#129 "Vintage" 14x11 Oil on linen panel

This is our new/old 1967 Airstream Caravel. As of today, we still haven't picked it up as a result of the interior bathroom is being painted and a new awning has yet to be installed. I did get to pull it to the AAA to have it registered! Was a bit nervous but it pulls so smoothly, you really don't know its there!

This is the first of many paintings of this and other Airstreams I hope to paint. It's so fun and challenging  to paint the reflective surface. It will take a while to get the exact effect I'm looking for but this is #1.

This vintage trailer was found in Oklahoma back in September. As you will see, it was in pretty rough shape. We bought it in this condition as Kenny, assured us that when he was finished it would look quite different. Have to say he was right!

Here's a short video of some of our travels! https://youtu.be/t2j4rrUuRJw

UpdateI My painting of Vintage was selected for the 2018 fall issue of Airstream Life!

  

#128 "Day Sail" 9x12 oil on linen panel"Day Sail"

"Day Sail" 9x12 oil on linen panel

Just spent another weekend at Lake Wawasee in northern Indiana.  Over the years at our annual fraternity gathering, I've seen so many sail boats passing by like this one. "Day Sail" utilized only three colors, Payne's Gray, Cerulean blue and Titanium White.  Just liked the simplicity of the whole thing.

"Day Sail" now resides at Lake Wawasse where it belongs.

#126 "Reflections" 18x14 oil on linen panel"Reflections"

"Reflections" 18x14 oil on linen panel

What a pleasure it was doing this painting.  Using a medium I first darkened the entire canvas using Galkyd Lite mixed with a combination of darker value paints. Using a palette knife, I drew the objects. After bringing the painting to stage two, I looked at it carefully for a couple of days before going in and bringing it thru stage three. I must say I had a blast doing the pitcher and the reflections both on the pitcher itself and the reflections on the table. The secret to the table having that translucent look is using light coats of of the paint mixed with the Galkyd Lite and using the mop brushes. Really love the effect! Also I used complementaries (reddish stuff and greenish stuff) for the background and the table which seem to work nicely together. This painting was done with Michael Harding paints and Cw Mundy Mops. Expensive but awesome to work with. All in all I'm very satisfied with this one!!!

#125 "Pitcher and Red Apple" "Pitcher and Apples#126 " Pitcher and Apples" 14x11 oils on linen panels

"Red Apple and Pitcher# 14x11 oil on linen panel

Just came back from New Harmony, Indiana and the First Brush of Spring workshop given by Cw Mundy, Gary Young and Rita Spalding. The focus this years was on combining opaque, semi opaque and translucent passages within the painting using a medium to thin out the paint. This, when done correctly, gives a certain depth to those areas and a very cool effect.
The workshop was amazing as usual. It was fun seeing old friends and meeting new ones! Not only was the art  amazing, but so was the music. This year at the wine bar we were treated to some great jazz musicians! Must say the wine and the food was also top notch!!! Such a great experience!!!

"Pitcher and Apples" 11x14 oil on linen panel

Both paintings before some minor changes

Our Group!!!

Jazz Night at the Wine Bar!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GANWcAQDi0

#124 "House on Nineveh Road" 5x7 oil on linen panel

"House on Nineveh Road" 5x7 oil on linen panel

This was also painted from a photograph. I went to the studio yesterday with no plan to paint. We were having the carpets cleaned so I decided I needed to get out. Looked thru a bunch of old photos and saw this one. It's an old house on Nineveh Road that I've passed so many, many times on my was to and from Sweetwater Lake in Brown County, Indiana. Somehow I envision some guys sitting on that porch pickin' banjos, fiddles and the like. 

#123 "Morning Coffee" 9x12 oil on linen panel

"Morning Coffee"  9x12 oil

I got together with my long time friend Ron Guidone last Thursday. We've painted a couple of times together. Always fun. Ron set up a still life for us. I decided to select only these three objects to paint. In addition, I also chose to paint a dark background to demonstrate a sharp contrast. Fun day and a fun painting!

#122 "Lady of Claridge's" 24x8 oil on canvas

For my 70th birthday I was treated to high tea at the Claridge's Hotel in London. It was a spectacular day in one of the worlds finest hotels. I was blown away by the art deco interior. Behind our table was a set of doors. This lovely lady provided a most elegant backdrop. It was truly a day to remember!!!

#121 "Silver Pitcher and Fruit" 11x14 oil on linen panel

"Silver Pitcher and Fruit" 11x14 on linen panel

Well it was back to the studio after a long layoff. It was time to do another still life, as painting from life is always preferable when possible. This piece is all about the silver pitcher AND the fruit. Don't know if it follows all the "rules" but I wanted to see three very distinct objects captured with a very dark background. Conventional "art" wisdom says if you have three objects, one should be primary, one secondary and one tertiary. If I squint this painting down I suppose there are slight differences. I see the red apple first, followed by the pear and then the silver pitcher. The silver pitcher was really the most fun. Notice how it disappears into shadow on the left. The left side of the pitcher is not seen but you know the shape anyway even though it’s in shadow. The ol’ brain fills that in for ya! I used my new C.w. Mundy mop brushes I got for Christmas from my wife Linda to eliminate any edge on that side. The same was done to the shadow side of the apple and the pear but not to the same degree. Other important features of this painting are the passages. Passages are those breaks that otherwise would be edges. They're like little highways from the outside into an object. Notice the red apple. There are no passages on the light side. Your eye is drawn there for a couple of reasons. First of all, that unbroken, sharp edge. Your eye will always be drawn to an edge. Artist use that technique to do just that, draw you in. Another reason is color. You just can't resist that red against the dark background. However, the shadow side has several passages taking you from the shadow actually into the apple itself. The pear has less of a distinctive edge on the light side but contains several passages on the shadow side. The silver pot has numerous passages. For example, look at the handle. See any? As for the pitcher itself, by using a mop brush on the shadow side you are gradually led from the vessel into the darkness. That created one huge passage as there are no edges whatsoever.

*Always looking at a painting after I'm done, I see several examples of how I might improve on each of the "tricks" mentioned above. That's what keeps you in the hunt. It's all part of the process!