindy Harlan Youse, said, "There's nothing like miles on the brush" for improving your work. Seeing the "bedbug" line and working with shapes and values has already influenced how I see the houses I've been commissioned to paint. When I'm at the sketch group at the art club, I draw in pencil and try to change position to a different view of the subject every 30 or 40 minutes.

In this case, I can't remember which one I did first but they both resemble him more than the studies I did six months ago, so I'm encouraged.

2009-10-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

Java Jazz and Art 2009

New Richmond OH

Oct 10-11, 2009

I'm so glad my Pendleton Art Center studio-mate, Dodie Loewe, got me involved in this wonderful event and I look forward to doing it again next October. After a pretty drive east along the Ohio River from Cincinnati, I arrived in New Richmond Friday evening and visited all the stores and businesses on the main street, as each of them displayed artwork being judged for the event.

Tempted by the cosy atmosphere and dinner specials listed on the blackboard at the Cafe, I'm glad I didn't eat before the opening and awards ceremony at the Front Street Gallery because the food served there was filling and absolutely delicious. Enjoyed listening to live bluegrass music and catching up with a lot of good artists before heading home to rest up for the plein air paint out Saturday morning.

Back on the main street the next morning, the coffee smelled good and the jazz musicians were setting up in a beautiful park overlooking the river but the weather didn't look too promising. So I decided to breakfast at the diner with a bunch of other artists and by the time we finished eating, it was beautiful out and I felt fueled up and ready to paint.

Seemed like there was a different jazz band every hour and they were all great! I found the music very inspiring and enjoyed talking to all the people strolling by. But it was a challenging outdoor painting day because the light changed constantly, so I finished this little palette knife painting in oils and then got my drawing tablet out and started working on all the home portraits I've been commissioned to paint.

Got a lot of good work done, so drove home with a sense of accomplishment although tired. Next year, I want to stay all night at Susanna's Guest House, a bed and breakfast with rooms that have fireplaces and twelve foot high ceilings.

Going to New Richmond for the weekend to paint was like going on vacation, making me see the charms of this area with fresh eyes. Formed when glaciers diverted existing rivers 10,000 years ago, the Ohio River is broad and relatively shallow. To me, this area resonates of Hopewell and other ancient cultures here long before the descendents of Europeans.

Painting the river, I thought of Meriweather Lewis' expedition passing through in 1803 camping and conducting business until William Clark joined the group and they moved West.

2009-10-12T19:53:00.001-07:00

2009-10-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

Finding the Bed Bug Line
Artist Carl Samson has been teaching me to look for the "bed bug line" when viewing or drawing a portrait. Bed bugs don't like the light and will do whatever they can to avoid it, so one determines the bed bug line by drawing the overall flat shape of what's in shadow vs. what's in the light. Easier said than done! I've been at it for hours today and haven't quite gotten it yet but I'm making progress. How do I know? Because now I'm seeing the bed bug line on actors' faces when I watch TV!!

When I have tried to draw faces or heads in the past, I've tried to draw all the values, from 1-10. This is a totally different approach: kind of like drawing only value 7 in flat shapes. Then going into the light areas and adding the halftones from 1-6.9. Maybe pulling out a little of the light in the value 7 and darkening some of it to 8, 9 and 10.

Today was my third out of eight classes with Carl. Some of the things learned that I'm trying to apply to my own work are as follows:

Triangulating: correctly positioning key elements like eyes, nose, ears, chin, mouth in reference to two other points

Modeling via lost and found edges on the bed bug line to create form, before modeling in values, which was all I did in the past

I know from teaching people to use software that we don't master new skills just by watching and listening. When someone shows and tells us what to do, we have to try it ourselves and then practice, practice, practice to really get it. Spending so many hours teaching each week, it's poetic justice for me to be the student practicing this for hours and still not coming close to what my teacher can do quickly and easily, almost as second nature. This experience should help me develop more patience with my own students, while learning to look and see in a new and different way, better than ever before.

2009-10-02T10:09:00.000-07:00

2009-10-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to me! Working on several home portraits right now. Here's my first preliminary color sketch, in acrylics, for one of them. Driving over there to look at the home and take more photos this afternoon.

Still bathed in inspiration, for which I'm very grateful. Will write more about that soon.

2009-09-25T07:27:00.000-07:00

2009-09-25T07:19:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time, I would go to Final Fridays at the Pendleton Art Center and dream of the life I thought I could have had as an artist there. Today, I am celebrating my third anniversary in Studio 507 on the fifth floor right across from the elevators and I still feel like pinching myself to make sure it's real!

On my mind today are my original studio-mates who made it possible: Sondra Morris, who went to her reward in January 2007 and Nancy Rembold, who I caught up with yesterday. Stacie Seuberling, my next studio-mate, now has her own place on the sixth floor and is doing well. Tonight, Glenda Suttman, Dodie Loewe and I are looking forward to hosting guests with a party to celebrate Glenda's birthday and mine, the Pendleton's 18th birthday in this space, originally the Krohn-Fecheimer Shoe Factory, built 100 years ago in 1909.

Please join us from 5-10 pm. There's a wonderful silent auction in the 8th floor gallery from 6-9 pm. I looked last night and if you've ever been to Pendleton before and admired anyone's artwork, you can probably pick up an original by one of those artists and get a great bargain!

The piece I've posted wasn't painted today but the original framed oil is on sale in my studio tonight and there's a nice limited edition giclee print in the silent auction. I love our studio at the Pendleton! It's a great place to paint, a wonderful community of artists and I'm very grateful to be part of it all. Many thanks to all the friends who come to Final Fridays and their generous support and encouragement.

Check out http://www.pendletonartcenter.com/ for directions to 1310 Pendleton St. in Cincinnati OH 45202. On Final Fridays, there's valet parking at the front door for $4 and a free shuttle bus from the Bell Center parking lot at the corner of Pendleton and Reading Rd. (where it comes in from I71S to Central Parkway.

2009-09-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

2009-09-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

Here's what painting every day is like! The Cincinnati Art Club provides its members an opportunity to paint or sketch live models twice a week. So on Monday, these were the 3 sketches I did. The first two were quick studies in oil on canvas sheet and the last one a multimedia sketch with oils and colored pencils on illustration board, using ideas I learned from C. F. Payne in February.

I don't do commissioned portraits of people: only homes, buildings or scenes like that. This is more like working out every day or practicing the scales on a musical instrument; teaches me how to see. This girl was maybe 18-19 years old and had a youthful freshness and spirit that I think is challenging to capture in a painting. Which of these three do you like best?

2009-09-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

2009-09-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

Saturday September 19 was a beautiful day: sunny and breezy. Enjoyed chatting with all the golfers at Devou as they teed off on the first hole. In fact, that's what I titled this 16 x 20" framed acrylic -- "Tee'd Off"

People who attended the FreshART auction at the Behringer Crawford Museum that night got some great bargains on original artwork. I was glad to honor Wolfgang Ritschel, a friend from the Pendleton Art Center, whose support has meant so much to this organization. I'd haved loved to have bid on his piece "Fresh from the heart," but the bidding got too rich for me!

Next year, perhaps I'll paint the 9th hole green and clubhouse as a finished work.

The 4th annual Mason Arts Festival was busy and quite a success Sunday, despite the on and off soft rain that day. My Pendleton studio-mate, Dodie Loewe, won first prize for her painting of "The Slider" and my two pieces will hang in Mason's City Hall for the next few weeks.

2009-09-16T19:23:00.001-07:00

2009-09-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

I'm donating 30% of the price of any home portrait commissioned during Habitat for Humanity's Construction Gala, this Saturday Sept 19 at Longworth Hall in Cincinnati. If you'd like to commission a painting and have 30% donated to Habitat, give me a call or contact Ryan Derrow at (513) 719-6313 or ryan.derrow@empowermm.com.

Here are the details off the Habitat Gala site at www.habitatgala.com

7-11 pm Saturday, Sept 19, 2009
Longworth Hall, Suite C, 700 Pete Rose Way, Cincinnati, OH
To celebrate another successful year of building families, community and hope in Cincinnati. Proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity

$30 per person
Cocktail attire, open bar, restaurant sampling, live music, raffle prizes, silent auction, artwork on display amd friends!

2009-09-16T19:12:00.001-07:00

2009-09-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

Here's the ninth hole green looking at the Devou Park Golf Course club house. Painted this little 7 x 9" acrylic color sketch from photos I took at the course last Friday night after 7:30 pm. Have to decide whether to paint this one, or the one I did of the first hole tee box, this Saturday Sept 19 starting early in the morning.

That night my painting, and those painted that day by all the other artists, will be auctioned off in a live auction at the Behringer Crawford Museum to benefit children's art programs sponsored by the museum. It's a lovely evening including cocktails, silent auction items, dinner and dessert and coffee for an all inclusive price of $60 per person. For more information visit www.bcmuseum.org or call (859) 491-4003.

2009-09-15T06:47:00.000-07:00

2009-09-15T06:42:00.000-07:00

Took this photo at the "Chihuly Reimagined" exhibit at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus Ohio on Sunday. Absolutely amazing! A beautiful day, all the flowers and plants, and my favorite glassmaker's pieces displayed more creatively than I've ever seen. I feel like I'm drowning in inspiration lately, which is good. Have lots of photos to save up for paintings. Saw quite a few of Dale Chihuly's original drawings that he does to collaborate with people in his studio. Think it would be cool to display one he did before making the piece, my photo of the piece itself, and then a painting of it.

Painted two small 7 x 9" acrylic studies yesterday of the Devou Park golf course from photos I took up there Friday night at twilight. I'm satisfied that I have what I need to do a good painting in Devou this Saturday for the FreshART auction but I couldn't photograph the paintings today because the camera's still full of all the Chihuly photos I took in Columbus. Definitely worth the trip up there and the park is neat too; my friend was working at the "From Field to Table" event introducing the new community garden. Took some sting out of the heartbreaking OSU-USC game I'd attended the night before.

2009-09-11T07:28:00.000-07:00

2009-09-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

Stood in front of the biggest canvas I've painted in awhile last night (2 x 3 ft) in the showroom of Performance Lexus at the Kings Auto Mall. Because I like the work I've painted with other people around (rather than alone), I thought last night's party would be a good time to begin this portrait of the Roebling Bridge and Cincinnati skyline. See some great photos of the event in Meredith Edelman Raffel's Facebook album. Meredith is the director of the Mason Arts Council.

To inspire myself before I started executing this, I spent some time reading about the history of this bridge and its builder's background. That sure did the trick! I learned all kinds of things I hadn't known and then became eager to paint it!

If they have this Celebrate the Arts party again next year, I'd recommend attending. Actually, I didn't get much painting done because I was having too much fun eating, drinking and talking to people. There was a great variety of talented artists demonstrating and I wanted to see what they were doing too; so that was a distraction. I loved talking to the children there and seeing this photo touched me; lots of kids the age I was when I first started painting. Great to have a chance to pass on some of the information and encouragement I received back then.

I've never been in a car dealership like this: very impressive and the people who work there are too. Friendly, helpful, curious. The shrimp was displayed more artistically than I've ever seen. I'm grateful so many friends came by to say hello.

Today I'm off to the studio at Pendleton to work on this big painting, three little 5 x 7 inch ones, and finish the family tree commission. It's a beautiful day and last night's event is motivating me to get going.

2009-09-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

2009-09-09T19:53:00.001-07:00

Before I go to sleep tonight, here's something I strongly believe: what makes a painting art is that it communicates life to someone other than the person who painted it. That art is like correspondence - someone must read the letter another wrote, and understand it, for it to have value.

Blogging is kind of interesting in that regard, isn't it? Sometimes I feel like I'm writing this just for myself, like a journal. To keep myself accountable to the task I've set for myself, painting every day. But then, there's also the possibility that someone else will read it. And the journey shared is so much better than that taken alone!

Another thing I did today (while not painting) was to share the experience of trying to earn a living as an artist with three others who are doing the same thing. It's helped me to share the journey of operating my own business with an entrepreneurs' group called eBrats once a month. But today was different, because these 3 entrepreneurs are also artists. So I plan to take time once a month to meet with them too. More inspiration. My cup runneth over tonight with it so we'll see what translates to paint and canvas from that tomorrow or the next day or the next.

2009-09-09T19:39:00.002-07:00

I didn't paint at all today. There I admitted it! Probably a good step for me. However, today was an important day in my artistic career, I think. Because art isn't just about execution but also about inspiration. In the beautiful movie I saw tonight, Local Color, the apprentice asks the master to comment on his painting and the master tells him "it's not speaking clearly and, because it's not, I don't know what you're trying to say." Another artist who was at the movie said she thought a major theme was "awareness," citing how the master showed the apprentice how to see that clouds were not white by showing him a white hankerchief and making him see the comparison.

I am aware of how much inspiration I've been receiving lately that I believe will influence my future paintings. (maybe even tomorrow) Like a lot of what the apprentice learned from the master in Local Color.

Besides that movie, the play "33 Variations" that I saw last week at the Ensemble Theatre. A week later, I'm still thinking about the woman who wondered whether Mozart loved the waltz he wrote the variations on or was making fun of it. Remembering how the play made me aware of all that lives on after death. And I'm thinking about it in the context of another creation that's having a great influence on me now and that's the novel "Luncheon of the Boating Party" by Susan Vreeland.

Many times inspiration comes without awareness. But it's exciting tonight to be so aware of the soul-touching inspiration I've received from these 3 other works of art: a film, a play and a novel. I believe seeds from those works will flower in paintings I have yet to create, so I'm excited about what I'll work on tomorrow.

2009-09-09T19:39:00.001-07:00

2009-09-08T08:58:00.001-07:00

It rained yesterday on Labor Day holiday but I had a great time working on my 5 x 7 inch SecretArtworks. I can't post them here because they're supposed to remain secret until the auction on Friday November 20 at the Westin hotel in Cincinnati, so I'm posting a small acrylic sketch of a home portrait I've been working on instead.

Love the artists I paint with in Mason every Monday. Yesterday, after painting, we went over to one's house and ate lunch together then watched DVD instructional videos by Millie's favorite, Richard Schmid, and one of mine, Kevin MacPherson. Got so inspired I came home and kept painting afterwards.

2009-09-05T20:16:00.001-07:00

2009-09-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

Small acrylic sketch of one of my own personal favorite places: the beach on Holiday Isle at Jetty East in Destin Florida. Testing my theory that I think I paint better when I stand up than when sitting down and that I paint better among other people than alone.

2009-08-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

2009-08-26T09:18:00.001-07:00

I painted this at Glenwood Gardens for the 8th annual Breast Cancer Brick Auction, which will be held on Sunday, October 25, 2009 from 2-5 pm at 8485 Ridge Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45236. If you would like to paint and donate a brick for the auction, there's still time. The bricks are due to be turned in by September 25. To learn more about this event, visit www.breastcancerbricks.org or contact beth@breastcancerbricks.org or (513) 673-7420.

This is a palette knife painting in oils but I still have to add the required pink ribbon before I turn it in. Haven't felt much like painting the last few days; think I may have had this flu or virus that's been on the news as going around in Cincinnati. It's good to be up and at 'em again today!

2009-08-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

2009-08-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

In this case, I think the one below makes a more interesting drawing but I'm not surprised my client prefers the topmost view for her home portrait.

2009-08-20T09:05:00.004-07:00

2009-08-20T09:05:00.001-07:00

I liked the one that was from a further distance away. Here's the little painting I did of it.

2009-08-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

2009-08-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

Two 9 x 12" pencil drawings learning a house to be painted small in acrylics for a new client. He prefers this close up view.

2009-08-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

2009-08-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

Wow, didn't realize how far behind I've gotten on my posts. Okay, last Saturday painted outdoors at Glenwood Gardens. Fantastic place! My first time there and the weather, though hot, was sunny and good.

I really got out of my box by trying a small palette knife painting in oils on masonite panel. Not sure this is really for me but I'll stick with it for awhile, as I did when I first started painting in acrylics. It felt like I was painting with my left hand and the other one tied behind my back but I did finish a nice summery view of the front part of the park.

I usually paint better standing up but even though I sat in the shade the whole time, I was too drained by the heat to walk around and explore Glenwood Gardens. Will look forward to doing that in the future.

2009-08-10T15:14:00.000-07:00

2009-08-10T15:08:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine sends out a schedule to paint outdoors every Saturday morning while the weather's nice. She tells me what fun it's been to catch up with friends this way, as well as paint, much like I'm experiencing with my daily walks.

So I went to her paint out the other day at Miami Whitewater Forest. Loved painting, the beautiful day, talking to people and the accompanying music from the Appalachian festival there. Hated the little painting I did so much that I won't put it up here:( Next week: Glenwood Gardens.

Planning for Ohio Plein Air Society (OPAS) paint out in Milford Sat Aug 22. An event at Performance Lexus at Kings Auto Mall on Thurs Sept 9 promoting the annual Mason Arts Festival on Sunday Sept 20. FreshART paint out and auction at Behringer-Crawford Museum in Devou Park on Sat Sept 19. And Habitat for Humanity benefit at Longworth Hall that same night.

Missed Saturday open house at Loveland on Main studios but hope to catch the "dueling demos" at Evendale Art Center this Friday night Aug 14 and John Leon's exhibit at the 5th Street Gallery opening Aug 21.

2009-08-06T18:50:00.000-07:00

2009-08-06T18:48:00.000-07:00

This week, did some 9 x 12" pencil drawings and 7 x 9" acrylic paintings of a home for a realtor. Working to finish an 18 x 24" oil portrait for homeowners in Lebanon OH.

2009-07-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

2009-07-27T11:58:00.000-07:00

Trees are taking on increasing importance in my paintings this summer: here's one that I just did as a quick study for a "family tree" painting I'm doing with the names on all the tree branches (and some leaves).

Since Thursday, I've been polishing up the trees in a portrait I'm doing of a Cape Cod home in Lebanon, Ohio. Trees are also finding their ways into many of the daily paintings and drawings I'm doing lately. Becoming more and more intruigued with them since the few days I camped at Camp Glen among forests with trees that must be hundreds of years old.

Last night, I ate my first roasting ear of corn on the cob this season; superb!

2009-07-21T14:15:00.000-07:00

2009-07-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

Checked out my sister-in-law's childhood friend's work while in Charleston SC and was very inspired by Laurie Meyer's paintings: check them out at http://www.lauriemeyer.com/. As always, the web site doesn't do justice to the real work, especially my favorite painting in the top left corner which is very large, textured and full of "juicy" color.

This is a quick color sketch of a home portrait I'm working on in Wyoming OH; the actual size of this little acrylic painting is about 6 x 9 inches, a size that looks great in a standard size 11 x 14 frame with a pre-cut matte in it. Wanted to paint with the palette knife out the kitchen window this am but too busy catching up after the vacation trip. Still processing all the inspiring sights and know they'll work their way into my painting.

2009-07-14T08:28:00.000-07:00

2009-07-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

Have done more looking than painting the past few days, having traveled back to the summer camp I attended every summer while growing up. The beauty of nature there struck me and I have some photos to work with once commitments to others have been fulfilled. The tall beech trees, sunlight filtering into ravines, and starlit nights were spectacular.

This week, an adventure to a place on the Atlantic seacoast where I've never been; so I'll be doing more looking, and maybe drawing, than painting until next week.

2009-07-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

2009-07-08T09:58:00.000-07:00

This acrylic painting decorated a set for Disney Channel's "What a Life!" television program yesterday and I got to watch filming: a first for me! The episode is about a friend and his 9 year old son who are pet detectives: the boy proudly told me they've located over half of the lost pets they've been asked to find.

I was fascinated by the parallels between the visual language of filmmaking and what I do as a painter. For example, in pre-production, the director of this episode took photos of frames or shots he wanted and then worked with an artist to draw story boards for the written script. At his direction, the story board artist moved trees around and removed things just like I do when working with reference photos of a subject.

But thank goodness I don't have to coordinate with sound in my work; that looked difficult. But the crew seemed to really enjoy collaborating, the way I do with people who commission me to do paintings for them. All in all, a great day, and I learned a lot, even though I didn't paint.

2009-07-03T09:01:00.001-07:00

2009-07-03T08:56:00.001-07:00

Here's a drawing I did yesterday from some photos I received from a client. This particular shot has a lot of potential for a painting; and it's a beautiful home, isn't it? At Kevin McPherson's lecture in Middletown this spring, I noted the following quote "As the soul is intangible in the human body, so is art in a painting. But we recognize when it is missing."

For me, this is so true! And this particular scene already has a lot of soul in it to inspire me, so I enjoyed drawing it. I see so much artwork that is technically proficient but lacking soul. Doing that does not interest me.

Onto Fourth of July festivities this weekend; Happy Independence Day!

2009-06-29T11:38:00.000-07:00