Figure Painting for the First Time in a Long Time

in a workshop with the amazing Eric Bowman. Surrounded by a bunch of really good painters. Here goes...

The First One

 

The Second One

The Third One

 

All in all, apart from being exceedingly nervous at first, not bad.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #56 Target Cart

Painting #56 - Target Cart
8" x 10"  (new size!) 

Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

They say it's the little things. And for some reason, right now the little things
for me are the new carts at Target. I realize that's not profound or anything,
but as I get older I'm realizing that a lot of times, the best things aren't.

Christmas Commission #1

 

Oh Little Town of Vestfossen (Norway)
8" x 10"
Commission for Phaedra and Marius Karoy

I started a commission project this Christmas season. I had never undertaken anything like this before and didn't know what to expect. Turned out that more people took me up on it than I expected. It was a ton of work and extremely stressful, but I'm glad I did it, and look forward to doing it again soon.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #53 - Cake

52 Weeks 100 Paintings
#53 - Cake
7" x 5"
Oil on Canvas Panel
$53.00

This painting is available. Click here for details.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #41 Salt Shaker

 

Painting #41
Salt Shaker 5" x 7"
Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

Design is one of those things that you tend not to notice unless it's bad. Which is unfortunate, because there are lots of examples of really nice design that just sit there unnoticed because they just sit there doing what they're supposed to do and looking like they're supposed to look. This salt shaker is a perfect example. I've been picking one up exactly like it for over 40 years now, and until recently, I never really looked at it. That's one of the things I really like about this painting series. I'm starting to look more closely at a lot of things that have always just kind of been there. And I'm finding that there are a lot of really cool things all around me, if I only take a second to enjoy and appreciate them.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #39 Miss Piggy Pez

 

52 Weeks 100 Paintings

#39 - Miss Piggy Pez

5" x 7"

Oil on canvas panel

Sold

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #37-Apsco Giant 6 Hole Pencil Sharpener

 

Painting #37
Apsco Giant 6 Hole Pencil Sharpener
7" x 5"
Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

 New pencil sharpeners don't do it for me. No number of double AA batteries can provide the proper amount of power necessary for me to get the point I need. That's where the Apsco Giant 6 Hole Pencil Sharpener comes in. 6 holes to accommodate everything from golf pencils to pastel pencils to those giant starter pencils we had in kindergarten. Packed full of gears and blades working in perfect harmony to make short work of anything stupid enough to makes its way into one of its holes.

It weighs about 15 pounds. It could be used as a murderweapon in the game of Clue. And for some reason,it is a device that makes me very happy.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #36 Campbell's Soup l

 

52 Weeks 100 Paintings

Painting #36
Campbell's Soup I 

5" x 7"
Oil on Canvas Panel
Sold

Life imitates art. Imitates life. Imitates art. Campbell's just came out with 4 different cans
of tomato soup based on Andy Warhol'sscreenprints of Campbell's Tomato Soup.
Which I am now painting. One down. Three to go.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #35 - nutella

 

Painting #35 - nutella
8" x 10"
Oil on Canvas Board
Sold

I'm not sure how I made it 40+ years without heeding the
siren call of nutella. Trust me. I'm making up for it now.

52 Weeks 100 Paintings Painting #31 Strawberry Jam

 

52 Weeks 100 Paintings

Painting #31 Strawberry Jam
7" x 5"
Oil on Canvas Board 

Sold

52 Weeks 100 Paintings #33 - Pencils

52 Weeks 100 Paintings

#33 - Pencils
5" x 7"
Oil on Canvas Board

It's that time of year again. Angela's annual facial tic is back and
there are piles of school supplies laying around the house. Must be time for school to start again.
More to come.

Painting #6 - Tulips

5" x 7" 

Oil on Canvas Board

$6

Purchased by Deanna Dahlen

Painting #5 - Adirondack

Painting #5 - Adirondack

7" x 5" 

Oil on Canvas Board

$3

Purchased by Michelle Van Tress

Before we moved to the Pacific Northwest, the one warning I got from multiple people was 'Beware the Gray.' It rains a fair amount here in the fall and winter (and spring, on occasion). Apparently this is a cause for concern and a potential deal breaker to some who considering relocating out here. I have two things to say: 1, I lived through 13 Minnesota winters. I can do 'The Gray' standing on my head. 2, when I experience a pitch perfect day like today and know that I have roughly 5 months' worth of similar days ahead of me, it makes The Gray seem kind of insignificant and, in the big picture, well worth it.

This could have been yours! Just sign up for my Mailing List above to get the first crack at original art, priced to move.

 

Painting #4 - Max

Painting #4 -Max

5" x 7" 

Oil on Canvas Board

$3

Purchased by Andy Miller

Sean was almost a Max. When I was a kid, I didn't know if I would ever be married, or even if I would have kids someday. But I knew that if I ever had a son, I wanted him to be Max. It turned out that Angela, from the same age, wanted the same name for her son. When the time came, and we saw that little spot on the ultrasound, (I had to take the nurse's word for it) we knew that we had a Max on our hands. As we got closer though, we noticed that the name Max kept popping up. When Angela's mom suggested Sean Patrick, we knew we had our name.  And so Max became Sean. Which is a good thing, because he is Sean through and through.

I've had 'Where The Wild Things Are' on my mind this week with the death of Maurice Sendak. It was always on my bookshelf as a kid, along with the Seuss, Uncle Remus, my Bible stories and everything else. But Sendak was always down on the end of the shelf along with Roald Dahl. They were kids' books, but they always made me feel a little older when I read them. Sweet, but a little spooky and sinister at the same time. The musical equivalent was hearing 'Rikki Don't Lose That Number' for the first time when I was 8. There was something going on there that I didn't fully understand, but I liked it, and it made me feel a little more grown up.

Maurice Sendak 1928 - 2012
Requiescat en pace.  

Painting #3 - Kiwis

 

Painting #3 - Kiwis

7" x 5" 

Oil on Canvas Board

$3

Purchased by Kay Khrin

Sometimes the subject matter has a rich narrative or a poignant personal

connection. Sometimes it's just a snack sitting on a favorite plate. In this
case, the polka dot plates that go with the bowls that we got at Target.

Painting #2 - Kermit Pez

#2 Kermit Pez

5" x 7" 

Oil on Canvas Board

$2 / SOLD

I bought the first Pez when Sean was very small. I can't remember now if I saw it and thought he might like it, or if he was with me at the grocery store and it caught his eye. One led to another, and another, and another. One of those silly little traditions that take on a life of their own. It continued when Molly came around, and now, almost 13 years (yeesh) after I bought that first Fred Flintstone Pez, we have well over a hundred. You wouldn't necessarily think of Pez as subject matter for a still life, but once I picked one up and actually looked at it, I thought it would be interesting to paint. Turns out it is. And, now that Sean and Molly are getting older, they remind me of that very short period of time when they were small. There will be a number of Pez in this collection. And Kermit is the first.

Painting #1 - Happy Birthday to Me

#1 Happy Birthday to Me
5" x 7"

Oil on Canvas Board

$1.00 / SOLD

52 Weeks 100 Paintings

 

I celebrated my birthday the other day and decided that this year I am going to paint and sell 100 small paintings. (Approx. 5" x 7")  The first painting sold for $1*. The second painting just sold for $2. The third will be $3, the fourth, $4, and so on. When the paintings become available, (roughly twice a week) I will notify the people on my mailing list first, then post them on this blog and my Facebook page. The first person that responds can purchase the painting at the price listed.

Owning original, good art has never been easier or more affordable.

Sign up today here.  (Also, it wouldn't kill you to like the page while you're there.)


P.S. I got this idea from my new friend, Jolie Guillebeau. She does amazing work that can be found at https://www.facebook.com/jkgpaintings.  Please check it out.

*Shipping and handling for this painting, and all paintings in this series will be $5.