"Three's Company"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord Panel

8" x 8"

2015

 What is it about oysters that makes them so much fun to paint?  Could it be that each one is as different as a snow flake?  Or that the flesh is so sensuous. Their varied shapes and sizes never fails to excite me, whether they be plump or slender, colorfully flamboyant or mono-chromatically plain, large or small.  Oh, and they are tasty little creatures too!       

"Oysters with lemon and cocktail sauce"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand gessobord panel

6" x 8"

2015

This is a colorful one.  I personally don't nap my oysters with cocktail sauce or douse them in mignonnette, preferring to enjoy the lovely brine and taste of the sea.  To each his own.  I do savor the dash of color the red cup of cocktail sauce brings to this painting however.

"The Conversation"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

8" x 10"

2015

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I attended the blessing of the hounds this past Thanksgiving, across from St John's Episcopal church in Glyndon, Maryland.  It was a crisp morning with a fresh thin blanket of snow covering the field.  The foxhounds were frisky and anxious to be off.  I fancy this little guy was asking the hunt master "Is it time to go?"     

"Laura and Thor"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

6" x 8"

2015

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Last year was a particularly sad one with regard to our furry companions.  Aside from me losing my beloved JJ, many of my friends saw the demise of little loved ones.  

Thor, the world traveling Schnauzer, left us late last year.  He had been to Germany, San Juan, New York City and numerous other far away destinations in the company of his opera singing "parents."  Farewell, mighty Thor.  

"Amy Angel" study

Oil on linen mounted on board

6" x 8"

2015

I have been sitting on this reference of model Amy since before the turn of the last century.  I laid it in and started to work on it and I felt that I just couldn't go on.  The image is so wonderfully late nineteenth century, so Bouguereau,  that I didn't think I could do it justice at the time.  Armed with the Zorn palette. I think I may be able to finish it now.  The little sketch above is my dipping a toe in the water.  It reminded me of the scene in H.G. Wells The Time Machine when George shows his friends the model of his invention:

Here it is

 

"Callie"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

8" x 10"

2015

 This is Callie.  Sadly, she has gone to join the morning stars.  Her merry spirit lives on in this small piece. I have never before painted a Rottweiler.  Their fur is a myriad of changing hue.

"Yin and Yang"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

6" x 8"

2015

These were some local oysters from the St James river, I think.  I really like the light on the empty cup.  I may have to play with some more empty shells in the future. 

"Teal Bands"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

8" x 10"

2015

To paraphrase Professor Higgins - "By George, I think he's got it!"  I have finally figured out this daily painting thing.  Six new works in six days!  The daily paintings are meant, for me at least, to be a sort of warm-up exercise to start the day.  For the longest time I have treated them as more like small jewels than sketches, not that there is anything wrong with that.  The hours involved in some of the small but very complex works of the past didn't make fiscal sense and I lost my way.  This Harley painting is a case in point:

 

While the painting is lovely, I got very little for it, considering the hours spent on it.   This is one of those paintings that I wish I had kept for myself.  I have at last discovered that the joy of creation is in letting the paint speak for itself.  "That looks like a photograph." is not necessarily a good thing in this day and age of computers and Photoshop.  I want people to say - "That looks like a painting"

"Mika"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

6" x 8"

2015

My fifth painting this week and my first papillon.

"Marti"

Oil on linen mounted on board

6" x 8"

2015

I am trying to touch all the bases while my creative juices are flowing freely so I have been maneuvering from one genre to the next - oysters, dogs and cats and people, to keep it fresh and exciting.  It has been a while since I pushed flesh around and this little sketch allowed me to play with the limited "Zorn" palette again.  Laid down in about an hour, it was refreshing to paint something that was not too tedious.  It may not be the "Girl with the Pearl" but it was fun.

"Sherwood in a pool"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

8" x 10"

2015

This is Sherwood.  I met him in Healdsburg CA last year. He was really sweet and loved the water of my friend's pool.  We were reacquainted last week in Palm Springs and I was reminded of this reference.  I wanted to try my hand at wet fur.  The painting is not this orange/red/yellow.  I seem to have lost my touch at white balancing.

"Oyster Shooter"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

6" x 6"

2015

Day three of being back at the easel and the paint still feels good coming off the brush.  The key to daily painting is to not stop (duh).  I have often and often, on these pages and in my personal journals, bemoaned the dreaded artist's block and the cold start.  My goal this year is to not let that happen.  I am armed with many, many images stored away, so my quiver is full of arrows.  Hopefully most of them will hit the mark.

  

This oyster shooter was from an oyster bar in Portland Maine.  I tried not to get too fussy with the wood-grain.  I liked the way the sun played on it through the glass.  The piece has a lot of texture and I scratched and applied the highlights in the glass with the back of a brush. 

"Locking Horns"

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel

9" x 12"

2015

Sadly today's painting didn't photograph well.  The subtle browns and greens went orange for some reason.  Oh well.  I may pick at this in the north light of the studio in the morning. Day two and I am still on track.  Woo hoo!

West Coast Oysters

Oil on museum quality Ampersand Gessobord panel  

 6" x 8"

2015

2015?  Wow, what happened to 2014? ...and 2013, and 12, 11, 10, heck, the whole new millennium? My time on this ball grows short and I am sensing that it is time to start padding my oeuvre before it's too late.  So my New Year's resolution is to try and paint or draw something every day and to keep up with this blog.  I'm sorry that I have let you down over the past few years.  I know what you must be thinking - "Hey, it's already the 10th. What's up with that!"  Okay, I was in Palm Springs enjoying the warm weather.  Can you blame me?  It is 11˚ here in Maryland tonight.  Brrrr!   However, I'm back now and ready to push some paint!  Here's to a productive New Year!