Sidewalk King - watercolor

watercolor, 2017

available, 11"x15"

prints also available

      Ran into this majestic creature and it's twin in front of an Asian restaurant in Salisbury the same morning I shot last week's reference photo. I thought he would work well for a loose still life.

Art Movies - watercolor

watercolor, 2016

available, 11"x15"

prints also available

      A very loose impression of a photo of a particular area of (I think) Chicago in the early 1970s.

24th St. Sunset - watercolor

watercolor, 2015

available, 11"x15"

      For the most part, I'm pretty happy with this one. There are some problem spots, of course. But there are a few great spots, as well. The biggest problem with this one, really, was the process. It should have gone more smoothly and faster. Instead, I had to fuss over it way too much. And, that always leads to overworking and screwing it up. Fortunately, I didn't go too far.

Sidewalk Sale - watercolor

watercolor, 2015

available, 9"x12"

      This is from a shot I took in Blowing Rock, NC. Actually, it's the same location as Daisy Shopping posted in July. I'm happy with several individual parts of this one, especially the scarves and bag hanging on the left. Overall, it's just loose enough, though I could have loosened up a bit more. But the rough paper gave me such a difficult time I'm rethinking my strategy for choosing rough over cold-pressed paper. I'll probably be using a lot more cold-pressed paper and reserving the rough stuff for very specific images.

6th Street - watercolor

watercolor, 2015

available, 11"x15"

prints and gifts also available

      This was done from a shot I took a couple months ago while walking through downtown Winston-Salem, NC. I'm very happy with this one. There are only a couple things I would change and they're pretty minor. It hits all the loose, impressionism notes I've been struggling with while keeping plenty of realism and detail -- another one on the road to loose realism.
      I've started doing small sketches of scenes and subjects before trying them at larger sizes. This is a technique I've known for years but rarely used. When done right it really helps. You get a good sense of the subject, how the colors you think you want to use really work together and can see how your focal point relates to the rest of the image. When I finish a sketch I scan it and print it in color or copy it on a color copier and then make notes about changes, color usage and other things I want to remember when doing the larger painting. With this one, for instance, I made a note to include more of the scene on the left. In the sketch I had cropped it at the No Parking sign. That placement seemed to restrict the eye and made the image seem cluttered with all the sidewalk stuff. With some open space on the left of the sign the sidewalk seems more open.

Daisy Shopping - watercolor

watercolor, 2015

available, 11"x15"

prints also available

      Many people have seen the movie Driving Miss Daisy. If you haven't, you should. I think I've mentioned before that I often drive my wife, mother-in-law, mother, and two sisters - or any combination - around shopping on weekends. My wife has always liked for me to do the driving; I have a good sense of direction and usually remember how to get back to places we've only visited once. For years I have likened that to Driving Miss Daisy and over the years I've gathered more and more Daisies to drive around. That's where I got the title for this piece. I drove the Daisies to Blowing Rock, NC a few weeks back and got a shot of them at this little shop. I took the liberty of changing the flowers outside to a loose semblance of daisies.

Manteo - watercolor

watercolor, 2015

available, 11"x15"

prints and gifts also available

      It was cold, dark and cloudy the last time we were in Manteo and all my reference photos show it. It wasn't too difficult brightening things up. I added the pedestrian for some interest and movement.

Sidewalk Reader - watercolor

watercolor, 2015

available, 9"x12"

      This is from a reference photo I took a couple Saturdays back in Asheboro NC. This one is on the small side because I painted it over the course of a few lunch hours at work. It looks a little empty to me now that it's finished. I left out some clutter behind the seated man because it was -- well -- clutter. I might try this one again in a larger size and leave in some of the clutter. I'm pretty happy with it otherwise.  It's definitely a step in the direction I want to take. Prints, of course, are available here.

Lexington WiFi - watercolor

watercolor, 2015

original available, 11"x15" $125

prints also available

      Lexington NC is a forward-thinking little town with a thriving downtown that offers free wi-fi. I really wasn't thinking about that when I took the reference photo. But the red and white sign makes for a nice focal point. When I took the shot I was so intent on getting the pedestrians in the shot before they disappeared into a store that I didn't realize the trees and utility pole lined up the way they did. It looks a little odd, but I guess it still works. There's a lot of other things about this one that I got exactly the way I wanted, though.

Hayden Place 1987 - watercolor

watercolor, 2015

original available, 11"x15" $200

prints also available

      This is from a photograph I took in downtown High Point NC when I was in college and spending a lot of time with photography. This block looks very different today. For those familiar with the area, the High Point city bus station is behind the viewer and the North State Telephone office is just across the street to the left. And, that's my 79 Ford Mustang on the far left, my first car and I loved it and cared for it like a newborn baby.

Mr. Ed's - watercolor

watercolor, 2014

original available, 11"x14" $200

prints also available

     Loose and sketchy, this one originally was painted as a half-sheet (15"x22"). But I wasn't happy with the upper half. I was much happier with the crop and this should work nicely in an 11"x14" mat.

The Little Bridge - watercolor

watercolor, 2014

original available, 9"x12" $125

prints also available

Another one from County Kerry, Ireland for Virtual Paintout. The name of the pub, An Droicead Beag, is The Little Bridge in English.

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.

220 Elm - gouache

gouache, 2014

original available, 7"x10" $125

prints also available

304 S. Elm - gouache

gouache, 2014

original available, 8"x10" $125

prints also available

An empty building in downtown Greensboro, NC.

Yellow House Kingman Street - gouache

gouache, 2014

original available - 11"x14" $125

prints available

Virtual Paintout is doing Washington DC this month (http://virtualpaintout.blogspot.com/).