Stella

10"x8" acrylic on masonite

Another dog portrait. This was fun and I am very happy with the finished piece. I hope the dog owner will like it.

Just Friends

7"x5" acrylic on masonite

I wasn't sure of what I wanted to paint today. I was thinking maybe a still life? I opened the fridge to see what we had and there they were. An apple and a clementine cuddling in the veggie drawer.

I really enjoyed this painting. It was nice to change it up a bit. I raised the table for a more parallel view and used a piece of varnished wood as a table surface. I managed to mix color with color in this painting, the only white used was in the highlights.

Fullersburg Woods

I temporarily pointed the painting into a frame to show what the finished piece would look like.

I felt that this classical gold frame would be nice. Still need to varnish it.

10"x8" acrylic on masonite

Added more depth and color

Blocked in the overall composition

I was in the mood to paint a landscape. This is another painting of Fullersburg woods where my family and I went canoeing last fall. A beautiful place.

Dressed in White

8"x10" acrylic on masonite

This little girl was a delight to paint.  I was captivated by her beautiful brown eyes, rosy cheeks and curly hair. She looked like an adorable little angel dressed in white. I just had to paint her.

Painting skin tones is always challenging. There are so many subtle changes in color.  I struggled with it a bit and corrected many mistakes, but overall I am happy with the results. Attached are a few stages of the painting to demonstrate my progress.

Reference provided by Shelldevil DA

Ollie and Sadie Belle

photo reference

10"x8" acrylic on masonite

Another dog portrait commission... It's always challenging to use multiple references, but overall I am happy with the results on this one. I adjusted the placement of the upside down dog and played with the lighting a little bit to make for a more interesting composition.

Reflection of a Clementine

10"x8" acrylic on masonite

What I enjoyed about this painting was the beauty of the light, and how it created a variety of interesting reflections. I was fascinated by the light cast from the copper pot as well as the light cast from the bottle onto the clementines themselves. Some other interesting parts of this panting were the way the clementines reflected differently onto the surrounding elements and also the beautiful cast shadow of the glass against the drapery in the background.

This painting was very challenging for me, but it was also a lot of fun to paint.

Family Portrait

14"x11" acrylic on masonite

I enjoyed painting this portrait commission. It was very challenging, but I am happy with the results. I must say that this is probably my most successful portrait to date. Looking forward to the next one.

Happy New Year!

Growing up I have always been told "you have a God given talent". I always thought that to be true. However, as I have grown older and especially in the past year, I feel that that phrase needs to be defined a bit. I would put it this way, "God has given me a desire or a passion in my heart". Its not something that is just handed over to me. Sure, I may think differently than another person as I use the right side of my brain (the creative or visual side) and another may use the left side more. That may be God given. The "talent" or passion has to be nurtured, kind of like a spark that needs to be kindled so it can grow into a fire. I am not going to get better and improve by sitting on the couch. It takes a lot of hard work and careful study.

Last year my New Years resolution was to nurture my passion for art. The desire was strong, I just needed to make time for it. The solution was to turn off the tv. By doing that, painting every day and starting this blog, I have learned and improved my skill tremendously. I have also learned how much my talent was fading and that I had so much to learn and improve on. Looking back to my first blog post to my last post I am excited about the improvement.

My New Year resolution for 2012 is to continue my journey as an artist and paint my heart out. I want to be the best I can be and the only way to do that is to practice and paint until I can't paint anymore. I am looking forward to 2012 and I hope you all have a happy and healthy new year.

First painting

Latest painting