Five Stages

8" x 10" Oil on Linen.

Peter Sagan collected a literal hand full of stage wins at the Tour of California this year. It will be interesting to see him head to head with all the other top sprinters at the Tour de France. I can see him giving Cavendish a run for his money since he continued this dominance in Switzerland. I cropped my composition to put his hand at the upper left sweet spot. The shoulder to his left is Boonen.

Cycling Photogs

11" x 14" Oil on Linen.

In a Private collection.

Leon Z allowed me to paint from his photo reference. He said, "This shot just says something..........I'm not sure what, it just speaks to me!" I agree.

 I really liked the contrast between Jono and Beth as they wait for the approaching racers at the US Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado. I thought at first this was Liz  since she is always wearing some pink. Beth Schneider confirms it is her in the comments. She is about 4 ' 10" and Jono is well over 6ft. 

Mountains Leader

11" x 14" Oil on Linen.

On Sales at DailyPaintworks (click to bid.)

Here is a closer composition of the Polka Dot Jersey. The lost edges and exaggeration are pushed a little farther. I wanted this one to more closely match the Green Jersey painting.

Polka Dot Jersey

11" x 14" Oil on Linen.

On sale at DailyPaintworks (click to bid.)

The Polka Dot Jersey in the Tour de France and several other stage races is worn by the leader in the climber's classification. I expect that we might see Andy Schleck  in that jersey as the attacks to take time out of Cadel Evans. It might look like this.

Cavendish Winning

10" x 8" Oil and Linen.

On sale at DailyPaintworks (click to bid.)

I think we will be seeing the rainbow jersey in this pose a lot this year. Mark is not succumbing to any World Champion Jersey curse. Mark won the sprinter friendly World Championship Road Race last year, so this year he gets to has to wear the rainbow stripes in road races. He might be wearing a classification jersey (like the Tour de France Green Jersey.)

For this painting, I used photo reference from 2010 (that I have permission to use) and dressed him in the rainbow stripes. 

The Green Jersey

11" x 14" Oil on mounted Linen.

In a Private collection.

Is this how Mark Cavendish is going to look this summer? He captured the green jersey last year with HTC, but this year will be more of a challenge with Sky and the fact that they have a contender for the overall victory. He has already won with these shoes this year, but he doesn't have the dominant leadout train.

Chris Horner Detail

This is an in progress detail from a larger painting on which I am working. This first pass is incomplete, but I wanted to share my current project. More detail is available on my other blog at http://shootinginthechute.blogspot.com.

Chris at the Finish #2

12" x 12" Oil on Canvas.

Here is a second complete study of Chris and Jono in the chute with Chris Horner. They really were this close and the crowd along both sides is "crowding in" more. Now comes the time to choose the final format and what combination of the studies is a good plan for a larger painting.

Square Study

Approx 5" x 5"
(Not for sale.)

This small square study shows another idea for Chris, Jono, and Chris in the chute. I think the project will continue with a larger version in this format. The goal is to give more of the feeling of the crowd on both sides.

Chris at the Finish

18" x 12" Oil on linen.

This is a view of Chris Horner coming down the finishing "chute" at this year's Solvang Time Trial Stage of the Amgen Tour of California. The motorcycle should really not be here, but sometimes you miss the deviation turn. Oops! It almost looks like they are trying to beat the eventual winner to the finish line.

Jens About to Win

20" x 30" Oil on linen on panel.

In a Private collection.

Checking Behind is a favorite of my paintings for me, so this summer I have been working on a larger revisit to the same subject. Only this time, I put a Leopard Trek Jersey on the rider to update it for 2011. I like to think that this is Jens Voigt about to win after a daring breakaway.

Chris and Tod

8" x 10" Oil on Linen on Panel

Chris Horner on his attack up Sierra Road in this year's Amgen Tour of California. This painting is based on a Jono Devich photo (thanks!) with a lot of editing. The whole scene includes Alex & Casey, Levi, and two more motos further in the background. This was the attack that won the race on a beautiful and hectic day climbing the mountains overlooking San Jose.

In this composition, I wanted to have the focus balanced between the camera lens and Chris' figure. I also wanted to capture the "likeness" of Tod on the moto. If I was to revisit this, I would give the scene more space to breathe inside the edges of the painting. I also would want to downplay all of the details away from the camera lens. I really enjoy how the cool shadow on the bright pavement looks and want to repeat that success.

The Salute - Study

8" x 10" Oil on linen.

I am struggling to get on track with my painting. This one turned out more detailed than I planned. I like the image of the victory salute and the reaction of second place. However, I would like to capture it much more abstract and with greater contrast. If I work on this further, I want it to be more separate from this specific sprint finish.

Thanks to Casey Gibson and Frank Pipp for the inspiration. Casey captured the salute at the end of Stage 2.

Andy Schleck #2

18" x 24" Oil on panel

Another Andy Schleck painting. This time I kept details at bay and worked on top of an abstract blue and yellow background. Unfortunately, the photo of the painting has some glare in it.

The Climber

18" x 24" Oil on panel.

$350 - Shipping extra.

Bursting out into bright sunshine, the climber looks up the road.

I really like the strong contrast in the reference shot from the Tour of California. I think this one makes a good complement to Checking Behind. This is a further adaptation of a Jonathan Devich photo from the last stage of the Tour of California. (Thanks, Jono.) I'm thinking these may be interesting even more abstract.

Tour of California Stage 8

8" x 10" Oil on panel

$100 - Shipping to US included.

With this painting, I have completed one of each Stage of the Tour of California. It was fun looking back at the race. Jono captured the break on the climb as they were "breaking" out into the sun. I really liked the contrast that allowed me to play up the highlights on the riders arms and legs.

It was a great day at the tour. The weather was beautiful and there was still a chance for changes in the overall. The course was twisty on the climb and descent, so it was a nice motorcycle riding day too. The crowd was also huge and active in places. I still wonder if Radio Shack played their cards right. It seems like Horner could have upset for the win if Levi had not attacked behind when Rogers was isolated.

Andy Schleck

18" x 24" Oil on panel

$400 - plus shipping cost.

Andy Schleck was one of the animators for the big Stage 6 day at the Tour of California this year. He was still in the Luxembourg National Champion jersey in May, so he wasn't as easy to spot at the Tour de France when he was back in the normal Saxo Bank kit. In person, it is striking how thin he is; this climber is not about to carry weight in his upper body.

In this painting, I tried to capture the bright sun on the pavement by layering white over a blue underpainting. It surprisingly took several days to fill in the details on this one; my original plan was to go more abstract, but I got carried away toward realism.

Tour of California Stage 7

10" x 8" Oil on panel.

$100 - Shipping to US included.

Stage 7 was the downtown LA time trial. This is the view from the back side of the start ramp with the World Champ about to start (thanks to Jonathan Devich.) Spartacus is a class act on the time trial bike. Those rainbow stripes are a great tradition in the sport.

I remember it as a warm day in the sun checking bikes for UCI compliance. It might not be a fun job and the rules are kind of crazy, but it is important to ensure all of the riders are treated equally. It is also an interesting place to see each rider and their bike up close.

Tour of California Stage 6

8" x 10" Oil on panel.

$100 - Shipping to US included.

Stage 6 of the Tour of California was the "Queen Stage" of the race. That means it was the longest and hardest day of the race. The route profile was jagged with a lot of climbing up to Big Bear Ski Resort. While the sprinters and tired riders struggled with the time cut, the stars went into the breakaway. For this painting, I used a shot from Casey Gibson's coverage with Andy Schleck and George Hincapie; then I edited out the other two riders in the view.

It was a blazing hot day until we got up to altitude. The sunshine made the pavement as bright as in this painting. We had great twisty climbs and wide open descents. Late in the stage, George made his bid along the highway overlooking the LA basin, but in the end a fairly big group came to the finish together.

Tour of California Stage 5

8" x 10" Oil on panel.

$100 - Shipping to US included.

Peter Sagan was the young star of the tour. This was his first score, but he had been close already. The real surprise came with his win the next day. I had to choose between this shot that shows the blinding sunshine of the day and one of his celebratory wheelies. He is still a kid (thus the white young rider leader jersey.)

From my point of view, I remember this as a hot day. Nice riding roads and we got to zip between the field and the break a couple of times. The finish was just plain hot, but the crowd was good and appreciated the race coming to Bakersfield.