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

Flowered Mermaid

SOLD

Back to the Mermaids, I think I have six more to go! This one is another 5x7






























I've spent several days now playing around with the big piece. I do the background in acrylic...mostly primer. It enables me to make changes quickly in color and composition. I'm now satisfied with the comp. There are small dark mussel shells in the setup that will be added later...maybe. It's very exhilerating working large again....36x48". Fun also to play with the paint in a free abstract way. This style of "Scatter Painting" satisfies my craving for abstract work as well as intense realism.

Diver Dans

SOLD

8x6 oil

The strange paths of inspiration

I haven't been doing any daily work since the last mermaid, but things have been brewing. I had the opening of my first one man exhibit Friday evening. I'm sorry I didn't get any decent pictures to post...here is one with my friend Louise standing in front of the Dots Painting. Most of the Food paintings can be seen on my website.

What I really wanted to write about is how a conversation with a guest at the reception sparked an image that became overwhelmingly strong in my mind...to the point where I've compulsivley started a rather large painting during a very inopportune time. In my scatter painting series I have often painted loosely rendered rectangles as a background for the objects I depict. I never gave this much thought except that perhaps it was a throwback to some of the abstract work I used to enjoy painting many years ago...linear, rectangular shapes. I liked the idea of combining a little painterly abstractness with the realism. Anyway to get to my point, I stopped doing these backgrounds last year. The Ala Prima Cheese Curls was the last. I thought for sure I would only be doing "real" backgrounds from here on in...and yet. And yet this woman was questioning me intensly about my style of work and she mentioned that the rectangles reminded her of the faded ( or unfaded as the case may be!) spots left on wallpaper after a long hanging painting has been removed. I couldn't get the thought out of my mind. Suddenly all those backgrounds took on a new meaning, one I had been thinking about, but not really conciously. I realized I wasn't through with them after all. These musings then awoke an image in my mind....mostly about color. Several ideas I had been thinking about on and off suddenly crystalized. Wow. I had to start the painting. I wanted to write down the process while it's fresh in my mind. If I bored you all ..so sorry. This stuff can be quite emotional for me...which is why I paint I suppose. Here is the started painting. 36x48. There will be plenty of change, and maybe it wiill never become the image I have in my mind ( they rarely do) but at least I got something down....well there is a presketch as well, but I'm not showing that. I know I will not have much time to paint over the next 10 days, but I was afraid if I didn't begin right away I would lose the image...something that has happened too many times in the past.

Mer-Girl

SOLD

7x5 oil/panel

Starburst !!

This 11x14 oil is from May of 2005. I needed to record an image for my records so I thought I'd post a pic here on the blog. It is also to acknowledge my first one man exhibit! I'll be showing at Dante Hall in Atlantic City, starting this Friday, December 15th until February 1st. The exhibit is in conjunction with the Noyes Musuem in Oceanville, N.J.

I'll be featuring the food paintings from my ongoing still life series I call "Scatter Paintings".

Big Haired Mermaid

SOLD

She looks like she could be singing in the B52's!

Munch's Mermaid that I saw in Philadelphia last year also came to mind when I was painting her, however when I looked the image up, I see no real resemblance whatsoever. Memory is a funny thing with painting. Check out Duane Keiser's post on this matter.

Most of these pieces are Occupied Japan. I hope I'm not getting too cute by placing them on mossy rocks from the garden.

Mer-Boy

SOLD

5x7 oil/panel

A Face only Frazetta could love!

Backside Mermaid

SOLD

This one reminds me of my cat Edie, who loves to lounge around with her back to the world, facing the wall...Much Attitude!

5x7 oil/panel

I spent Yesterday at the Met in NYC. Several excellent exhibits going on. Of main interest for me was The Americans in Paris and the Ambroise Vollard;Cezanne to Picasso exhibits. While visiting some of my old favorites the other half took this pic without my knowledge...I wish he had captured me in front of "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit" by Sargent...that painting just blew me away. I really could have just spent the entire day studying that masterpiece. Wow.

Second Red-Tailed Mermaid

Sold

It's good to be back to the mermaids after such a busy week with my yearly studio show/open house. The color and value are a bit off with this photo. I may repost the pic later if I can get a better image.

6x8 oil/canvas

Malachite Egg and Black Rubber Frog

I keep no fresh eggs around so I chose to paint this one... it's semi-precious. Sort of like nearly-valuable.

5x7 oil/panel

Blue Mermaid

SOLD

I was thinking of calling her Mona.

5x7 oil/panel

Mermaid on a Rock

SOLD

A friend has given me access to her ceramic mermaid collection... I find these little figurines irresistable. I must say.... they are more challenging to paint then I expected! Almost like life drawing class. A really fun subject never the less.

5x7 oil

Tipsy Elephant

I picked this little ornament up years ago in Cambria Ca. I guess he's supposed to be Dumbo. I've seen a house fly, I've seen a horse fly...but I aint never seen an elephant fly!

5x7 oil/panel

Doll

SOLD

This little figure is in with my Christmas stuff...I think she must be Asian. Anway I did this version of her several days ago, but it's been very stormy here in the northeast and she definitely needed natural light to be photographed.

5x7 oil

Borrowed Time Roses

SOLD

So far I have not yet had a killing frost in my yard...highly unusual. Most of my neighbors have, but for some reason just my yard has been spared, perhaps because I am on a hill covered with Oak Trees. These roses are still blooming. Every day I see them is like one more gift of twenty four hours. All the leaves have fallen and the temperature is in the thirties at night, yet still they hang on...I love that.

8x10 oil/panel

Leap Frog

I've been letting "busy" take over. I thought about it today and figured I would stop the daily paintings until I do my cards, shows, seasonal crunch at the day job and other "busy" things ....then I thought about it again. I don't want to loose the momentum, so I'll allow busy as I must, but I'm still going to try and paint as many of these per week as I can.

*Frogs have several personal meanings to me...all of which shall remain personal. On this post anyway!

5x7 oil

Hanging Ornament

5x7 oil on panel

Second Study of Old Garage Window

SOLD

Most days for the last month I've looked out the window as the sun sets and been facinated by the light on the flag peeking through my old garage, Today I set up the paints on the bathroom sink and set to it...here's the result. I didn't realize until someone pointed it out later that this is a rather appropriate subject for Veterans Day....Although I'd rather see the flag flying high in honor of the men and women who have served ( and died) for this country ( and others).

My lines are rarely straight in my attempts at architecture and the photo set things on a further tilt, but the feeling is there I think. This would probably make a good larger piece with more time and attention. 8x10 oil/panel

Holly Sprig

4x6 oil/panel

Third Two Christmas Balls

This is a small one
3.5 x 3.5 inches

Second Two Christmas Balls

5x7 oil/panel

A few years ago my mother asked me if I wanted some of the old Christmas balls she bought when our family lived in France in the early sixties. I was thrilled to get them ...and realized for the first time that they were in fact "Made in America"
...Nice old ornaments just the same. Filled with nice old memories as they should be.

Ever After

6x8 oil/canvas

Book with medallion

8x10 oil/panel

Two Christmas Balls

6x8 oil panel
Always fun to slip in the subtle self portrait in reflective subjects!



I have two holday shows coming up. Man this time of year comes on like gangbusters. It's a very busy time in the flower shop as well. As usual in life...everything always happens at once. A good time of year to make money, but I can't wait for January when I can devote the month to painting. Winter is a time when I can do larger paintings. These small ( almost) daily pieces are wonderful practice, but I really like working large as well.

Red Flower, Blue Flower

SOLD
I brought my hibiscus inside for the winter, it's covered with buds. here is the first of the "Indoor Season". I realize after looking at the photo of this that the elipse is off on the bottom of the inkwell. Will fix that this afternoon. With daylight savings I'm now recording the artwork in the morning when it's light so the posts will be a day behind.

Old, Borrowed, New & Blue

The brick I borrowed from a friend, it came from the Tomb of Augustus in Rome, The Blue Jay feather I found last month...and the jawbone? I have no idea where that came from. Once again indulging my love of hard edged details. I may return to this in a few days, needs some more detailing :) 9x12 oil/panel

Third Octopus

8x10 oil/panel

Second Octopus

SOLD
4x6 canvas



Not quite as blue as the photo, it's really overcast this afternoon,

Octopus

8x10 oil/panel


A study for another work in my octo series. I find these extremely fun to paint. Small deceased animals are so compelling to me. It's not an easy subject to sell, but then I ask myself what( and who ) am I painting for exactly? Too many answers to that question. I'll save myself some brain ache and just keep going on instinct.

On a side note, I participated as a judge in a juried art show today. It was a first for me and I was ( luckily ) able to rely a bit on the experience of the two other jurors. We had to select 50 paintings out of 157 entries and then of course choose the prize winners. Not an easy process, but very interesting. The show is presented by the Ocean City Art Center and runs for the month of November. I can vouch that it is a collection of very fine work in a wide range of style and technique.

Baby Chinese Cabbage

4x6 oil/canvas




Not too far from my home there is a huge Asian Market. One of my favorite places. I have found many an inspiration in their vast and diversified inventory.

.....for paintings and meals!

Two Inkwells

I worked on this 5x7 oil a bit more after taking the picture, but now it's too dark to get a decent photo so I'll go ahead and post this one...Fixed the elipse on the green bottle and made a few other adjustments. I got caught up in the background of faint blue light shining through dark venition blinds ( in case you were wondering what those stripes are )...Yesterday's painting was not worthy of posting....I was going to title this one "Not Bittersweet"! It goes that way sometimes...For me painting is almost like an act of faith. When things don't go well I have to believe that by persistant practice they'll get better again...heck even better then before. So far in the last twenty months that has pretty much proven to be true.