Monday, February 25, 2019

On Sunset Drive

On Sunset Drive 8x8 acrylic on Raymar panel

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Architecture,landscape,cityscape impressionist

I grew up on a quiet street in a small town. The modest bungalows and cape-cod homes were on streets lined with stately trees and crisscrossed with pathways and alleyways that seemed made for kids on bikes. We played “kick the can” into the dark when school was out. Recently, some similar homes caught my eye and memories came back of the long summers on Sunset Drive. I hope kids will always get to play on safe streets with warm green lawns. Here’s to living and growing up in a small town. Soon to be at auction on Daily Paintworks .

Friday, February 22, 2019

The Dance

The Dance mixed media 12x12 primarily acrylic, acrylic ink and oil



Landscape,trees,impressionist

Each fall and winter I look with wonder and amazement at the structure of trees. We have a very short growing season here in northeast Wisconsin. These giants of the plant world have to take in enough nutrients from the sun and soil to sustain them through our long fall and winter seasons. In the summer they are luxurious, enveloped in a green mantle of leaves. In the fall, the trees amaze us with the gorgeous yellows and reds they hide until the changing patterns of weather and light tell them to disrobe. I often study the forms of the winter trees. Their sturdy trunks and branches suggest a personality. The bare trees are quiet witnesses to life as it passes season to season. And so they wait and dance with the wind.

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Coffee for Two



Coffee For Two 


Oil still life 8x8 palette knife painting

A trip to one of our local thrift shops was the start for this painting. I enjoy looking for simple colorful objects to mix up and place into a still life composition. The blue green coffee pot and the green blue cup were perfect foils for the red apples. I began the painting with my brush and quickly realized that the subject was looking and feeling a bit staid, unexciting. After I scraped off the thickest paint and basically got back down to a toned ground I began again. This time I used one of my palette knives to carve out and delineate the shapes. The knife restricts detail to a minimum and helped me to focus on bringing energy to this ordinary still life. Then my subject became a means to convey the luscious paint strokes, the “frosting” on this “cake”. I think the fact that I was having more fun played a role in the success of this little one.

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

The Mission

    Architecture , Sonoran Night, size  8x10 ,  medium oil on canvas on board

We have had the pleasure of many trips to Sonoran Arizona. It is a remarkable place filled with history. Shaped by the amazing traditions of Mexican, Spanish , and  Native AmericanCultures. Here the old Missions have a special aura, they echo many voices and many events from the past. This painting is an imagined scene inspired by an old shell of a mission near Tubac, Arizona.  I hoped to capture the mystery of the night and the golden light of spirits long gone from this special place.
Sonoran Night 8x10 oil

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Tea and Company

Still life, Floral,


Tea and Company 8 x 8 oil on a cradled museum quality panel

It seems appropriate to share this little bouquet on this special day.  When I set up this still life , the flowers suggested warmth and friendship and harmony on a cold winter day. The copper teapot is an old friend in my studio. It has a wonderful patina and a few dings suggesting it’s well used past. This subject offered me ample opportunity to play with color, texture and brushwork. These painting characteristics often direct my decisions,  as I keep in mind my goal to keep these small works fresh. Initially my background was a light value and it seemed to compete with the warmth of the subject. By darkening the background I pushed the subject forward. Backgrounds often cause painters to stumble . When decisions are made early and the painting is worked all over as a unit,  things seem to work out. Tea anyone?  Happy Valentines Day!

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

On George Street

  Cityscape ,   On George Street , size 8 x 6 , medium oil on canvas panel

This winter I joined an artist studio/cooperative in an older downtown neighborhood in DePere, Wi. Our space was once a grocery store and our space still reflects that history with an intricate tin ceiling and large storefront windows. This little painting is part observation and part intuition. I recently spent a bitterly cold and snowy day painting near the windows. The cream city brick and red brick buildings across the road made great patterns against the snow covered ground. Texture and brushwork are the driving forces in this painting. Old buildings have a story to tell. They have a character beyond the new shopping malls and modern storefronts. They wait to be discovered once again.
“On George Street” 6x8 oil

Sunday, February 10, 2019

Shore Dreaming

   Seascape ,  Shore Dreaming  , size 8x 8 ,  medium oil on museum quality panel

I’ve always been drawn to the lakeshore. The colors and light and sounds common to this intersection of land and water are unique to every part of this country. Our lake, Lake Michigan, has many moods. It can be tranquil and golden or violent and grey. These moods present me with ever inspiring and changing palette of emotion and color. “Shore Dreaming” is a memory of, or perhaps a wish for, the warm days of summer. Right now January has been bruising us with arctic temps and wicked winds. No matter the weather, memory serves to bring some warmth to the day.
Shore Dreaming 8x8 oil

Friday, February 8, 2019

Winter Alley

          Cityscape     Winter Alley  , size 8x8  , medium oil on museum quality panel

We live in  downtown Green Bay and we also have a small cottage “up north” in Oconto County. It is a mixed bag of a life. Our City life provides us with a walkable lifestyle. We are  planted right in the middle of the everything downtown. We love the closeness of opportunities and the diversity offered by a big city.  And,  when we’ve had enough of the traffic and noise and congestion, we head to the forest to find peace and to catch our breath.  Both places are filled with inspiring landscape forms and moods and energy. Recently,  I’ve noticed that the alleyway near our place has a special ambiance under winter’s cloak. The large and small buildings look like giant building blocks in the late afternoon light. The touch of warmth against theses gritty buildings has reminded me of the rough and tumble work of the painters of the Ashcan School. I have long admired their honest work. I love that they honored what was both ugly and refined - life in the city. This painting is a nod to them.
“Winter Alley” 8x 8 oil on a cradled panel.

Monday, February 4, 2019

The Little One

  Still life ,  Viva the Flowers!  Size  8 x8 , medium oil on museum quality panel

In the midst of our bitterly cold winter vortex, I came across a little bouquet of fresh flowers at a local grocery store. They seemed to brighten the whole place when I brought the bouquet into my studio. I have a few favorite things that often make a repeat appearance in my still life paintings. When I picked up my old dark blue vase and popped the flowers in place, this little painting almost painted itself. My goal was to lay the oil paint down without fuss or tinkering. The bright blooms demanded my immediate attention. I had a great time immersed in the bright colors and suggestion of summer present in these flowers. Sometimes, painting is child’s play. Viva the Flowers in winter!