With a Beard

11 x 14

I think I will go shave now.

Eggbeater Drill

12" x 12" Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas.

On auction at DailyPaintworks (click to bid.)

Grandpa's old "eggbeater" drill is still running very smooth. This is my take on the You Know the Drill Challenge at DailyPaintworks. I set the tool in the composition with a cool to warm background in the upper portion of the square. 

White on White Coffee Cup

10" x 10" Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas.

On Auction at DPW.

This coffee cup painting is in response to the White on White Daily Paintworks Challenge.

I wanted to go with a more graphic painting so I picked a square format with a lot of cropping on the subject. I did manage to get my favorite heart shaped handle reflection. I decided between this oblique angle and looking down from the top. That may be coming up.

The challenge was interesting, but I think I would sneak in a little more color with some warm/cool lighting if I started again. Still, it makes me think it is time to fill the cup with a latte...

Fan Dancer #4

10" x 10" Oil on Deep Gallery Wrap Canvas.

In a private collection.

Wayne, Pa

This will be the last dancer, for now. I saved the most dynamic to finish the quartet. I think they would  look great hanging together. 

Fan Dancer #3

10" x 10" Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas.

In a private collection.

Wayne, Pa

For the third in this series I picked one of the most dynamic standing poses. The pronounced wrinkles and interesting line made this fun to paint. I worked at keeping some hard and lost edges in the figure. Finally, there is the hint of her form in the shadow in front of her.

The next in the series is going to go in a different direction.

Fan Dancer #2

10" x 10" Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas.

In a private collection.

Wayne, Pa

This second fan dancer offered a solid pyramid to work with in the composition. I placed her slightly off center to avoid too much symmetry. I worked carefully with the narrow choices of color.

Fan Dancer #1

10" x 10" Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas.

In a private collection.

Wayne, Pa

This is the first in a series of "fan" dancers that performed at the Beijing Paralympic Games. My wife captured part of their performance in snapshots and I love their poses. I'm not sure how many I will do, but there is some good material from which to work.

Swan Reflection

10" x 10" Oil on gallery wrap canvas.
On auction at DPW.

This swan has been in my photo reference for a while. It has nice wild reflections and is romantically from near Chillon Castle in Switzerland, I believe. The swans I recently painted reminded me of this one, along with looking for a good reflection to paint.

I hope to be posting more regularly now that the holidays are over and I seem to be on the mend from a very persistent bug.

Swans

10" x 10" Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas
On auction at DPW.

Over Thanksgiving, I visited the migratory bird sanctuary in the bluff country along the Mississippi in southern Minnesota. The day was cold but bright, giving the water nice blue tones. Most of the birds were fairly sedate or feeding, but sometimes there was some action I could catch. The white adults are just the color you would imagine for a swan.

Shoe Yin Yang

12" x 12" Oil on Canvas.

For my Shoe Challenge painting, I thought I would create a Yin Yang symbol representing the business/formal vs. pleasure/informal sides of life. It was fun to paint. After I was finished I looked around and realized the white side is more commonly on the left.

(Sorry for the glare, I may retake the picture later.)

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.

Scary Starry Night

14" x 11" Oil on mounted canvas.

Sold.

For Halloween and the current DPW Challenge, I produced a mashup of a jack o lantern and Van Gogh's Starry Night. I used Carol Marine's cool carved pumpkin imagining it lit up from inside.

Yes, I was thinking about Don McLean's song when I titled the painting!