Happy New Year !!!

Happy Holidays everyone !

Just finished two birdhouses

The Harbor Country Public Arts Initiative is having its 4th Annual Birdhouse auction on January 11, 2013 at the Marina Grand Resort. This is always a fun evening and its great to see all the wonderful birdhouses. I just finished these two this morning.

Two new paintings finished

Here are a couple of new painting which are much smaller than the last batch that I finished. These are 20 x 20" on canvas done with acrylic paints. Enchanted Nude Low Sun / Happy Nude

Sketch for a new painting in my new series

This new sketch was created on the computer using the Photoshop Elements 2 program. I drew a grid on it so that it would be easy to transfer my basic drawing onto the canvas before I begin painting.

Happy Halloween !

Sketch for new painting

This sketch was created on the computer. I am starting some new paintings and will be creating the preliminary sketches using Photoshop Elements 3 on a Mac computer. I think that I'll title this painting "Dreamwalker 3".

ArtPrize 2012 has ended

My paintings were located in a great spot in the B.O.B. building, on the second floor, right at the entrance to the Bobarino Restaurant. The painting was a diptych, painted on canvas 98 x 48". Craig Smith, my gallery owner, and I picked up the paintings a couple of days ago. With everything that I had going on, including a five day trip to Dallas, I really didn't have time to see the whole ArtPrize exhibition.

Had a great time in Dallas

The last time I was in Dallas was 35 years ago, I was doing a brochure for Texstar Plastics. The city has really changed, lots of beautiful new buildings. My painting exhibition was at the George Cameron Nash space in the Dallas Design Center. Lots of decorator/ designers showed up for the opening. Here are a few photos of the city, our hotel and the exhibition space. A few shots of the city which has some very interesting buildings. A couple of photos of our elegant hotel, the Adolphus. which is 100 years old, a beautiful place. \ Gloria came along and enjoyed the event. This is the space where my exhibition was hung, a perfect environment

Back from Dallas

Gloria and I had a great time in Dallas. The last time that I was there was about 35 years ago, things have really changed, what a city ! My paintings for the exhibition were hung exceptionally well, it was great to see them in a pleasant setting. The George Cameron Nash space at the Dallas Design Center is a large area full of very interesting furniture, lamps and other great items. The exhibition was for other designer/ decorators and about 50 or 60 showed up and the ones that I spoke with were very complimentary regarding the paintings. They had me set up in an area where I was actually working on two small paintings, an interesting idea for an opening. A friend that I met on Facebook even showed up, which was fun. We were totally worn out from the travel, lots of walking through airline terminals and waiting for buses, but it was worth it. I have a nice feeling that something good will develop from the exhibition. This is the area where I was painting. Gloria and Craig Smith, my gallery owner, chatting. Here is the spot where I was painting, the other photos show some of the areas where my paintings were hung,

ARTPRIZE painting delivered yesterday

Craig Smith and I drove up to Grand Rapids in a truck to hang my painting "The Dream". Craig also had to deliver Scott Covert's painting to the Fifth Third Bank building. Everything went smoothly, Gloria, who lives there was our guide and helped us get around, it would have been a nightmare without her help. My painting is in the B.O.B. building, a great location, on the second floor, right at the entrance of the Bobarino Restaurant. ARTPRIZE starts today and runs through October 7th, it's worthwhile to travel to Grand Rapids to see this exhibition, lots of great art to view.

Soto & Angus

I recently found some old funny photos of Soto and Angus, two wonderful pets that were a lot of fun. They got along very well in spite of what appears to be turmoil in these early pix. They were like brothers and played together a lot.

Upcoming exhibition of new paintings in Dallas

My exhibition of new paintings will be opening soon in Dallas, TX, if you're in the area stop by and have a look.

Painting for ARTPRIZE in Grand Rapids

In a couple of days I'll be hanging my entry for ARTPRIZE in Grand Rapids. The painting will be located on the second floor of the B.O.B. building near the entrance of the Bobarino Restaurant. The painting is a diptych, acrylic on canvas, measuring 96 x 48".

New painting finished today

Another painting which will be included in my exhibition in Dallas, Texas near the end of the month. It's another 60 x 60" painting done using acrylics on canvas.

Starting another painting

Here is the computer sketch of a new painting that I've just started. I drew a grid on the sketch so that I could easily transfer the image onto the canvas. The size is 60 x 60" and is titled "Disoriented Figure".

A couple more paintings finished

I just finished "Woman With Alter Ego". It's 60 x 60", acrylics on canvas and was a fun project. I'm experimenting with a more subtle color palette. I also just repainted "Strolling Nude" using more subtle colors.

More advice for artists

New painting under way

At this stage I've blocked in most of the background colors and these may change as the painting progresses. You can see that I'm using more muted colors on this piece than I have on the others in this series. Adding more of the other color tones gives me a clearer idea of how the whole image is working. I usually go through a lot of color changes before completing a painting. So far it's working out as planned.

Sketch for new painting

I'm starting a new painting based on this computer sketch, it'll be a fun one to work on. I'm going to try more subdued colors on this piece.

Another painting finished

Here are the various stages that I went through in doing this painting. I first did a drawing of the image onto the canvas, using my computer sketch as a guide. Then I painted in the background. I decided to change the color from the purple hue to a more neutral blue gray color. I then begin to add other colors and paint in the various shapes. I have changed a few of the colors from the original sketch. As I fill in more of the areas I can better tell how the painting is working as a whole image. After a few days of working and changing various shapes and colors, the painting is completed. I'm quite pleased with the image and the way that it developed.