Dogwood Blossoms

watercolor
15 x 22

Before the winter sets in I thought I'd post a spring icon, a branch of dogwood blossoms.

Snow Storm

Watercolor
22 x 30

Geologically speaking Missouri is two different areas separated by the Missouri River. As I understand it the glaciers only got as far south as what is now the Missouri River valley so the north of the state is considerably flatter than the south which is dominated by the Ozark mountains. The Ozarks are a very old mountain range and by mountainous standards they're really not much more than hills in this age. They are quite beautiful though, and they are home. They are also dotted with a variety of springs, most of which have, or at least had a mill associated with them. That brings us to the subject of this post, Alley Springs. I've found out recently that this is the most photographed mill in the state. Far be it from me to not paint a cliche. In my defense it's usually photographed from the other side where the millpond usually provides a mirror-like reflection. All right, I admit it, I've done it from that side too, and probably will again. In an attempt to be a little different here is a view of the front side of the mill during an early winter snowstorm. Not as picturesque perhaps, but it does have a quality to it that I rather like.

Quiet Times

Silverpoint
8 x 6

I may have mentioned this before, but it's worth saying again, I love silverpoint. It's perfect for the small, intimate works that I enjoy doing. It holds detail well, doesn't smear like a normal graphite pencil and gets better with age. I think this one is pretty successful.

Autumn Forest

Oil on Canvas
25 x 18

As usual I'm not really too sure what to say to say about this. I absolutely love the autumn around here, but I also love the spring, summer and winter. Each season has its good points. When the leaves turn there is a tendency to grab all your pretty colors and just start throwing color around. That will lead to what my uncle called calendar art. You know, the garish things with the cranked up chromas that wind up on calendars. For that reason I often shy away from the classic red tree and sunsets too for that matter. But occasionally one slips through. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right? Well this one slipped through, but it's really not about the bright fall colors. It's about the way the light falls on the tree stump. That's my story, I'm sticking to it.

Study for Autumn Forest

Oil on Panel
12 x 9

I look at the calendar and it's been over two months since I last posted anything. Where did the summer go? Well, I'm still alive and kicking, just a little lazy when it comes to taking pictures of pictures. I'd planned on waiting until the fall to post this due to subject matter, but I really need to get into the habit of putting new work up more often. So, here you go, a little painting of a fall forest's edge. Nothing really special, but not too bad either. As a teaser, it's more of a study for a bigger painting yet to come, hopefully in the not too distant future. Wait for it.

Yellow Rose

7 x 14
Oil on Canvas

I've posted a lot of people lately so maybe it's time for a change. Here's a little rose still life. I actually did this a year or two ago and just recently reworked it. The flower just wasn't right, it looked a bit on the wooden side. I hope you'll agree it's better now. This one went through a lot of changes to get to this point. At first it was a very light, airy piece with a tile wall for a background, but that didn't quite work. So I thought, maybe more dramatic lighting. No good at all. Then one night I was sitting around and noticed all the brick surrounding the fireplace. Maybe the contrast of textures along with the stronger lighting would work. I think it worked pretty well. The strip on the bottom isn't working though so maybe it's not as done as I thought. I think I need to lighten it or maybe take it out completely.

I've been looking at some of my older things that are still laying around. Things I thought were pretty good at the time, well, not so much now. There may be quite a bit of reworking going on around here.

Portrait in Oil

oil on canvas
10 x 8

One last portrait to show, this time in oil. This one is more dramatic than most of my work, but I think it works. I wanted a kind of "in your face" look this time. I also wanted to see how far I could push the values and chroma before it went off the deep end.

I've posted some pencil portraits recently so I think another one isn't really necessary. In these last few posts I've tried to show my range in portrait mediums and styles. I hope you get the idea of what I try to capture. Oh, did I mention I take commissions?

Shawl and Rose

Watercolor
16 x 9

In keeping with the portrait theme here's a one in watercolor. Most of my portraits are in either oil or some drawing medium, but I can do them in watercolor too.

Crown of Flowers

Silverpoint
10 x 8

I thought I would post of series of portraits over the next few days. If you like them, I am available for commissions if you feel so inclined. This one is silverpoint which I really like especially for more delicate pieces like this. It's great for smaller, more intimate drawings. It allows for a great amount of detail in a small space if the subject calls for it, and it gets better with age as the silver tarnishes.

I will also be showing watercolor, oil and maybe a pencil over the next few days.

Curls

silverpoint
12 x 9

It occurred to me that the last two posts were of the same model. She's really quite a beautiful young woman, but you can't really tell that from the previous posts. So here's one where you can see her a bit better. I don't consider this to be one of my better pieces, but it's not too bad and it is a decent likeness.