Vero Demo - Challenge

I was asked to do a demo for the Vero Beach Art Assoc. This was the first time I had to perform in front of a whole bunch of people. I thought I would be in a small room, and only 10-15 people would show up. As it turns out, they put me on a very large, dark stage with 150-200 people watching.  They gave me one hour to finish. Yikes! More pressure.  I brought one spotlight because I knew I wanted to look at some strong shadows. I should have brought a second to light up my palettebox and painting. Alas...

This was my setup. I turned the table a bit before getting started to get a better shadow of the pear.

 I'm standing in the dark. As I tried to paint, I kept trying to make it lighter and lighter. Finally I added pure white, and it was still dark. Oh nooo. Now what? I've got all these people watching. I finally put a studio mat on it, and called it finished. I took the light off the setup, and directed it on the painting. What a surprise a little light makes. Considering the challenge of poor light, I was pleased with the result.

It was so dark on that stage.

Peony with Pear...12" x 12" oil on linen

I learned a very important lesson from all this, that I wanted to share. We all know, when we paint outdoors, and there is to much light, our paintings can look very dark when we bring them indoors.  Well the opposite of that is also true.  If there isn't enough light, we keep trying to make it lighter, and lighter.  Then when we put it in the appropriate light, the painting will be to light. Mine is very light. Notice, no darks.

This was fun. One of the people in the audience did this drawing of me while I worked. I love this.

It's a 2" jewel that I framed. Thanks.

The painting was raffled off for their fundraiser. The gal with the winning ticket was thrilled. They are all a nice group of people.

Assembly of God

Stapleton Kearns posted this on my facebook page. 
It was to good not to pass on.  It's really nice to know that a man of the cloth has such a funny sense of humor. I love it.

Take heed.  Go out and paint!

Zippers Canal

Zipper's Canal

Hopefully, I'm back to my regular schedule. I did the Dunedin Art Fair last weekend. The weather was perfect.  The crowds were good, and the sales were excellent. This is one of my big 24"x48" paintings that was sold, and went to a new home. 

That is always a nice feeling.

After the Rains

After the Rains...6" x 6"...oil on gessobord

I'm on my way to the Des Moines art fair.  This was painted before I left.  It might as well been painted during my trip.  I've never seen so much rain in my entire life.  What should have been a 2 day drive, has turned out to be a 4 day drive.  I've been dodging wind, rain, hail, and tornadoes.  Atleast I'll arrive today, and can set up today.  Let's hope for good weather. This art show business is not for the wimpy. They have asked me to do a demo.  I said OK, so if you're in the area, come by at 4PM on Friday, you can watch and say hello.

Anyway, I love the simplicity of this painting.  Sometimes when I run out of time, I don't have time to pick, pick and pick some more, and I like the outcome better.

A Whole Lot of Blueberries

A Whole Lot of Blueberries
6" x 6" oil on canvas

The lady across the lake from me has a fantastic blueberry patch.  She told me she's already picked over 4600 lbs of blueberries.  Think about it.  That's a lot of blueberries.  We went over last week to pick.  My family did all the work.
I took a lot of great pictures.

Every bush was just loaded.  We brought home 20 lbs.  Washed them, and put them in the refrigerator.  Everytime I walk by, I grab a handful. Gotta go pick some more.

BTW, for those of you keeping up with my flying, I thought it was time to come down to earth for a while.  Last Thursday, my instructor opened the plane door at an altitude of 3000 ft.  After the initial panic and shock, even though, it would only open a little, he said, he did it so I'd realize it's no big deal. He also said it can happen, and would rather it happen with him in the plane.

 I knew if that had happened to me during a solo flight. I would have thought it was a dire emergency, and I'd have to make an emergency landing into some field. Then,  he actually asked me if I wanted to open my door.  NO, I don't think so.  Now I know what to expect, but I still feel more comfortable with my feet on the floor....on the ground.

PayPal...$135 unframed

My First Plane

Cherokee 180
6" x 6" Oil on canvas board

This is not actually my first plane, I don't have one, but it's the first plane that I flew.  I'm training in a Cessna 172, and have had a few bumpy landings. I'm getting better, and I'm happy to report, that I haven't broken my painting arm.

However, when painting this plane, I really had to look, and look hard.  I wanted it to be a little loose without all the nuts and rivets showing.  When I showed it to my instructor, he looked for the miniscule tiny detail. He makes a better flight instructor than a painter.

I thought it was a lot of fun to paint something completely different. Atleast, you can tell it's a plane...and it's airworthy.

PayPal.....$135...unframed

Hydrangea with Pear

"Hydrangea with Pear"

6"x6" oil on canvas board

I had company this week.  It was wonderful, and I enjoyed every moment of it....but my company and I were on a different time clock.  She stayed up late, and slept late. 

Early in the morning, while she slept, the house was so still. I got up and fed the dogs and cats. Then I did this painting of some hydrangeas.  I love the pear.  I still find pears hard to paint, but I like this one.  Now, if I can only learn to paint the red side on the light side, and the yellow side on the shadow side,  I'll really be happy.

Paypal....$135 unframed.

Coming in...First Landing

I did my first unassisted landing on Monday.  Today I flew the traffic pattern four times, and I did 4 landings.  For some reason, on the last one, I fish-tailed, and bounced...and bounced, and almost bounced off the runway. Yikes!

My instructor said:

"Well, it wasn't pretty, but you got to the ground"

I was tired. It was time to quit for the day. Was it Clint Eastwood who said, a man's got to know his limitations. So, when it's time to quit, it's time to quit.  



It's Alway's a Summer Treat

 

A watermelon in the heat of the day, is always a summer treat.

Invite all the kids. Spit the seeds on the ground.  Laugh, sing silly songs, giggle...wonder: where on earth did these teenage kids get these weird clothes, they love to wear...and just have a grand ole time.

When everyone's gone, take your leftovers, and instead of slicing it open, break it apart. It'll give you a much more interesting cut. Then, after the kids are gone, and if, and I mean 'if' you have any energy left, you can paint your leftovers.

These are nice memories.

$135...unframed

image ...6"x6"

Zipper's Canal

Yesterday was just plain grand...there was no time to paint.  I watched every moment of the Royal Wedding. Kate was stunning. I loved the way William looked at her. I adored Prince Harry.
He's got great hair!
Did you notice..... I'm on a first name basis on all of them.

Today was different. It was an absolutely gorgeous, gorgeous day.  The temperature went down in the low 60's last night. In the morning, I opened my all windows to take advantage of the low temperature, and low humidity.  My house smells great! 

I just love the smell of good clean air.

Then, I decided I couldn't stay indoors. I went out to paint at one of my favorite places.....along the Kissimmee River.

All of you reading this,  know...we as painters...are so lucky. What a great day!

Unframed....$135

Connie's Room

This was a fun little painting to do.  I love the way the light comes in through the window.  The sun light tells me it's time to get up, get to work, and enjoy another great day.

PayPal: $135....unframed.

Blue Glass Reflections

I love this little painting. I think it's a gem. I love Nancy's blue bottle. I love the reflection of the pear in the blue glass. This was another painting I did in Atlanta.  At first, I had twice the amount of eucalyptus leaves.  It looked like a giant, dense bunch of leaves....very heavy looking. I wasn't really sure what to do.....but remember?....we're told to scrape...wipe...whatever it takes, but we have to remember to keep it simple. I took out more than half the leaves, and I love the result.  It's so much better!

Sometimes we fall in love with our own work.  Sometimes we're to close to see the problem.  So if you don't like it, scrape it out, and remember, less is more

Paypal....$135....unframed