Back to Work...

 

 "Night Shift" (20x24) o/p

Back at it in the studio today, and thankful for a wonderful weekend with family and friends...life is good (because it's life)...

(detail)

WEEKEND WORKSHOP IN APRIL

"Backstage" (24x30) o/c

The date is getting closer for my Figure Painting Workshop, April 6th & 7th at the Hansen Studio in Oregon City -- Several spaces left, details at top right under "Events" (Oregon City Workshop)...

Everyday Hero

 "Everyday Hero" (16x12)

When I was in the first grade, the school janitors name was Joe.  I liked Joe, everyone did -- he was the friendly guy who always had a smile and even knew your name if you took time to talk to him (which he always enjoyed no matter how busy he was). 
 

I never knew his last name or even thought much about him outside of school (he was such a fixture, I probably thought he lived there) but somehow his presence made an impact on my young world and I'm glad he was there on the job, every day...

I gave this painting the title "Everyday Hero" because of the often overlooked nobility inherent in those vocations that seem less than noble...AND the fact that hard working people like this can make a positive and profound impression on young minds, even though they only appear to function in the background where we pay little attention... 

This piece will be in an upcoming solo exhibition opening at Bonner David Galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona on April 25th. 

New Work

 "What We Never Talk About" (36x48) o/c

This is another piece for my show in Scottsdale next month...I'd like to do more of these narratives that have an open-ended story line that the viewer can surmise on their own.  As in, are they married? (she's wearing a ring)...is it his ring, or is this a secret rendezvous affair, and that's what they never discuss...?

She's not entirely satisfied -- communication breakdown is always an accessory, if not the root of marital discord.  Perhaps she just wants to "talk" more and not treat this like a business. Maybe it's not a business at all, but a lonesome pattern of routine...the human condition. Then again, they may not even really know each other; married singles as the title may suggest, or just two lonely people escaping other issues and responsibilities. 

Either way, he's obviously tuned out...

But what do YOU see?

Oregon City WORKSHOP

Ice Woman (detail) 16x20"

I am holding a Weekend Figure Painting Workshop at the Hansen Studio in Oregon City,  April 6th & 7th,  2013. 
Details are linked at right under "Events"

 (detail)

 (detail)

Class runs 9am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday.

Serenade to a Debutante

 Serenade to a Debutante (24x20)

 Been working on a solo show that will open this spring at Bonner David Galleries in Scottsdale, AZ.  It will be comprised of music related pieces, vocational subject matter and various narrative works.

 (detail)

(detail)

 

Figure Workshop in Laguna Beach

Study for "Shout!" (12x9)

I have been invited by the Sedona Arts Center to host a Figurative Workshop at the Laguna College of Art in Laguna Beach, CA next July (2013)...this will be a four day class with demonstrations concentrating on 2 days of quick sketch studies exploring form values and colour temperatures, and 2 days focusing on a long pose figure with background environment. 

Figure Study (14x11)

Dates, cost and a detailed materials list can be found at the link below, or under the "Events" section at right...

http://activenet.active.com/SedonaArtsCenter/registrationmain.sdi?source=adet.sdi&activity_id=707

So Cal Sketching

Autumn Sycamore

A couple of weeks ago we went down to Southern California for some vacation time, and to celebrate our daughters birthday. I have several family members in the area so it was a kind of reunion time too, and we were also able to spend a few days over the border in Mexico where my folks now live.

Painting at Moss Point in Laguna 
 (photo courtesy Thomas Kitts)

As it turned out, our daughters birthday fell right in the middle of the Laguna Plein Air Invitational (I knew this ahead of time) so I took the opportunity to bring along my paints and with my family's permission, was able to slip away on several occasions to sketch in Laguna Beach and the Pasadena area where I was born... In fact, I was able to spend time with several artists who were in town for the show, but since I was mainly there for family time, I only brought along a little pochade box and kept my sketches to a small 8x10" size.

Quick Colour Sketch

On Thursday, the LPAPA artists all congregated at Crystal Cove to paint the historic cottages there. I figured it was alright to party crash the event since I knew many of the participants (besides it's a public beach anyway) and it was fun to see everyone and the great work they created there.

Moss Point PM

Moss Point Morning

Trabucco Cloud Patterns

I also went to O'Neil Park -- one of the few remaining places in OC where you can pretend to paint like Hanson Puthuff or Maurice Braun (when no ones looking). Unfortunately, I had just missed the Edgar Payne retrospective show in Pasadena by 2 days, but getting out here gave me plenty of inspiration anyway...

San Gabriel Mountains

The day before we flew home, I painted with my friend, Tim Solliday -- I credit him with getting me interested in plein air painting when we first met a number of years ago. Tim is a real inspiration and a dedicated painter of the old school style, working directly from life whenever possible.  He's the one who told me to do a lot of 'starts' and don't worry about the finishes, they'll come along in time...one of the best pieces of advice on painting I ever received.