Bobbie - watercolor, charcoal

mixed, 2019

available, 8"x10"

      This is a quick portrait painted in watercolor on a gouache-tinted sheet. I restated the drawing with charcoal pencil after the paint was dry to emphasize it. Leaving part of the portrait unpainted draws the viewers attention both to the painted focal point and to the abstract nature of a two-dimensional rendering.

56 Packard - watercolor

watercolor, 2018

available, 11"x15"

prints also available

      A classic Packard coupe in front of an old gas station. To emphasize the car as the focal point I added a wash of thin acrylic gesso over practically all of the background. Then I restated the lines with charcoal. In addition to making the realistically rendered car pop, this also reminds the viewer of the two-dimensional nature of the piece. While the focal point may look realistic, its environment is a barely-colored drawing.
      That's the academic explanation. The truth of the matter is that I fully intended to paint the entire scene in watercolor relying on loose rendering to push the background "back." But, after nearly completing the painting I realized the deep shadow of the gas station portico completely overpowered the car. So, it had to go. There's more than one way to get a painting where you want it.

Diana - watercolor + charcoal

mixed, 2018

available, 8"x10"

prints and gifts also available

      This is a little 5"x7" portrait I did quickly and loosely on fairly horrible paper, Bee. It doesn't handle much scrubbing at all, or even many consecutive layers. But, as with many other questionable art products, if you're mindful of its shortcomings, anything is possible. I restated some of the lines with a sharp charcoal pencil and added some depth to the background to give it a bit of an abstract nature.

The Dreamer - charcoal

charcoal, 2017

available, 8"x11"

      Now we're talking. One Saturday in February 1986 I took a beautiful and sassy young redhead on a first date to see A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge. We're still together, though she's less a fan of horror movies than she was back then. I'm pretty happy with this one (and her!). Freddy's melted skin was pretty tough, but I think it worked out.

      Happy Halloween!

The Brother - charcoal

charcoal, 2017

available, 8x11

      I call Michael Myers of Halloween fame The Brother, of course, because his sole purpose was to terrorize and kill his baby sister, the only family he missed in his original killing spree. But this actually is The Brother #2 as I've already featured Barbra's short-lived brother, Johnny, from Night Of The Living Dead. This one was difficult and didn't quite work out as well as most of my other horror portraits. You would think the lack of features in the mask would make it easy to draw. But that's the problem. The lack of features means there's very little to give the "face" form and it was very hard to render the subtleties in the warped mask.

The Ancestor - charcoal

charcoal, 2017

available, 8"x11"

prints and gifts also available

      Good old Barnabas Collins of Dark Shadows -- the good one played by Jonathan Frid for the television show of the late '60s/early '70s, not Johnny Depp's horrible attempt.

The Prom Queen - charcoal

charcoal, 2017

available, 8"x11"

prints and gifts also available

      We're continuing our month of horror with everyone's favorite reluctant prom queen from another Steven King movie about an outcast teenager. Surprise. Surprise.

The Car - charcoal

charcoal, 2017

available, 8"x11"

prints and gifts also available

      It's that time of year again. Though I'm not a big Steven King fan, per se, I did like a couple of his movies. Christine, of course, is just another story of a high school outsider finding or being given some form of empowerment. In this case, our protagonist finds a presumably possessed car that killed two people even before it rolled out of the factory. The best part of Christine, frankly, is that it can repair and restore itself back to showroom new. What gearhead wouldn't want a car like that?

The Camper - charcoal

charcoal, 2016

available, 8"x11"

prints and gifts also available

      The most famous attendee of everyone's favorite summer camp. Something special but off-beat for St. Valentine's Day. Remember what happens to lovers in horror movies.

The Doll - charcoal

charcoal, 2016

available, 8"x10"

prints and gifts also available

     My daughter recently reminded me it's been a while since I added to my horror character series and I was way behind. So, here's everyone's favorite possessed doll. Happy Halloween!

57 Chevy #7 - watercolor + charcoal

mixed, 2012

available, 22"x30"

prints and gifts also available

      This is an older piece I discovered I hadn't uploaded here. It's a piece that is started and finished as a complete charcoal drawing. Then I fix the charcoal to keep it from rubbing off and paint over it with watercolor. The charcoal becomes a great underpainting and gives those deep shadows. I've done several pieces this way, though it's been a while since the last one.

Clarinet - watercolor+charcoal

mixed, 2011

original available, 15"x22" $350

prints also available

      Here's one from my instrument series. Most of these are done with charcoal and watercolor, an interesting mix that gives a wonderful amount of depth. I have a moderate connection to the clarinet as both of my older sisters played clarinet through jr. high and high school.

The Brother - charcoal

charcoal, 2014

original available, 8"x10" $100

prints and gifts also available

Classic Horror #8

I'm not sure about this one. It might be re-done. I'm not very happy with Johnny's eyes. Maybe it's just me. Some pieces have to grow on me.

The Son - charcoal

charcoal, 2014

original available, 8"x10" $100

prints and gifts also available

Classic Horror #7

After more than 30 years of charcoal I actually learned something new on this one - shading with a kneaded eraser. I don't mean selectively erasing; of course, that's the main function of a kneaded eraser. But, I found that I can lightly rub the eraser over areas of charcoal shading like that on the nose above and lighten the intensity of the charcoal without changing its texture nearly as much as would a tortillon, chamois or finger. Cool!

The Lover - charcoal

charcoal, 2014

original available, 8"x10" $100

prints and gifts also available

Classic Horror #6

The Creature - charcoal

charcoal, 2014

original available, 8"x10" $100

prints also available

Number 5 in my Classic Horror series.

The Animal - charcoal

charcoal, 2014

original available, 8"x10" $100

prints also available

#4 in the Classic Horror series

The Monster - charcoal

charcoal, 2014

original available, 8"x10" $100

prints and gifts also available

Classic Horror Number Three

The Count - charcoal

charcoal, 2014

original available, 8"x10" $100

prints and gifts available

Number two in my classic horror series.

The Bride - charcoal

charcoal, 2014

original available, 8"x10" $100

prints and gifts also available

The first of a series of horror icons. Stay tuned.