Portrait of a Super Hero

This is a detail of a painting I have been working on a for a while.  I think I am getting close to the finish line.  I still need to refine some color relationships and tone down the background.  I love these superhero poses.  Children have such active imaginations at this age.  Too bad it doesn't last forever!

Study of Zoe

Study for "Zoe", oil on linen, 8 x 8 (cropped)

Another children's portrait for you!  I am updating my website this week to reflect the new portrait business and feature some more recent examples of my portrait work.  Please forgive the glare in this.  I only have my iPhone right now and have to shoot outside so it is difficult to get correct color.  This piece is actually based on an old black and white photo that I have had for a long time.  I am going to offer small pieces such as the one above for people who are not in my area or want an affordable alternative to the larger, full commission portraits.  These pieces will be done from client provided photos and will not involve a photo shoot or life sittings.  I will describe what constitutes a "good" photo on my website under the "commissions" heading.  Please visit my website for more information.   

Compton Portraits

"Coltrane", Oil on Panel, 16 x 20

Hello to anyone who is still left out there!  Hard to believe it has been a full four months since I have posted to this blog.   A lot of you know that I post primarily on instagram these days as do a lot of other artists.  It is an easier platform and can be done more quickly than blogspot.  That said, I do like the blog format for announcements and other things that require more than a one line description.   I am still painting though my focus has been shifting from the plein air landscape work of the past several years to more personal subject matter.   I have decided to start my portrait business up again in the upstate New York area (though I can do portraits for people in any area of the country).  Some of you may remember that I was the artist in residence at a resort in the Florida Keys where I specialized in children's portraiture.  I will post more information on my portrait process in future posts.  Hopefully some of you are still around to read my blog!

And Now For Something Completely Different . . .

"Sunflower", Oil on Panel, 16 x 20

I took a little break from the drizzle of my rainy cityscapes to revisit my Caribbean market ladies.  I did a series of these paintings in pastel several years ago based on our trips to the island of St. Martin. We have not been back to St. Martin in several years so I more or less abandoned this subject matter.  But, I was feeling like doing something a little different so I pulled out the reference files.  This is probably a little more contrasty and saturated in some areas than the actual painting but I am pleased with it overall.  Shout out to Greg Little for the helpful advice!

Newport Lobsterman Again

"Newport Lobsterman II", oil on linen panel, 8 x10

The lobsterman paintings may become a series but I won't commit yet.  Two does not make a series!  There is so much material to paint from the New England lobster boats.  The boats are usually small and neutral colored but the bright gear that the men wear and the trap buoys create a colorful and appealing scene.  The challenge is to narrow down the elements to create a cohesive painting.  There is almost too much to work from.   In this painting, I focused on the center man in the orange gear.  I liked the positive and negative shapes created by the overlapping figures. There was actually a lot more going on here but I simplified the composition to focus on the main shapes and concentrate the brightest color around the focal area.   I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.