Winterpock Grocery

6" x 8"
Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

This is Winterpock Grocery in Chesterfield, Va.  In real life, the bright, white wall on the right says Winterpock Grocery.  However, I couldn't bring myself to paint Winterpock on the wall for fear of destroying what I feel is a pretty decent painting.  I like this one.  The photo does not do it justice!

'The Garage'

12" x 16"
Oil on Canvas Panel
Not for Sale










There's a half-empty beer on the work-bench.  Drive by Truckers on the radio. He's working on something.  Someone sits in a folding chair, and the German Shepard watches close by.  Right now, it's summer, but it could happen any time.   Come on in. No need for TV.

'Belle Isle Footbridge II'

16" x 20" Oil on Canvas
Commissioned:  Sold


I received a request for a second, much larger, version of my original Belle Isle Footbridge painting and I was happy to oblige.  The larger version allowed me to expand on the detail of the original, pictured below:



I think it turned out well.  I only used three colors to mix the entire original painting as sort of an experiment, but I went with a full palette on the new version.  I think the expanded palette helped me to create more of a contrast between the shadow areas in the foreground and the brighter areas in the riverbed.

I'm searching for more commissions so let me know if you have any requests.

'Cookie Face'

12" x 12" Oil on HD canvas
Name yer price!

This is what Sammy looks like when she wants a cookie - only a lot more colorful. I took my time, drew this one out and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The background gave me some trouble as I thought it would...I repainted it three different times. If you don't like it I can always paint over it.

I can paint your dog too -

"City Backyard 2"

5" x 7" Oil on canvas.

Sometimes, I find it more difficult to take a photo of a painting that does the painting justice than to paint the painting itself - This painting in particular. I like the painting, but I don't like the photo of the painting. It seems like the camera picks up colors and weird brushstrokes that aren't visible to the naked eye.

Oh well, here's a little painting that gives a different perspective on the city backyard and shows a bit of my brother's lovely landscaping. This would probably look nice in a frame by your back door, huh?

"City Backyard"

8" x 10" Oil on Panel
Let me preface this painting/post by saying that my brother has a beautiful backyard. If you could pan this image down and to the right, you'd see some beautiful plants and flowers, perfect grass and a lovely stone entrance-way that my he laid himself...I could have painted a prettier painting of the flowers in his yard, but my weird mind is more interested in the morning sun shining on that ugly, run-down building in the background...So, don't let your opinion of this painting sway your mind on my brother's landscaping abilities - he's a pro.

I'd like to say congratulations to my cousin and godson, Adam, for graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University this weekend with his Masters in Occupational Therapy. Adam is one of the better people I've ever encountered. He has more energy than anyone I know and he directs it all toward helping others. Way to go Adam!!

"Belle Isle Foot Bridge"

8" x 10" Oil on Panel
$125 Includes Shipping

This is the riverbed on the south side of Belle Isle, in Richmond, VA. The river is the James River. Beyond the riverbed is a foot bridge that connects the James River Park System in south-side Richmond to Belle Isle and beyond that is the Lee Bridge (US-301).

Richmond, as I've mentioned, and the James River in particular, hold a special place in my heart. My dad spent is entire young life on the river growing up in Richmond and I grew up fishing and canoeing the river with my dad and brother.

The river here is quite rocky, and it is possible to rock hop and wade across, but it's also deceptively deep in some spots. The rocks are smooth and slippery and I can distinctly recall the feeling of stepping for a rock, thinking it was only waist deep and getting pulled into the current as I sank to my neck. It's a slightly scary and mysterious feeling to float along in that dark water when you can't see what's below. The best thing to do in that situation is to relax and float feet first until you touch bottom again...

As for the painting, I went with a triadic color scheme (someone's been reading his painting books). The triad (three colors) I chose were viridian green, cadmium orange, and manganese Violette. Using only three colors, you don't get as much color variation or contrast as you do with a full palette, but the goal is unity, which I feel this painting has.

I stayed away from the knives today and I'm thankful for it. This was a nice, quick painting that was fun to paint. I hope you enjoy.

Thanks again to Richmond photographer, Taber Andrew Bain, for the photo.

"West Leigh and Hancock"

8" x 10"
Oil on Canvas
$150 includes Shipping

This is the corner of West Leigh Street and Hancock Street in Richmond, VA. The neighborhood, known as Carver, was founded in the 18th century. The centuries following have witnessed vitality and decline. Within the last two decades, however, conservation and redevelopment efforts designed to encourage "urban homesteading," have slowly begun to revitalize the neighborhood. The expansion of Virginia Commonwealth University and the construction of new, Victorian-style, town-homes funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development with first time home buyers in mind continue to bring new life to the area. Reader input on the history of the area is appreciated.

I visited Richmond Easter weekend - my brother lives in Carver so I stayed a block away from the location featured above. I woke up early Sunday morning to go running and I brought my camera along, hoping to take some photos of the City for painting. I did not take the particular photo on which this painting is modeled. That photo belongs to Taber Andrew Bain, a local Richmond photographer with a knack for capturing the scenes that epitomize a city/location, particularly Richmond. Here is his blog link: http://x31.org/. There is a link to his FLICKR Photo Stream in the blog too. Check it out.

I did take some photos of my own that I plan to paint from, but I'm drawn to this scene for sentimental reasons (my brother lives there) and because the Victorian style buildings are so representative of the neighborhood. I didn't try to perfect the lines of the buildings, or the shadows or highlights, and if you zoom in and really look at this thing, it probably looks a little messy. That is somewhat intentional...I do not believe that perfection is not an accurate representation of the neighborhood, or the city.

I don't know what it is about Richmond that draws people to it. It's not a large city, it's not a modern city, there are no professional sports teams, oceans or mountains. My brother says it's the grittiness, the edginess, the imperfection of the city that draws him to it. To me there is a sense of community in Richmond that I have not witnessed elsewhere. Maybe the grit and the imperfection and the sense of community are related. The long time Richmonders recognize the imperfection, but they have such an appreciation of the city's history that they stick with it out of blind devotion.