Third in a Series: Doorway at Mater Dolorosa

Watercolor, 14 x 11 inches

Third in a series, the more views I paint of this church, the more comfortable I become with the architecture.  To my eye, the better watercolors have some  "swing" in them, meaning that they are not just accurate, but have feeling and poetry.

With architecture, if the drawing is inaccurate, it's difficult to be convincing. If strict accuracy is the end goal, then "feeling" or poetry can go MIA.

Pretty soon, it'll be time to move on or wait a few months before attempting this facade again.

The House Next Door

Watercolor, 5 x 6 inches

This was painted quickly, late on a gray day. I was experimenting with laying washes, basically toning the paper, before laying in the image. Happily, I stopped before overworking it. I like the simplicity of the image.
After seeing the show of David Cox's work in New Haven, as well as the Morandi still life show at the Met, less seems like more.

Mater Dolorosa, Sunny Morning

watercolor, 14 x 11 inches

Suddenly, it's hot, very, very hot. After a cool Spring, it seemed Summer might never come, but it did indeed arrive yesterday. Meaning that early morning is the best time to paint plein air, without fighting the humidity. On location by 8:00 AM this morning, I'm hoping to be out a bit earlier tomorrow. The sun hitting the bronze doors at Mater Dolorosa was exquisite today. I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to be there and paint this.

"Sunday Morning" chosen for Synovate Auction

watercolor, 21 x 14.5 inches

My watercolor, "Sunday Morning", is one of the 40 pieces by New Orleans artists commissioned by Synovate. The Synovate auction on eBay begins May 23rd for 7 days. Today, a press release was featured on Forbes.com. As Yoda might say, "Thrilled, I am!"

For more information and to see the entire collection online, go to Synovate.com.

"Foss House Sunlight Sketch"

Watercolor, 11 x 14 inches

Click on title for auction.

Antique Roses

"Antique Roses", Oil on canvas on board.
17 inches x 15 inches.


Price: $2550.00, US dollars.
Visa, MC and Paypal accepted.
Shipping included to US locations.
World wide shipping extra.

Gallatin Beach Rocks, Redux

Texas River Bank, oil, 12 x 16 inches

Available at Whistle Pik Galleries. Included in the Christmas Miniature show 2007. Price: $1700, US dollars. Framed.

Back lit -Summer Morning

Back in the saddle....hot weather be damned. Timer in hand, 20 minute sketches...stand in the shade and point anywhere. Try to compose, have some fun. Hard to stop...strict time study so that heat stroke doesn't become an issue.

Young Man Waiting for Fish, oil sketch

This is one of a number of quick sketches painted of a young man fishing. In this sketch, he had tied up his pole, and was just sitting, looking. He moved quite a bit, frequently getting up to check lines, walk, etc. The weather was exquisite. It ws great fun to paint a figure in sunlight, though the pose was very short lived.

Trees by the Stream, oil sketch, 6 x 8 in.

This sketch was painted plein air. The light was beautiful, the air clear. For exactly 10 seconds. Once the easel was set up and paints were placed on the palette, a horde of love bugs descended and stayed..and stayed. As 20 dropped into the paint and turp, a new barrage emerged to take their place, hovering and landing in gobs of wet paint. It was hard to separate the paint from the insects. Which reminded me why I love plein air, on location painting so much. Yes, it can be quite inconvenient; glad that lovebugs don't bite. But there's something so wondrous about being out in the midst of it all. Yes, it did get warm, but the light remained steady. A gift! As I flicked my brushes to try to ward the kamakazi from their impending fate, I found myself splashed with cad yellow and alizarin. Dr. Suess came to mind during most of the sketch, "Lovebugs, lovebugs everywhere, in my hair, on the chair, in my clothes, up my nose.....
I love painting on location. Never feel more alive, or exhausted.
At least there were no tarantulas.

Field Sketch, "Road to Dubois", 8 x 6 in.

Original field sketch painted in Wyoming, during an early May snowstorm.
This was the source sketch for "Bears in Snow", posted last year.

Stiletto: Sunny Day Before the Storm

I am currently in Baltimore MD., taking care of my dad. It snowed two days ago, with a fine dusting still visible. More snow is predicted in a few days. For a transplanted Southerner, a few inches might as well be a few feet. This painting, of one of my favorite sailboats, was painted on location, a plein air, on a sunny afternoon several years before Katrina.

"Sunlit Superstitions", oil, 10 x 12 in.