Unfinished Business

Even in an unfinished state, "Molly" is looking good. This is from a photo of another painters' dog. Molly looks at us from her perch on the sofa (throne?). It was such a good photo, all that was needed was to follow the dramatic light and dark pattern. We know photos can fool us painters, but this one is an exception - composed well, taken without flash, and it captures a casual gesture. Time ran out before the silky white hair could be developed, but that will be icing on the cake when it's finished.

9x12 on board

When Painters Get Together

Though friends tell me otherwise, it's been a chilly spring for me. Easter here was windy and it was nice to wear a coat. But everyone still wants to get out and get spring started.

When painters get together, I think they bring out the best in each other. So we selected this scene of another painter's backyard. It provided interesting information = buttercups, shadows on the bench, and that thin spring light before the leaves come out. There was plenty of detail we could use.

I love oil paint in all its' variations = thick, thin, globbed, smeared, dappled. But this called for a simple presentation. And we let our artist friend's bunny statue be a little surprise.

Spring Surprise, 9x12 $400, framed, at Hampton Court in Interiors Marketplace, Huntsville Al

"Beyond" Accepted into Wonders of Alabama Art

The Energen "Wonders of Alabama Art" Competition has accepted my painting "Beyond" in the exhibit.

You may see it at the Energen Corporation in Birmingham, and you're invited to the reception for the artists.

Sunday, April 13 from 2 to 5pm

Energen Corporation, 605 Richard Arrington Blvd, Birmingham Al 35203, 205-326-1800

I'd enjoy seeing you. Energen is across the street from the Tutwiler Hotel, and near Linn Park. It should be lovely at this time of year.

If you can't make the reception, the show will run from April 1 to April 13.

Out With the Girls

9x12 plein air, oil on panel

I didn't take photos at stages on this one because I was done in 30 minutes. Morning on the beach at Destin..........and that includes a little chatting with beach walkers. That's sand in the lower left. Got hit by that one wave that came sneaking up the beach. So I tilted up my pochade box to try to drain out the salt water and sand. I made a new friend who bought the companion to this one. That makes painting 3 times the fun - the scene itself, the pleasure in painting, and making new friends.

I kept the color choices limited = small amounts of ultramarine, cobalt, cobalt teal, cad red light for warmth and darkening, tiny amounts of Winsor Newton magenta, and raw sienna for warmth. Lots of white, of course- big gobs on the surf at the end.


This one came from a chance to play in Destin with friends. Coooooold weather while we were there. We knew there would be only one nice day, and we walked on the beach most of the day until it became too windy - and we decided to go shop and eat!

I Know How Monet Was Feeling

What a shock. While driving home today I passed the same pasture I have seen for 10 years. It's the pasture from the recent blog "Can't Get It Out of My Mind" in February.

The trees were cut down.

Bulldozer marks haphazardly gashed the land.

The rusty car was gone.

There is a story in books on Monet about the Poplar tree series of paintings. As you know, Monet liked to work in series, painting the same feature in different lighting situations over a period of time. You've seen them: Rouen Cathedral, haystacks, etc. He was working on a row of Poplar trees and heard the farmer was about to cut them down. He paid the farmer a sum of money to leave them until he could complete his painting. Monet didn't usually have much money.

This has happened before - several scenes I've painted are gone. Old barns, houses and such have been torn down after I painted them. Gone. That leaves me with an odd feeling.

How can you tell how it used to be if there's nothing left to see??

from "Prince of Tides" by Jimmy Buffet

Treading Deep Water

This is what deep water troubles look like in paint.

Here is the start of a larger version of "Rolling Twilight". The drawing stage seemed promising....

Sometimes it takes lots of oil paint on a bigger painting. Thus the similarity to deep water. Maintaining the edges, the nuances in value and color, the vitality of the sky where it meets the trees made me feel like treading deep water with the chance of going under at any moment. Why we should be timid about learning a new step is a puzzle. I suppose it's the exhiliration of reaching the shore - or the place where firm paint looks like what I intended. At this stage I'm thinking it looks dreadful. All that splashy color is misleading. Stay tuned - does the swimmer make it to the shore? about 15x30, oil on canvas