Wednesday, February 29, 2012

STATUE IN MID-DAY SUN


I completed this watercolor some time ago as a study for a larger painting. The statue is situated in downtown Washington DC and is a favorite of mine. I first saw it on one of my many walks around the city and was really taken by the light and shadow along with all the intricacies of the work. After finishing a small on-site study, the painting was completed in the studio. Unfortunately this is not the best pic of the finished painting but it is the only one I have. I am unable to take a better photo of it as I have since lost sight of this work - if anybody knows where this painting is, please let me know, thanks.
Statue In Mid-day Sun is 11" X 7.5".

Friday, February 17, 2012

SPRING EVENING NEAR QUIMBY BRIDGE

A few years ago I spent some time with a friend driving about the South Virginian waterways looking at the sights, exploring backwaters and painting. It was a memorable time and important for me as it made me appreciate the Eastern Shore and brought an understanding to my work that hadn't been there before. This is one of the paintings to come out of that trip and I remember some amazing sunsets that has inspired me to paint more skies. In this work, I have concentrated more on the reflection of the late evening clouds and kept the colors reduced to a limited palette. For me, there is no better experience than being out in nature seeing things first-hand and now that the weather is beginning to warm up, I'll be out painting that much more. This oil is 9" X 12". SOLD.

Monday, February 6, 2012

SUNDOWN NEAR BEAVER LAKE


Well here is my first post for 2012! I have been away for an extended holiday and unfortunately wasn't able to post from where I was staying. So I wanted to take this time to wish my followers and friends a very belated Happy New Year!
I have a lot to catch up on with much news and new paintings so here to start is an oil that I did last year. This one started out as more of a study than a finished painting as it developed from an idea that I had in my head so had to rely on my memory for most of the details. I wasn't sure if it would work out so at the beginning I started in quite roughly laying in the sky and lower clouds. When I could see that something close to my expectations was emerging, I slowed down and using more paint cleaned up the painting and added more detail. The work all stemmed from a short photography trip that I took with my friend Paco late last year. Looking at his beautiful and somewhat unusual photographs over the years, I have been inspired to try harder with my own photos. It was only when returning from the trip that I happened to look back and saw this view. I distinctly remember a deep vibrant red across the horizon with purplish clouds above. My camera's CF card was full so couldn't even take a photo of it and had to rely on my memory. I feel I did come close to what I saw in this work but may still do a little work on the foreground but I'm quite happy with the painting as it is. Size is 18" X 24".