Golden Tailed Mermaid

sold 6" x 7 1/2"

Here is the final Mermaid in the Series. I'm not quite finished with some of the detailing around the base, but I wanted to post the photo, because I know my favorite collector will be watching for her. These were wonderful to paint Marion, Thankyou for the opportunity. I'll be posting the best of the bunch all together when I take the final photos.

Cermaic Mermiad on a Plastic Plate ( Rear view )

Sold 5x7
The closure of yesterday's posting wasn't enough. Here she is one more time ;)

Happy Birthday Dad

My father is a commercial fisherman. For his Birthday I've been doing these handpainted cards in sepia. He really likes them. This year is a WeakFish ,next year's fish will be a Spot.

5x7 watercolor card

Small Shell Painting

Warm shells from a warm place on a cold snowy day. 4x6 oil

While I don't often show unsuccesful works I thought I'd post this photo of the lost mermaid, This is the third attempt and now I'm wiping her clean to start again tomorrow. It's frustrating when things don't flow nicely, but part of the paint of growing. I'm just glad it happens a lot less frequently then it used to.

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....funny, I wrote "paint" instead of pain...well that works!

Shells and Rock

5x7

...coming soon, the final round of mermaids!

Return to Oils

I've returned to oil, but still got Florida on my mind.

Shell Fragments 5x7

Jonathan Dickinson State Park

not for sale

Here are the last two Florida paintings ( that I'm showing ). This was a great place to camp along the Loxahatchee River. These are some flowers and seedpods that were growing around the campsight.

More Watercolor Studies

Not for Sale

Here is a selection of a few more watercolor studies from my trip to Florida. When I look at these I can feel the warm sun that was streaming in when I painted them. It is quite cold and getting ready to snow today here in New Jersey. I must admit I like that too. I love to visit tropical climes, but I think the change of seasons is one of my greatest inspirations. The warm would never be as sweet without the cold. I'll be posting one more day of Florida pictures tomorrow. I returned to daily oil painting this morning. I found it's easier to switch from oils to watercolor, then to switch back to oil painting after two weeks of watercolors. Interesting.

Thing with Barnacles

not for sale

OK I'm not sure what it is...a seed or some kind of fruit or nut. I liked the barnacles on it... it was about the size of a golfball and it reminded me of Mickey Mouse. ..Walking on the beach in Florida for the first time since 1983 I was totally facinated by everything. As I gathered stuff I wondered if the locals took the shells for granted like everyone does with the clams and things here at the Jersey Shore. Then I wondered...Are there actually any locals in southeastern Florida?

Man O War

approx 6x6 not for sale

These lethal blue jellyfish were all over the beaches in Juno. Here is a tiny one caught in kelp that I was able to bring back and paint. Except for occasional studies in sepia I haven' t worked with watercolors in about 15 years. It was really fun using them again while I was in Florida. There wasn't much time to paint so the watercolors were a nice quick alternative. The studies I'm posting are not for sale, these visual diaries of my trip are so much more precious then photos.

Two Weeks Gone

I folks...I'm going to Florida for a couple of weeks...first vacation in three years!! That's not really a complaint, because I gave up luxuries like vacations so I could pursue my painting. That was two years ago this March. I am taking...or as Katherine would say...Traveling with my sketchbook! I will not however have access to a computer, so look for the next update around the twentieth.

Third Red Tailed Mermaid

Sold

Sheer pleasure painting this Occupied Japan gem.

6x8 oil

Crocodile Mermaid

Sold

I'm going to revisit this one after it dries a few days and add some of the linear texture to the croc.

8x10 oil

Clams III update

I added 6 mussel shells, but only three remain .

Mer- Baby

5x7 oil