6"x6"x6" Show

Here are the little oil paintings I am currently showing in LibertyTown's 6"x6"x6" Show:

 Autumn Field 3"x3" Oil on canvas

 Calm Sea 3"x3"  Oil on canvas

 Poppies 4"x4" Oil on canvas

 Southern France 3"x3" Oil on canvas

 Wheat Field 3"x3"  Oil on canvas

Whitecaps 3"x3"  Oil on canvas

Been playing with oils

I took a workshop the other day with Andre Lucero who lives in Goochland VA and is an wonderful landscape painter. He also does amazing portraits. I decided to try my hand at oils for the first time since college. They now make them water soluable so there is no smelly turpentine or linseed oil. Easy clean up too. We watched Andre demonstrate a plein air landscape then proceeded to do one ourselves. Here is my attempt:

It was really a lot of fun and I learned so much. I will probably do more oils but it takes some thought because it's totally backwards from the way I paint with watercolor.

Don Crow Workshop

I know, I know, it's been a while. But I'm back to my painting again and have been quite productive the past 2 weeks. I took a painting class through VCU with Don Crow and did a lot of self-exploration. One thing led to another and I got started in a new direction. I found that I was enjoying simple landscapes and was making them up rather than looking at a photo. This one was one of my favorites:

"storm's a-comin'"  11"x7" watercolor on Arches 300#  

 I incorporated the wash technique I learned from Iain Stewart in February and did a bit of wet-on-wet work using a credit card as a tool. Some of the fine details were done with a rigger brush.

The last working day of class I decided to use up some scraps of paper and made a dozen postcard-size landscapes. The sky was was done with a squirrel mop brush, applying color onto wet paper. The details were done completely with a rigger. I kept the palette in the pastel range for most of them and let the bottom color bleed into the damp sky. Nothing was planned ahead of putting color to the paper. I just let the marks and bleeds inform the picture. On some of them, I did nothing else. On others I added a bit of detail after the wash dried. I would love to hear what you think about them. They are so much fun to do and so very different from my usual illustrative, detailed style. They are all approximately 3"x5". Enjoy! (Be sure to click on them to see the image larger.)

 Landscape #1

 Landscape #2

 Landscape #3

 Landscape #4

 Landscape #5

Landscape #6

 Landscape #7

 Landscape #8

 Landscape #9

Landscape #10

 Landscape #11

Landscape #12

Show in Italy

As a member of FaceBook's Sketching Workshop, I was invited to submit a square sketch of a photo from a street scene in Pozzuolo, Italy. This is a community art project (local & international) in Palazzo Moretti. Thirty-two photos of a street view were transformed into 32 art pieces. Each sketch became part of a panoramic streetview exhibition in April and May, 2014, in Palazzo Moretti. Here is my sketch.

And here is the photo I was sent to work from...

Retired and lovin' life!

Some of you know this, but in Feb. this year I retired from my job as marketing director of a non-profit organization where I've worked for 12 years. Now I'm enjoying vacation mode and looking forward to more time to paint, garden and enjoy my family and friends. I've been working in my studio every day since I retired and am getting a lot done. Next up is a one-day workshop on Illustrated Journaling at Water Street Studio in Fredericksburg, VA. My friends Elizabeth and Lynette have graciously included me in their roster of instructors and I look forward to a long relationship with them. Here is the flyer for the workshop in case you would like to join us.

42nd International Sketch Crawl

It was far too cold to do an outside sketch crawl here yesterday. I was the only one who showed up anyway so I did a sketch of the coffee shop with my friend Risa. I'm probably going to add some color but thought I'd post the ink drawing anyway.

42nd International Sketch Crawl announce

The next sketch crawl is Sat. Jan. 25th. We're going to concentrate on architecture in downtown Fredericksburg. 10:30 a.m. at Hyperion Espresso. Join us!

January 11

Hi! Sorry I've been away for a while. Been busy. I've joined a new online sketching group and have gotten very involved. Here are some of my sketches for the portraits section. These are some of the other sketchers who shared a photo of themselves.

And here are some that were done of me:

!