Featured Artist

  When I was selected to be the featured artist for this past month at the gallery I assembled a show that I titled "Four-legged Focal Points -- and a couple of twos". This was a conglomeration of a number of my animal and bird paintings from the past few years. I was quite happy with the way it looked. The show received many compliments, some good publicity and a potential commission. While sales were not at the level I had hoped for, it was still a success for me.

Now it is time for the gallery to change the regular quarterly show. I will be exhibiting three new pieces that have been recently completed.










Two of these are from inspirations I had during this past Summer's trip to London. The third was from Portugal during a stop as we sailed north.


In St. James Park, across from the Churchill War Rooms, there is a delightful cottage surrounded by flowers. The patterns of the roof tiles and those of the fences especially caught my interest. What an idyllic spot. 

One morning as I walked away from Buckingham on my way toward the Wellington Arch, I was suddenly greeted with the magnificent sight of the Royal Horse Guard on their way to the palace. To me this was the epitome of the pomp and circumstance one associates with Great Britain. I had to try and capture it.

While stopping in Porto, Portugal, I glanced across a narrow street and saw this lady obviously lost in thought. She seemed so oblivious to the world around her that the scene spoke to me of those moments during the day when we are truly alone.

Time flies!
It's hard to believe that three months have gone by since I last posted the entries for the gallery show. Now it is time to submit new entries. Three of the last group are still at the gallery. The ducks sold quickly to a nice English lady from London and New York. Perhaps I will revisit them at a later date.

Again, two of the three new entries are from last November's sailing trip around Spain and Portugal.
The Jazz Singer is based on some entertainers that we enjoyed on the yacht. The lovely voice and the poise of the young singer along with the artistry of her pianist father made for some very pleasant evenings. The feeling I was aiming for was enjoyment of good entertainment without the need for  extraneous fancy special effects.

The second one from that trip Training Ride portrays a couple of bicyclists that I spotted on a coastal road in Spain.

I was taken by their matching outfits and the symmetry of their pedaling. I assumed that they must be part of a team or club and were training for an upcoming event.






 
The other entry came from this side of the Atlantic. While attending a wedding in Miami Beach a few months ago, we found ourselves with a few hours to kill on a rather warm afternoon. So, we decided to sit by the hotel's pool and relax. As I was leaning back on a lounge chair I turned toward the wading pool and spotted a group of decidedly not children cooling off in the water. The were having some rather animated conversations and the incongruity of the scene struck me as a likely humorous painting. I call this one Confab at the kiddie pool.

Here We Go Again

Time for another show at the gallery and I have been busily painting in preparation. Four new pieces will be added. Three of them are from last fall's trip through Spain. I found a lot of inspiration on that trip and hopefully will experience the same on this year's trip through France and on to London.
One of the highlights of the trip was the visits to vineyards and wine producers. Beyond the tastings, I was taken with the care and cleanliness of the expanses of vines. Spanish Vineyard is a large canvas I painted to show just that.

During a visit to one of the coastal cities, we happened upon the horse drawn carriages used to transport and entertain tourists. I was immediately drawn to the first horse in the row when I saw him resting his hoof on the curb. I knew that would become a painting that I would name Oh, My Aching Foot!

The third of the Spanish inspired paintings came from a visit to a farm. I enjoyed close encounters with sheep, goats, pigs, ducks and chickens. I especially liked the intermingling of the ducks and geese.  This scene reminded me of a children's game Duck, Duck, Goose.

The fourth piece came to me one day on a local golf course. As I encountered the brazen attitudes of a flock of Canada Geese, I thought this might make an amusing little painting. I call it Playing Through.

A Change of Pace
Although  I have been painting with oils for many years, I had never really given any thought to trying watercolors. I only knew that I had heard it was a difficult medium to use--especially without training. On a whim, sometime last year, I bought some watercolors and paper. I put them in my studio and pretty much forgot about them. Recently, I found some extra time with nothing planned. So I dug out the untouched supplies and decided to try to learn how to use them. I have now completed three pieces. While I am still not totally comfortable (or very knowledgeable) with them, I think the pieces are presentable enough to be seen. I will slip them into a bin at the gallery that contains original unframed pieces and see what kind of reaction I get from customers. The first I titled Old Barn. Based on some old barns that you might see in the country down south, I was going for the weathered, peaceful look of a barnyard with a few chickens scratching around.

The second one I attempted was based on a photo I shot while vacationing in Europe a few years ago.  Quiet Harbor spoke to me with its lack of activity and the orderliness of the repetitive shapes of all the boats tied up at the seawall.

The last of the three is from a photo I shot some years ago on a trip in the Caribbean. I painted it in oils then and called the painting Island Transport. The new watercolor version I titled Island Freighter.  If you have time, you can go back through my blogs and compare the two.

Three New Paintings

It has been an eventful few months since my last posting--a real roller coaster of emotions. First, we had a wonderful cruise aboard a sailing yacht from Barcelona to Lisbon. It was particularly enjoyable as we traveled with old friends whom we don't get to see very often anymore. The trip was spectacular in that it was a wine and food tour. We sampled many fine wines from Spain--I lost count about 45, and the food was excellent also. There should be a number of paintings coming from the reference photos I shot along the way. Two of them are completed and you can see them now.
Unfortunately, when we arrived home we found that my mother had been hospitalized for bronchitis and began a spiraling down from there. Several falls led to additional hospitalizations and then came the pneumonia. She passed away in early January at nearly 96 years old.
Prior to that, we had both daughters and their families visiting with us for the holidays. Six additional people plus another dog made for some happy chaos. When they returned for the funeral along with additional relatives, it wasn't as happy but strangely comforting.
In all the confusion, I did manage to finish three new paintings and begin a fourth. Rest Stop is based on local scenery here.

I find it interesting the way wildlife adapts to our intrusions into their world. The scene was comfortingly peaceful.
 The other two paintings are from the trip. Flamenco used a red palette to try to capture the vibrancy and excitement of the local dance troupes. Swirling costumes and exuberant Spanish guitars exude energy and love of life.

The third, Looking at Ewe, came from a day trip where I was wandering around a farm in Southern Spain and came across a flock of sheep grazing. Most of them totally ignored me, but one seemed as curious about me as I was of her.

I am nearly finished with a Spanish vineyard landscape and will post that sometime soon.