Graduation and Good Friends

Oil on Wood stump, approx. 2' diameter, 1.5" depth.

My good friend Carl (right) asked me to paint a portrait of him and his sister Katie (left) as a gift for her college graduation. In an attempt to split the wood to make a diptych, the wood was put through a "seasoning" process by experimental sessions of heating in a conventional oven. Nature vs. me, nature had its say and split the wood in three. This worked out well for a nice triptych. The project was fun, as well as very intimidating. Katie is a wonderful painter, and painting a portrait of a painter FOR the breath-taking painter herself is quite a nervous task! It was my pleasure to muscle through it and produce something for these amazing people that will last (hardly) as long as their strong and loving characters.

Children at Crane Beach

Oil on Canvas, 18" X 24" 2013.

PART THREE: Progress...

I've broken a rule of painting (according to almost all of my art teachers ever) by saving the hardest part for last (as opposed to working all over the canvas equally for even completeness). Please don't mind the globular forms that look like ghost children. They are my next target, as will be the finishing touches throughout this painting. If all goes well, I've got about one more 6-hr session left for this to be done. Feedback is welcome! Thanks. Final photo to come soon.

PART TWO : Progress of a Commissioned Painting

(It's getting there!!!)

Progress of a Commissioned Painting

I'd consider this one-quarter of the way completed. Still to do: paint in two children running the walkway, add A LOT of detail to the grass, wood, and water, and unify colors/neutralize it a bit over all.

Of Flesh and Cloth

- A New Series in Progress -

Oil on Canvas, 18" x 24"

Part of my development in creating art involved my interest in sketching hands. I remember sketching my own hands during class during my school years, and drawing hands from photographs, friends, etc. I also learned how much I enjoyed drawing, sculpting, and painting cloth. The emotions that can be told by the movements in hands, and the softness of the large and small folds of flowing cloth appealed to me enough for it to hold great significance. The relationship of flesh with cloth tells a story.

In religious terms, the phrases "of the flesh" and "of the cloth" indicate our human nature. Through a series of oil paintings, I hope to portray the gentler sides and the tenser sides of our humanness, as well as other stories in between.

Thank you, Julia Ham, for being my first hand model for what I hope will be a line of work that I can put on display for the public.

Self-Portrait

I'm getting over my aversion to self-portraits. I never enjoyed doing them, even through all of the homework assignments--drawings AND paintings--through the years. One of these days, I will complete one that I like. I appreciate when an artist has one in their portfolio, such as this favorite: http://www.prescottpaintings.com/gallery.html

Everyone sees themselves differently than others do, and it's interesting to see how!