"Big Guy Little Guy" finished..i think

24x18 oil on stretched canvas
so i think this is finished...i'll have to look at it a while - especially through the camera lens...the last "big guy little guy" painting was of my son-in-law greg and my grandson joe. this is of my son jason and my grandson will. now i have to do one of my son-in-law jimmy and my grandson oliver and i'll be all set! oops...i already see a few things i need to correct, colorwise. just a few. we're all over the moon that the colts are in the superbowl! - it turned out to be quite a nice game after that horrendous first half! - the poor hoosiers on the other hand...i think we got a raw deal by having to play a game at that hour - not a lot of fans in the stands and so much emotion over the colts win - they're young...they'll come along! this will be my last post for the rest of the week - i need to work in my studio and get ready for a little long weekend trip to the big apple!!! can't wait! - i'll be taking lots of pics and probably do some city scenes next week! tata!!

""big guy little guy"...in progress

24x18 oil on stretched canvas

i thought it might be interesting to take a photo of this painting in progress - i had a bit of time to work today but then the colts game started and then IU plays so i'm hanging it up til tomorrow - we'll see if i finish it then. now. if the colts don't get their act together, i just don't know what!!!!!

a bit of tweaking....

18x24 oil on stretched canvas
so here's my little gull...again..i needed to define her shape a bit, lose a few edges and darken the corners of the painting to help bring the eye where i want it to go. i also tweaked my brother's painting a bit - he's coming down tomorrow to check it out! go colts!!

"John and Les"

this is the second photo - the one below is the first photo of this painting in progress - i'll get the hang of this one day - check the bottom for the explanation!

12x12 oil on stretched canvas

for those who know my brother, john, you might remember that he's a musician and song writer. in fact, elton john's "sorry is the hardest word" was actually my brother's song...but that's a story for another time....anyway - after a long hiatus, he's back to writing and performing music. he's doing a benefit in ft. wayne in march for a local college and plans to make a cd of the concert. it's going to take place at a world-class recording theatre / studio and it should be quite an event! - he's asked me to paint someting for the cover of his cd so here he is with his les paul guitar. i've been working on this for the past few days - and i'm still not sure whether i got the guitar quite right - the reference was a bit ambiguous - it might be fun to post a few pix of the painting in progress -

"Testing the Waters"

18x24 oil on stretchd canvas
so here's the painting i've been working on for the past few days - a bigger one - i really like this little girl - she could be either one of my granddaughters - dipping her hand in the pool - thinking about whether she's brave enough to venture in... makes me realize i have even more painting fodder right in my own back yard - i just need to keep my camera at the ready next summer!! i finished a commission today so now i think i can finally tackle my studio -

i'm in the middle of a new large painting...actually near the end...i had to quit and come down and watch the replay of the IU game - what a win!!. i'll finish up tomorrow and photograph and post...i promise!!

"Lucy at 4...almost 5"

6x6 oil on canvas panel
so here's luce-magoose...the photo was taken this past november and she just had her birthday last week so she was almost 5 here. she's really stylin' with her pretty blue bow, isn't she? she's the perfect mix of her mom and her dad - big dark eyes, big grin...and of course she has her ganny's droopy left eyelid...what have i done to my grands???? - yikes!! i had a busy day today so i didn't get to finish this until late - i decided i needed to tweak it a bit after photographing it last night - and the photo was too dark to post anyway. luckily i got out there a bit earlier today so i still had enough sunlight. and don't forget...the days are growing longer as we speak!!! yeah!! hoosiers really blew it last night - only 5 down with five minutes to go and i just don't know what happened! michigan got hot, i'll grant you but come on.....

"Mint Julep, Please"

6x6 oil on panel
so here's our lady...off to the derby...in her big hat...once again i need to sit on this for a day or two and decide if i'm done. this is an image i've wanted to paint for a long, long time. great fun!!

"Matilda in the Garden"

6x6 oil on canvas panel
here's tillie - probably age two - in our back garden - she loves wearing long dresses - aways has...she's a very "stylin" little "gull"...as her aussie daddy calls her. had fun at tennis today - good workout - and i've agreed to play in the morning for a gal who's 4 centimeters and about to pop her baby - yikes!!...happy to be of service in that case!.....oops - after viewing this through the camera's eye, i see something i need to fix...there's too much contrast between that little dark leaf and her dress - draws too much attention there - i'll fix that!

"Windy Day"

20x10 oil on stretched canvas
i like this one! -i had a need to get back to the pallette knife after my friend lillian asked me about when i used it - these loose, impressionistic paintings really lend themselves to the knife - as opposed to the small portaits where one really needs to find a likeness. i really love doing both! - i have several images of these little gals flying kites on st. simons and may do a series.

final Mia and Jackson

i did a bit of tweaking to jackson's portrait and added more color to mia's...i was working from a black-and-white in mia's case so i'm still not sure of her skin tones. hope this is close. getting ready to head up to the studio - i may do a golden painting today....

"Jackson" (in progress)

6x6 oil on canvas panel

so here's jackson - my friend sukey's first grandchild... i get so engrossed with the work that sometimes i have to look at things through the photograph's "eyes"...in this case, i see a few things i need to work on..but he's almost finished! - he has this fabulous hair and maybe i need to let the background dry a bit to be able to really do justice to his curls.....lots of snow here in southern indiana...not as much as up north but enough to close schools for the last 2 days...the kids are lovin it..not so sure about the parents!!!! hope the hoosiers can do a better job of competing tomorrow night - what a bad game against ohio state. the big ten is just too tough this year!!!

"Hey, Jude"

6x6 oil on canvas panel
so here's my friend judy's first grand...JUDE!!! - can you even imagine how cool it would be to have your grandchild actually named after you???? - how wonderful would that be?? i finished this last night -after dark so too late to post - i ran into judy and my friend diane at lunch and begged this photo off her so i could paint this sweet image - she's so rapt in this talking card judy sent to her..i'll bet she's going to be a big-time reader when the time comes! i absolutely LOVE painting these little guys!!!....next i think i'll do jackson!!

"Mia"

6x6 oil on canvas panel
this is a pinting of my good friend ginny's first grandchild, mia. isn't she stylin' with her earring and her backwards ball cap? - she's very chic!!! - this was done from a black and white photo so i'm hoping i have her skin tone close.....back to tennis today - finally moved a little bit and it felt so good!!

"Busy, Busy"

9x12 oil on stretched canvas
here's another little beach painting - another from st. simons - such a wonderful place to find these little guys hard at work. started on the house today - taking my time - it seemed like such a short season this year and i'm dragging it out as long as i can!! also trying to figure out how to use facebook - it's a great big world out there - just heard from my childhood nextdoor neighbors - one of them is a painter as well - lawrence chrapliwy -he does good stuff out in new england! small world, really!

"Practice Makes Perfect"

10x8 oil on stretched canvas
i got a call from my new gallery - the midland arts and antique gallery in carmel, indiana - i just went in there 12 days ago and they called to say i have a hole in my wall! - i sold a painting and they want some more stuff with kids. so i reworked a couple originals.... this is done from a photo of a little guy warming up on st. simons island a couple years ago. i think i'm finished with this but i'll have to let it sit for a day or two. tomorrow my program starts in earnest - can't wait!! - so much to do and look forward to! -

"Here..Fishy, Fishy..."

6x6 oil on canvas panel
i'm not sure what this fish is called...carp? goldfish? tetra? tuna?..but i've had this photo image forever and have really wanted to paint it for along time. i wanted to get my painting muscles warmed up after a bit of a break. i spent a few hours in my studio today - trying to create a space to walk, let alone paint! i've a long way to go but i think i'm back on track! - i've got a couple grands with me tonight so i had to quit - tillie created a painted pot for summertime flowers while ollie was of course glued to the wii - at the moment we're settling in to play a rousing game of kids cranium. they love the charades aspect of it...could it be that they'll end up doing a few plays..like their gan...???

Happy New Year!!!!

it's 2010! - wow! - i remember when we were filling our bathtubs with water (at least i did) to prepare for the eventuality of disaster when y2k struck! my first plan for the new year is to start getting somewhere in my studio - it's still a disaster up there and maybe that's one of the reason's i'm having trouble painting as often as i should...but all that will change - we have a new beginning and a new purpose! our wish is for all the best to everyone for a happy, healthy, safe and bountiful new year!!!