Friday, October 29, 2010

'Wet Snow'



16" x 20"
Oil on Canvas Panel
$100

This is the last of three that I'm posting for October. I like this one a lot although my photo is bad as usual. When I look at my last 15 or so paintings I can see improvement, which is my goal. I've posted some links to a few of my favorite artists below - Although I know I'm improving, when I took at the work of the artists below, I realize that I have a long, long way to go. Some formal teaching might help too at some point.

http://jennifermcchristian.com/
http://www.johnsingersargent.org/
http://qiang-huang.blogspot.com/
http://www.bluecloudstudios.com/default.htm
http://matthewpeck.com/

'Grand Canyon Trail'



11" x 14" Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

The painting kind of makes it look warm, but it was actually 8 degrees the day I hiked the Grand Canyon Trail. The camera did some weird things with my photo, but the painting looks great in person. I really tried to create a sense of distance between the foreground, the little outcrop in the middle and the hazy cliffs in the background. It think it turned out well.

'When Life Gives You Lemon'



8' x 10' Oil on Panel
SOLD!

I don't know if I'd recommend doing what I've done with the lemon in this case, but there are worse things you could do. I've had this one sitting around a while and I wanted to post it for October so here you go. It's cheap, let me know if you want it.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

'Bourbon Street - Framed'



8' x 10' Oil on Panel
Sold

This is my painting, 'Bourbon Street,' that I did a few months back after my trip to New Orleans. My friend is a carpenter and he had some some curly maple laying around so he made a frame for it. Pretty awesome huh? I love how the reds and yellows of the frame pull out colors from the painting and the grain of the wood leads your eye into the painting...Nice work and thanks for sending the photo!

Monday, October 18, 2010

'Bridge to Harpers Ferry'



11" X 14" Oil on Panel
$125

I was going for a washed out look and I think I accomplished that.  I also like the light on  the side of the faces...The figures are pretty impressionistic, but you might recognize a couple of them if you look closely.

I ran into an unexpected problem last week that I didn't know was possible...Two people bought the same painting!  In the past, PayPal has sent me a notice when someone purchased a painting, but in this case it did not and same painting was purchased twice. So, if you want to buy something and there is a "buy now" button beneath the painting, just send me an email or make a comment to let me know.  I haven't been using the "buy now" buttons lately because they are a hassle, but  a lot of the older paintings have a "buy now," option.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

'City Harbor'



11" x 14" Oil on Panel
Sold!

I wasn't going for the pristine harbor look that you might find in parts of British Columbia.  The photo that I worked from was taken by my wife in Vancouver, but this could be any city.  I just wanted it to look busy and urban - I think I got the busy part down...Hopefully it's not too busy.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

'On the Beach'



8" x 10" Oil on Panel
Sold!

I've said this before, but there comes a point in every painting when it may not be perfect, but any further attempt at perfection will have the opposite effect.  I like this painting a lot, but as always I reached the point where I felt like I could do better - in this case, I knew better than to go on.  I think that's a step forward for me actually...Some of my best paintings might have been better if not for my obsessiveness.

I thought about calling this painting, 'The Ocean,' but I think the painting is less about the strength and cold indifference of the ocean as commonly depicted in art and literature and more about a warm, shimmery, day at the beach.  Maybe if I do a painting of one of the 15 foot, Hurricane Earl waves that we saw during the same beach trip, I'll call that one 'The Ocean.'

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

'Graves Mountain'




9" x 12" Oil on Panel
$75:

SOLD!






This is Graves Mountain Lodge in Syria, VA, just east of Shenandoah  National Park and about 40 miles NW of Charlottesville, VA.  My wife and I went apple picking here last weekend on our one year wedding anniversary.  I haven't done a lot of world traveling, but I've been all over the United States and the area just east of Shenandoah National Park at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains is as beautiful as any land I've seen.  I recommend checking it out.

This painting took some work, but I think it turned out well.  I tried to create a contrast between the dry, late summer look of the foreground and the cool blues and greens of the mountains.  The middle of the painting and particularly the left, middle has the greatest contrast and sharpest lines so hopefully that's the main focus. Here is a closeup of the middle of the painting in case it's tough to make out the detail: