Urban Beauty: Not Just Another Pretty Picture

"After the Rain Tortola", 9 x 12, oil on panel

I am pleased to announce that "After the Rain Tortola" has been accepted into the "Urban Beauty" show at the Randy Higbee Gallery in Costa Mesa, California.  The paintings selected for this national juried show will focus on the "unusual beauty and sometimes darker side of our cities."  It will run from October 4th through the 17th.  I wish I could attend the reception on the 4th but it is a long way to go for a party!  But you should go if you are in the area!

Lingering Mist

Study for "Lingering Mist", 8 x 8, oil on panel
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This started as a plein air piece done in the middle of a summer day.  I decided it needed a little more mood and changed the time of day to early morning.  I like it much better.  I am going to start putting some of my studies on the Daily Paintworks auction page - starting with this one!  I will also be selling some of my smaller studies and paintings through an online gallery this Fall.  Stay tuned for details!

Twilight at the Lake in Cape Cod

"Twilight at the Lake", 11 x 14, plein air on panel

This photo is picking up strange accents but it was taken with an iPhone so that's about it.   I think the contrast and the purples are over emphasized.  This was a painting started on location at a lake near Dennis on Cape Cod.  It was the end of a beautiful day on the Cape.  I was initially taken with the shape of the trees against the water.  I did a lot of work in the studio on this.  Maybe too much.  I will leave it for a while and look at it with fresh eyes in a couple of weeks.

New Cityscape Study

Study for "Broadway Drizzle", oil on linen panel, 8 x 8

The reds are a little over saturated in this photo.  This is a study for a larger painting that I am starting today.  The larger piece will be 20 x 20.  I am going to emphasize the glow from the windows with a lot of glazing and transparent layers.  I will post a progress shot this weekend (hopefully)!

Cool Morning

Study for "A Cool Morning", 9 x 12, oil on linen panel

This is a plein air piece started in Newport a couple of weeks ago.  I did not spend enough time working out the composition before I started so I have struggled with it for the past week or so.  My main area of concern was the bottom right corner.  I had to make up the rocks and tree there so that the composition was more than just three horizontal bands.  I think I will let it sit for a while.  Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend!


Revised painting as of 9/3:  I had to move that big boulder in the right hand corner.  It was heavy ; )

Breeze on the Water

Breeze on the Water, 9 x 12, oil on panel

It's been a busy couple of weeks.  We just finished a nine day charter which was good but exhausting!  I am finally finishing some of the plein air pieces started a few weeks ago.  This was from a plein air trip to Cohasset in July.  It may need a few more tweaks but I'm calling it finished for now!

A Summer Day

"A Summer Day," 9 x 12, oil on linen panel

My friend Denise and I had a beautiful day in Cohasset last week.  It was the perfect summer day!  The colors are little saturated in this photo but it was taken with an iPhone so it is what it is.  I have decided to stop naming locations in my painting titles.  I recently had an email from an internet troll that demanded all copies of one of my plein air sketches of a Connecticut beach because he apparently owns a house which is barely recognizable in my sketch.  He threatened to sue if I didn't send the painting in 50 days!  As my mother said, "I wonder how his lawsuit against Google Earth is going?"  Hmmm.

You may notice that I have been trying out different templates from blogger in the last couple of days.    The blogger templates allows for a myriad of different color combinations but there are some areas that you can't adjust so I am still working on it.