Skully - pencil

pencil, 2019

available, 8"x10"

     I caught Skully in just the right light for a sketch.

Decoy #4 - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 8"x10"

      It's been a while since my last decoy painting. I experimented with leaving this one a bit looser and more impressionistic. A bit of Holbein's Grey of Grey straight from the tube - a very opaque watercolor - blended along the beak helped to bring out the contour and emphasize some dimensionality. 

      The occasional use of opaque pigments in otherwise "transparent" watercolor allows me to add a little sparkle on top of dry passages without resorting to gouache or gesso. Not that I'm above using gouache or gesso or anything else that works for a particular painting. But some people and many organizations still are quite picky about what you can and cannot use in a transparent watercolor. Some would even disallow the use of any opaque pigment if it's visible on top of a darker hue like this one. I don't want to get into a long, drawn out thing here. I don't like anyone trying to apply "rules" to art (though there's nothing wrong with placing limits on yourself as a self-challenge). But, I do try to start off with every intention of keeping a painting purely transparent even to the point that almost all of the colors on my regular palette are transparent or semi-transparent. Of course, things happen; every piece takes it's own twists and turns. In the end I always do whatever the piece warrants, not what some organization or academic demands.

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.

Leave The Bottle - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 11"x15"

      I went considerably into the impressionist camp with this one. Loose, wet, visible brush strokes -- it's all here. And, there's an open-ended story - the best kind.

Em - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 11"x15"

      I guess I'll call this a street portrait or street figure. I brought a lot together in this one. Lightest light against the darkest dark. Dark background against the lit side of the subject and no background against the shadow side. New color mixes for skintone. This one worked out in so many ways I think it's become a new standard for which to aim.

50 Super 88 - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 11"x15"

      In spite of the attempt at looseness, this classic car still looks pretty detailed. It also seems more darkly-toned than most of my car paintings. That wasn't really intentional. But the shadows in the reference photo were a little unusual. Maybe I captured a little atmosphere without knowing it.

Chatterly - graphite wash

wet graphite, 2019

available, 8"x10"

      A portrait of dear Chatterly in graphite wash. Just keeping the macabre alive (undead?) throughout the year.

Eugenia - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 8"x10"

      Here's a little portrait of a model easily found all over the internet.

Beltany - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 8"x10"

      Just a quick little landscape of an Irish standing stone.

Wasteland Buick - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 11"x15"

      Just an old Buick left to its own devices on the prairie. I used a little thinned gesso to knock back some of the color intensity in the bottom corners. I like the look of the gesso rather than just lifting with a wet brush. There's also a considerable amount of dry-brush to get the lightest grasses.

Hell Riders In Heels - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 11"x15"

      I love the old exploitation movies of the 60's and 70's - and the pulp novels and magazines that preceded them. I might even love the poster art for those movies (and covers for the books and magazines) even more. So, this sort of moves in that direction. Imagine beautiful-but-evil women terrorizing a city from the backs of motorcycles.

Belfast 55 - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 11"x15"

      This is from a photograph shot in Belfast back in 1955, hence the title. I loved the graphic nature of the monochrome shapes and thought a watercolor version might be fun.