Door - watercolor

watercolor, 2018

available, 8"x10"

prints also available

      Just a small painting of a castle door somewhere in England.

Moving Day - watercolor

watercolor, 2016

available, 11"x15"

      This was painted from a cell phone photo I took as we were moving my sister out of her house earlier this year. And, it's nice timing as we're in the process of moving my daughter into her first apartment.
      A moderate mixture of detail and looseness, I'm very happy with some spots, just "happy" with some others and I settled for a few spots. The biggest problem with this really was that it was painted on Kilimanjaro paper from Cheap Joe's. I don't care for that paper; it buckles much more than Arches and even the cheaper Moulin du Roi by Canson. The only good thing about it is the texture. The cold-pressed finish is much rougher than any other brand I've tried.

Castello di Amorosa - watercolor

watercolor, 2016

available, 11"x15"

      This easily could be in Tuscany instead of Napa Valley, California. The Castello di Amorosa is a castle and winery presumably authentic in (most) details near Calistoga CA. Virtual Paintout is in Napa Valley this month. I'm opting for this beautiful location because, try as I might, I just can't paint grape vines to my liking. I'm not even happy with these trees. That's part of the reason I've been on such a landscape bender the last year or so. I'm trying to get better at something I used to avoid.

Porta Del Castello

available, 9"x12"

      This one is closer to my comfort zone. No trees, grass or sky to screw up. It's a bit smaller, done in a 9x12 sketch book. I've lately been using a watercolor Visual Journal from Strathmore. I like the cold-pressed texture and the general construction. It has very thick, stiff pressboard covers and is wire-bound to allow flat opening or flipping the forward pages completely under the page you're working on (like wire-bound composition books in school). This is Strathmore paper, though. And a SKETCH book. This paper can't handle too many layers or corrections. You need to get it right in two or three layers or just understand that sketches aren't meant to be finished masterpieces (though many can be). Beyond that, I like this paper for my uses better than some other brands.

Nobody Home - watercolor

watercolor, 2016

available, 11"x15"

prints also available

      Just a quick textural piece. Not much else to say about it.

Red Door, Early Morning

      Downtown Salisbury, NC.

88 Queen St. - watercolor

watercolor, 2015

available, 11"x15"

prints and gifts also available

      Another one from this year's trip to Charleston, SC before the flooding in October. I was drawn (no pun intended) by the shadows of the utility lines on the white door.

Mt. Airy Doorway - watercolor

watercolor, 2015

available, 9"x12"

prints and gifts also available

      Just something that caught my eye while walking around Mount Airy, NC earlier this year.

599 W. King St. - watercolor

watercolor, 2015

available, 11"x15"

prints and gifts also available

      This is from a shot I took in downtown Boone, NC last month. There probably was a lot more worth painting there. But, I didn't really have much time to explore and we were at the end of a long day. This was the same day we spent a couple hours walking around Blowing Rock and were headed home. So we were tired and still had a two-hour drive ahead of us.

Open, Asheboro - watercolor

watercolor, 2015

available, 11"x15"

prints also available

      This is from a photo I took in downtown Asheboro. The store in view was an interesting little hand-made jewelry boutique that also sold re-purposed artsy furniture. The owners had covered the floor in gold glitter because the carpet was stained and ugly, but the floor underneath was no better. There was a large bowl of glitter by the door so you could add to the decor if you wanted.
      I've been spending a lot of time in antique and consignment stores lately because I've been driving my wife, mother, mother-in-law, and sisters (or any combination thereof) around on Saturdays. It sounds a little odd, I know. But, they get a driver and I get lots of opportunities for reference photos like this one and that toy truck from last week.

Salem Christmas - watercolor

watercolor, 2014

original available, 11"x14" $150

prints also available

      Merry Christmas to all! This is another one from a recent trip to Old Salem just after they decorated back in early November. I usually don't do holiday-themed art. But, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to find some reference material. Unfortunately, this was the only Christmas-themed image I found. It'll have to do in a very Moravian-like understated sort of way.

Church Door - watercolor

watercolor, 2014

original available, 9"x12" $175

prints also available

Door Knob - gouache

gouache, 2014

original available, 5"x7" $75

prints also available

Old House #3 - gouache

gouache, 2013

original available - 11"x15" $150

prints available

Tractor - gouache

gouache, 2013

original available - 11"x15" $175

prints available

Unlatched - watercolor

watercolor, 2008

original available - 8"x10" $125

prints available