Fall is upon us.
It is almost time for another new show at the gallery and I will have two new paintings entered. Additionally, I just delivered a commissioned piece to a long-time client from Massachusetts. She had told me about the beautiful blue hydrangeas she grows on the Cape. She asked me to do a painting that would allow her to see them all year long. Using photos of local pink hydrangeas and some photos of her own blue ones, I designed and painted the piece I call Rhapsody in Blue. Instead of canvas, I decided that this one lent itself to a vertical wooden panel. As the panel was fairly thick, it allowed me to paint the image all around the edges so as not to need a frame               


  One of the two paintings for the gallery show I called Down the Road.     It  is based on a photo that my daughter took of a young friend and her new horse. As she is working on training and developing a companionship with him, this image, hopefully, conveys the growing trust as they move together toward whatever is next.

The other new piece is titled King of the Woodpile. There are some wild peacocks here on the island that have become somewhat infamous. Some of the residents in the neighborhood where they roam believe they should be protected as they have been here for many years. Others who have more recently built in the area would like them to go away as they are sometimes destructive to car finishes and can leave some messes where they wander. So far, protection seems to be winning. I love them for their gorgeous colors and haughty attitude.

A Few New Paintings

It has been a busy time the last few months with travels between Florida and Maryland and Illinois for family events. I did manage to complete a few new paintings for the next opening in our gallery.
The first two are from previous trips to Italy.
 

 

The Balcony The carved stone. The iron work. The recessed windows and doors. All of these make the balconies on older buildings in Europe so attractive.

 

 

Rialto This famous landmark is known to all visitors to Venice. It is one of the many charming sites that make that city so popular with tourists and inspires me to paint another scene of Italy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making Waves The back of our gallery looks across a small pond toward the golf course. One day as I was sitting in the gallery I looked out the window and noticed a pair of ducks swimming across the quiet pond. The pattern of their wake caught my attention and inspired me to try and capture it on canvas.

Bright, sunny and warm
As I lie here in bed recovering from my second surgery in just over a month (knee this time, back four weeks before), the scene through  the window makes me long for the outdoors. I am anxious to feel the warmth of the sun and  the promise of a fresh canvas as I dip my brush into bright colors. But, the doctors say I must be patient,  "perhaps in a week or two".
Since my last posting I have managed to complete three new paintings, start a fourth and do preliminary sketches for a commission piece from a good client.    

While on  a visit with relatives in south Florida I wandered outside to do a little exploring. The property backs up to a canal which gives the residents boating access to deeper waters. I was amazed at how still and quiet it was. The only sounds were the rustlings of the iguanas as they searched the plantings for a tasty morsel. There was almost no movement in the water giving it a mirror-like appearance. Almost every detail was reflected. So, I titled that painting "Still Waters".



Here on the island the first weekend in May is time for the annual "Shrimp Fest".  Every year there is the celebration of what was a major industry here in the past along with a very important outdoor show of art and antiques. Estimates are up to 100,000 visitors come to enjoy the food and art. The part that has always interested me has been the colorful crowds. The diversity of the people enjoying themselves all together is more exciting than most of the exhibits. Since I was not going to be able to join in the festivities this year, I tried to capture some of the feeling based on snapshots from previous years. I call this painting "Centre Street Crowd".

As a longtime admirer of Western artists Remington and Russell, I often thought I would like to try my hand at cowboy art. Since I had done numerous animal paintings in recent years and felt comfortable with those subjects, when a friend offered me photos of a local rodeo for reference material, I decided that the time had come. I tried to depict the concentration of the cowboys, the skill and training of the horses and the determination to escape of the cow. This one is named "Rodeo Practice".

It has been a while...
Production has slowed somewhat over the past few months due to lots of family happenings. I did manage to complete two new paintings for the gallery show opening this week and a commission painting for a client.

"Welly"(short for Wellington) was a rush commission for a client. She wanted to give her daughter a surprise portrait of her new dog for a Christmas present. All I had to work from were some small phone photos that she passed on to me. With only days to spare it was finished, dried, varnished and packaged.








The two new paintings for the gallery show came from photos I shot on European vacations a couple of years ago. One of the things I particularly enjoy is watching people on the streets in cities around the world. "The Shoppers" is an example of capturing the scene as I try to imagine what the people are thinking about as they stroll along gazing into the shops and cafes.

"Light Lunch" came from a visit to a waterfront restaurant in Dubrovnik. We had stopped for lunch after a morning of touring the city. As we came to the table overlooking the boats at anchor, I knew immediately that this was a special place that I would one day try to capture on canvas.

It took a while to plan out the image as it needed to be very vertical. I ended up painting on a gallery-wrapped canvas that is twice as long as it is wide. Although you can't see it here, the image continues around the sides. This one hangs unframed so that none of the image is covered.