Larissa - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 11"x15"

      This figure is one of my favorite paintings of the year. Everything about her turned out exactly as or better than planned. The nearly monochrome color palette draws attention to the highlights and pulls you to the focal point, her face. The obvious raw drawing at the bottom and the seamless bleeding of her skirt into the background create an abstraction that highlights the realism of the rendering of the rest of her form. This one is a culmination of almost everything I've been working on. I really couldn't be happier with this one.

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.

Terry - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 11"x15"

      Still swinging away at figures and abstracting backgrounds.

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.

Shoe Repair - watercolor

watercolor, 2014

original available, 11"x15" $200

prints also available

A scene in downtown Salisbury, NC I drive by every time I go through to my daughter's school.

60 Chevy - gouache

gouache, 2014

original available, 8"x10" $150

prints also available

Tractor #3 - gouache

gouache, 2014

original available, 7"x10" $75

prints also available

Red White & Bling - acrylics + ink

mixed, 2014

original available, 11"x14" $125

print and gifts also available

Just a quickie pop-art idea I had. I'll probably squeeze a few more of these out between larger pieces.

220 Elm - gouache

gouache, 2014

original available, 7"x10" $125

prints also available

Guinness #1 - gouache

gouache, 2014

original available, 7"x11" $125

prints available

I went very loose with this one. I'm still not sure about it, but it's growing on me.

CKs - gouache

gouache, 2014

original available, 8"x10" $150

prints and gifts also available

St. Giles - watercolor

watercolor, 2014

original available, 9"x12" $50

prints also available

Something a little looser, more impressionist after all the recent realism.