DECEMBER MORNING

This scene looking across snowy fields is set at dawn in an area just north of where I live. I have often painted around Rachael Carson Park in Northern Montgomery County where there are a few farms surrounded by open fields dotted with the occasional woodlot. Clear and cold is how I remember the day, frozen snow crackling underfoot, no wind and a certain peaceful solitude that spoke deeply to me. Size is 12" x 14", oil on canvas.

AFTERNOON SUN IV

This painting is the second or third version that I did of a window that I used to pass every day on my way to the island ferry while living on Lamma in Hong Kong. One day in the afternoon, I noticed how the sun created these exciting shadows against the wall and I knew that I had to paint what I saw. A few drawings were done on site then a larger watercolor study. I did the first version using acrylic on board that sold soon after I had painted it. Then quite a few years later did this one on gessoed watercolor paper. I made the window slightly less rectangular than in the original and kept the work relatively small but still hope to do a large version someday. The painting has hung over our bed since then and is still one of my favorite. I feel that I came as close to saying what I wanted to say with this work than with any other that I have painted. Recently I took it out of the frame as there were a few areas that I wanted to work on. Washes of acrylic had settled into the texture of the paper creating an even mottling effect that I didn't like so I carefully painted over this making it much less noticeable. I also slightly darkened the area surrounding the window so there was less of a contrast then slightly lightened some areas on the wall. The shadows were made slightly warmer and the bars slightly more grey-blue than they had before. Finally happy with the update, I re-photographed the painting then put it back in the frame. The area that this window came from has seen many changes and this building has long since been destroyed. I am really glad that I took the time and effort so many years ago to document the many architectural details of the surrounding buildings as most all of these old Chinese houses are gone.

ALONG THE CAPE, PART 4

Finishing off this study now that I had most of the values correctly indicated was a case of completing the foreground rocks and vegetation followed with a little more detail painting done to the coastline. All along I tried to keep the image bright and airy although my camera hasn't quite captured the blues of the original. Size is 8" x 10", oil on canvas.

ALONG THE CAPE, PART 3

While there may not seem to be much difference between this stage and the last one, I realized that after looking at the painting for some time that the shadowed area of the outcrop needed to be darker so I re-painting it. Immediately I felt better about the work and could see my way to continue. Smaller details were added here and there, some work was done to the sea and further work sculpting the foreground rocks seemed to lead the eye into the scene.

ALONG THE CAPE, PART 2

Here I have started work on the almost sheer rock outcrop using cool greys then some slightly warmer ones to create some detail. Brighter greens at the top add a nice accent. I have also lightly indicated the shadows within the foreground rocks but will hold off on completing this area until the headland is finished. So much for wanting to paint this study in a loose manner! Details have crept in all over the place and I feel that I have lost sight of my original goal. It is at this point that I become discouraged with the painting and put it aside for awhile. Next I hope to make some changes and find inspiration.

ALONG THE CAPE, PART 1

When living in South Africa, I traveled around the country quite a lot and found it to be diverse and quite beautiful. I moved to Cape Town for a few months in the 80's working on renovating a wing of the Groote Schuur Hospital (where Christiaan Barnard successfully completed the first open-heart transplant). I was deeply impressed not only by the stunning beauty of the Cape but also by the many buildings, homes and gardens - many built in the Dutch style with gabled ends and thatched roofs. In my spare time (which I have to say was not that much!), I explored the region driving from Cape Town to Hout Bay to Simon's Town around to False Bay and points in between, drawing and painting the places I found most interesting. I particularly have fond memories of walking the slopes of Table Mountain, watching birds, sketching and feeding the tame deer to be found there. I'm very much looking forward to another visit - hopefully next year.
The view in this painting is along the coast looking down over a headland and across the many miles of wild Atlantic sea. Since most of the details will be in the foreground rocks, I kept the sea and sky simple. I had planned to do a loose interpretation of the scene but as you will see later, this was not to be!

APPROACHING NOON

Finally here is the finished painting! The completion of this work took longer than I had thought it would and there are still a few areas that I'll probably work on over the next few days. I'll also try and post a slightly better photo as this one came out a little blotchy showing more texture than there is in the actual painting. Finally I am feeling a sense of completion as I slowly work through some of the many unfinished paintings here in the studio. Another one was finished off just yesterday and will post pics of that one soon. There are also a few new paintings on the go as well so expect to see them coming up here in the not too distant future. 'Approaching Noon', watercolor on Fabriano paper, 30" X 22".