Alice - watercolor

watercolor; 2020

available; 11"x15"

      Another portrait of fashion blogger Alice. I worked in a little more "looseness" in this one with the fade to raw drawing in her legs.

Cherries - watercolor

watercolor; 2020

available; 11"x15"

      A not entirely successful attempt at a still life of cherries.

Pickles - watercolor

watercolor; 2020

available; 11"x15"

      Pickles is just misunderstood. Or, maybe he's the one that misunderstands.

Alice - watercolor

watercolor; 2020
available; 11"x15"

      Another portrait/figure of Alice, a fashion blogger.

On The Go - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 11"x15"

      I've been trying to do more figures that were dressed and going about regular daily activities. This girl seemed perfect, although I rarely use much true yellow. I feel like I should have used a more contrasting background color. But, maybe the lighter neutral helps preserve the light airy-ness of the subject.

Avebury - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 11"x15"

      A quick landscape of the Avebury stone circle.

Alice - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 11"x15"

      Here's something of a fashion portrait/figure of a fashion blogger. She has a lot of great photos that might make some nice paintings.

Wallflowers - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 11"x15"

      A little summer as winter hits. I think I was drawn to the shadow of the potted plant in the reference photo. But the red of the flowers is the real focal point of this piece.

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.

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.

J20 - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

available, 11"x15"

      I'm very happy with this Jeep J20. I was able to get it loose-but-detailed and the colors complement nicely. It's probably one of my better car paintings of the last few months.

Pearl Earrings #9 - watercolor

watercolor, 2019

nfs, 11"x15"

      Another portrait of my beautiful bride, toying with abstracting the unimportant parts of the subject. Only the focal point really needs detail and realism. Everything else can be loose and suggestive.

Lily B - watercolor

watercolor, 2018

available, 8"x10"

      A little portrait/figure with a fade/paper-doll effect. I also played with some softer edges to a nice effect.

Window Seat - watercolor

watercolor, 2018

available, 11"x15"

      When I saw this reference photo I knew it would make a great painting. But I didn't know if I could pull it off. A lot of patience and paying attention to everything gave me one of the best paintings of last year.

Between Derry and Bushmills - watercolor

watercolor, 2018

available, 11"x15"

      A simple little landscape.

Cosbin - watercolor

watercolor, 2018

available, 8"x10"

      Just a quick, layered portrait of a Reddit user. I'm pretty happy with how most of this worked. The eye might have gone a little too soft, though. And, of course, the photograph isn't exactly what I want.

Venus - watercolor

watercolor, 2018

available, 8"x10"

      Another little portrait with just the right amount of looseness, though I think I might have softened a few too many edges.

Birte - watercolor

watercolor, 2018

available, 11"x15"

      A loose portrait that goes directly to the style I've been chasing for a long time.

48 Survivor - watercolor

watercolor, 2018

available, 11"x15"

prints and gifts available

      An old Jeep in a barn. What could be better?

Tybee - watercolor

watercolor, 2018

available, 11"x15"

prints also available

      This somewhat loose landscape of the lighthouse on Tybee Island in Georgia is based on a photo I took back in March. I changed the color of the small structure at the base of the lighthouse (I think it's the entrance). It's really the same dark gray/black that's on the lighthouse itself. But, I thought it looked better matching the other buildings. It's red roof helps draw the eye into the lighthouse as the focal point.