River Paintings

The Point
8 1/2" x 11"
Watercolor on paper
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River Cypress
8 1/2" x 11"
Watercolor on paper

River Chairs
8 1/2" x 11"
Water Color on paper











Sarah and I painted these during our river trip over the 4th of July holiday.  I painted the top two, and Sarah painted "River Chairs."  I like her painting the best.

I haven't done a lot of watercolor painting, but I'm really happy with how these turned out; especially The Point.  There is nothing I would rather do than sit by the water and paint. A beverage or two helps the process.

Storm on the Mesa

6" x 8"
Oil on Canvas Panel
$25










I painted this from a photo that I took out of the car window during our trip out west last summer.  The location is somewhere near the border of southern Utah and Colorado. Rain is rare in this area during the summer, so it was pretty cool to witness a storm on the mesa.

La Jolla Cove

12" x 12"
Oil on Canvas
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This is La Jolla Cove in San Diego, CA.  The painting was originally 12" x 24", but I didn't like the other 12", so I sawed it off and re-stapled the canvas.  I did create a small rip in the canvas on the top left edge of the painting when I cut it so beware if you're interested in purchasing.

'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.

Valley Visions

12" x 16" oil on canvas panel
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My first year of teaching didn't leave a lot of time for painting.  However, I did manage to squeeze in a couple of paintings just before/during winter break.

Cedar trees with sunlight on them look warm no matter what time of year.  This is sort of how I picture the Shenandoah Valley in the middle of winter. I've had this image of cedar trees at sunset in the Valley in my mind for a while.  I'm not sure this is exactly what I had envisioned, but I like the way it turned out.

St. John Dinghy

12" x 16" oil on canvas panel

Not for sale

I painted this over the summer.  I knew it was going to be a Christmas present, so I couldn't post it until now.  I have one more to post from the summer, but I need its recipient to send me a photo.  Hope you like. 

Marriott Craft Show/New Paintings

Been a little while, huh?  I won't dwell on the fact that it has been almost four months since I've posted, but I guess I have to mention it...Tonight was the first night in over five months that I've been unoccupied and energized enough to paint.  Man it felt great!  Unfortunately, I can't post the painting because I'm probably going to give it away for Christmas.  But it's a good one...take my word for it!

Once again, the Marriott craft show was good to me.  I sold six paintings and Christmas is saved!  Thanks to my repeat buyers - I really appreciate your support!

I'll probably post the paintings after the holidays, but I'm not sure when I'll get to paint again.  On top of the twelve hours a day that I already work, I'm starting classes toward my master's in Special Education in January and the SOL's are approaching...How I will live through this, I'm not sure...Please send positive vibes my way.

'Clearing'

12" x 24" Oil on HD Canvas
$150 plus shipping - Sold

This is a painting of the valley just west of the Bryce Canyon "Amphitheater" in Tropic, Utah.  I painted it back in the beginning of July after my wife and I returned from a 17 day National Park tour of Utah and Colorado - I've been a little lazy about posting.  I thought I would do a lot more painting from the trip than I've done, but I feel like none of my photos do the scenery justice.  Plus, I've been a little preoccupied with finding a job and now preparing for that job, which is teaching 8th grade Special Education English...I have a lot to learn and a ton of work to do so the posts and paintings may be limited for a while.  But, one of the many reasons I wanted to teach was so that I could have my summers off to focus on painting...ahh, already looking forward to summer!  Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze some paintings in this year, but we'll see.

'Tomatos, Tomahtos'

8" x 10" Oil on Canvas Panel
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Had a really tough time getting a good photo of this painting...It really does look better in person.

'DIFFICULT Run'

8" x 10" Oil on canvas panel


The scene is Difficult Run about a mile up from where the stream empties into the Potomac River in Great Falls State Park.  I painted it on site and the conditions were challenging...This was the first time I had ever tried hiking to a location with my travel easel so there was a bit of a learning curve.   To make matters more difficult, a small piece of the easel that keeps the paint and brush tray from sliding out broke off and all of my supplies emptied onto the ground...then I had to figure out a way to keep the tray from continually sliding out while I was hiking...Once I worked through the glitches though, I really enjoyed painting outside and hiking to my location.  The day was really overcast, which may have made the painting easier because there were fewer lighting changes.  All in all, I like the way the painting turned out and I can't wait to get outside again!

River Daylily II

6" x 8" Oil on canvas panel
$15 plus shipping

Almost didn't post this one because I didn't like the way it turned out...It's kind of interesting though.

'Avocado with Spoon'

6" x 8" Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold!

I was going to do a set; one with the pit in and spoon inverse and one with the pit removed and spoon concave...Didn't quite work out as planned.  I squirted lemon juice over the avocado which is supposed to stop it from browning, but by the time I was done with the first painting, the second half of the avocado was brown and I didn't feel like painting another one.  I like the way this turned out though - it's cheap, and would look nice hanging in your kitchen, or dining room.

By the way...best way, in my opinion, to remove the inside of an avocado is to cut it in half as shown above, remove the pit and make lengthwise slices.  Then, take your spoon and scoop it out...Try putting the slices on some toast...

Send me your commissions.

'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.

'Pemaquid Lighthouse'

8" x 10" Oil on Canvas Panel
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This is Pemaquid Lighthouse in Maine...I started on this as practice because I didn't have anything else to paint, but it really came together nicely.  It may be one of my best impressionist pieces to date.  As usual, the painting looks much better in person.  It's tough to tell from the photo, but I added a tiny strip of blue to the right hand side of the painting where the fence-line ends.  The blue strip in the painting does not exist in  my reference photo, but I think it adds a nice new dimension to the scene.

'River Chairs'

5" x 7" Oil on Canvas Panel

I was anxious to use my new travel easel over the Memorial Day weekend at the river-house, but also anxious to fish, kayak, windsurf, catch crabs, ride bikes, and...relax. So, I designated two hours of my Sunday afternoon at the river for painting...Painting counts as relaxing so I killed two birds and downed a few Coronas in the process. Quite enjoyable I must say.

As for the painting...Conditions were tough, but such is outdoor painting. I mixed my paints beforehand because I wanted to get the scene down quickly before the light changed, but as soon as I had mixed my colors, the sun went behind the clouds. I tried to compensate, but may have overcompensated. Either way, I enjoyed it and I left the painting at the river-house for others to enjoy as well.

'Floyd'

5" x 7" Oil on Canvas Panel
Commissioned - Sold

Floyd is an Italian Greyhound, NOT a miniature Greyhound, which I'm told is the same thing as a whippet. I'm surprised Floyd turned out as well as he did given that all the while I was painting him, I thought he was a whippet.

I have a lot more time on my hands these days and I'm looking to do some commissions. Please contact me if there is anything I can paint for you.

'Into the Light'

8" x 10" Oil on Canvas Panel
$40 Plus Shipping - Sold

Must have been in an interesting mood when I painted this one. It's a little dreary, but I like it. I've had this image in my head for a while now and it fell right into place. The scene reminds me of the rock quarry where my dad worked when I was a kid. There were hundreds of acres of land in addition to the rock quarry, most of which were undeveloped, or overgrown farmland with old barns and machinery like you see in the painting. None of the barns had electricity though - the light was added for interest.

Unfortunately, the camera was up to its old tricks so some of the colors in the image are not as subtle as they appear in person.

'Small Boat Dock - Alexandria'

16" x 20" Oil on Canvas Panel
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I picked this image from a stack of reference photos at the Herndon Art Space where I recently finished a painting class. I painted this over the span of a few weeks and one day, while the painting was still in process, I was looking through the art instructor's website, and I discovered that she had painted the exact image. Here is a link to my instructor's version of the same painting, which was painted outdoors, on site:

http://www.blehert.com/gallery/pages/Small_boat_dock_Alexandria.htm

You might have to copy and paste the link because I don't know how to embed a working link...

In other news, I sold three paintings at my latest exhibit in Poolesville, MD. Pretty good considering the cafe where the paintings were hanging just recently opened and is still not well known.

I'm hoping to do some outdoor painting any day now, although my motivation is lacking of late. Inspirational comments appreciated!

'W&OD Herndon'

From New Paintings

8" x 10" Oil on Canvas Panel
$35 plus shipping - Sold

I know this doesn't look like much, but I painted it outside on a windy afternoon in Herndon, VA.  Painting outside is challenging compared to painting in studio.  I plan to do a lot more outdoor painting now that it's getting warmer and my wife gave me an outdoor easel for Christmas.  Like I said, it was windy, the light was fading fast and I am an inexperienced outdoor painter.

'Warehouse District Train Yard'

16" x 20" Oil on Canvas
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Well hello...It has been a while.  It's true, I haven't been painting AS MUCH and I've been posting even less.  Unfortunately, I've been too busy with the job that pays the bills. I actually painted this back in January after visiting Asheville, NC with my wife.  We were sitting outside under some heat lamps at a brewery called, The Wedge, Brewery - so named because the brewery sits on a wedge of property between the street above and the train yard in front.  The train went by once and I kicked myself for not taking a photo because it was such a lonesome scene - the train rolling through at dusk with its light shining on the tracks and snow in front.  As fate would have it, the train stopped and then backed up into the same position as before.  Not wanting to tempt fate a second time, I ran out through the snow and snapped some photos. 

Tasty beers at the Wedge - I recommend touring the art galleries in Asheville's Warehouse District and then having a few.