Oranger

Acrylic on Panel - 6x 6 inches - Destroyed

Carol Marine posted another "Stroke Challenge" this week at Daily Paintworks.com. The gist is to mix your paint accurately and then get it on the canvas in one purposeful stroke. No blending or fussing with edges etc.

I did fairly well, but forgot myself and got a bit fussy in a few spots.

Max the Cat

Acrylic on Cardstock - 4 x 6 inches - Click Here to Bid

The Daily Paintworks assignment this week is the Creative Color Challenge. You can read more about it there, but it's basically tied to the theory that if you get the value right, color is not as important. I tried to push the colors toward something more vivid and unnatural, but by mixing white in I made everything a little dull. 

Interior

Acrylic on Panel - 5 x 7 inches - Click Here to Bid

This week's Daily Paintworks Challenge is "Interiors" because of the awful winter weather outside. Ahem. It was sunny and over 70 yesterday.

I did this view of my living room without any photo aids which was really challenging with the white curtains, white shades, white walls and all black furniture. The values are OK, but the colors of all the white stuff is really wrong. But who am I to say.

Even more annoying is the texture. I primed a bunch of panels with a little roller I got at the paint store. Apparently a bad move, because it left the panel with an ugly dotted surface, and when I photographed it with a little side lighting, it looked like it was sprinkled with poppy seeds. Yuck. It's kind of amazing I didn't notice this at all while painting it.

I guess sandpaper is going to be my next investment. 

After the Last Swim

Acrylic on Panel - 11 x 14 inches - NFS

This weeks them for the Daily Paintworks Challenge is Summer in Winter. With over 50 submissions already, I guess a lot of people are looking forward to warmer weather. Kind of amusing for me because we've been having weather this past few weeks that's better than what we get in June a lot of years.

This scene is a photo I shot last Summer and depicts that part of the day some lucky people get to enjoy. After the last swim of the day, on a long and hot day, to get ready for dinner by taking a break and having a glass of wine and just looking at the garden. Here's to the day's getting longer!

Lunch at Alamo Square

Acrylic on Panel - 11 x 14 inches - Click Here to Bid

This week's assignment for the Daily Paintworks' Challenge was to paint using the limited palette of Anders Zorn. Titanium Whie, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red and Ivory Black. Well, I don't really have those colors, and I thought I'd actually like it so much that I might move in that direction any way. So, along with white, I used by acrylic versions of Carbon Black, Pyrrole Red, and Hansa Yellow.

Well it was quite a different experience. I knew I could make greens with black and yellow, but what was going to do without blue? Well, they grey's I mixed with black and white wind up taking on a blue feeling, when seen next to the other warm colors. Wow.

With less paint choices, I think I actually made decisions faster and mixed colors faster. I think I really like this limitation. But I really miss having blue around.

As to the subject, I'm doing a series of images of Alamo Square, but trying to show it from unusual angles. I swore I'd never paint the cliché victorian "Painted Ladies" row, but I really liked the way this guy was sitting, almost perched on the shadow of a lamp post. So there.

At the Beach

Acrylic on Panel - 14 x 18 inches - NFS

These were for a commission for a dear friend of mine. Like the last one I did, I didn't get a chance to meet these kiddies and had to work from the only photo provided. That left me with the decision of how close to crop in. The top version was my initial plan, but someone looking over my shoulder suggested a pull-ed back version to show more of the sea. I tried to argue my case, but decided to shut up and just paint two. I'm not telling which one my friend picked.

Bike Man

Acrylic on Panel - 4 x 6 inches - Click Here to Bid

This is my entry for the "Bikeman Challenge" at the Daily Paintworks. Certainly an interesting source photo. I chose to crop way in and see if I could "hint" at the figure without putting in too much detail. My method – postcard sized panel and half-inch wide brush. Oh, and the kitchen timer (settings known only to me). 

Holding Hands

Acrylic on Panel - 11 x 14 inches - SOLD

This was a commission piece, and I didn't even know I did commissions. The father had seen some of my work, including a painting I did of a young girl dancing with her shadow. He sent me a photo that he thought would work well, and we was right, which is so rare. I prefer to take my own reference photos, but I knew I could make this work. I simplified the background a lot, but kept the figures pretty close to the reference. This practically danced off my brush, which is odd because I'd take a pretty long break from painting. 

Long Barn

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - Sold

Another one done on location up North where the weather is always warmer. 

Sonoma House

Acrylic on Panel - 9 x 12 inches - Click Here to Bid

Painting on location in the countryside. Came across this interesting building and had a great spot in the shade to paint it. I tried to keep it loose and let a little of the underpainting peek through, and not pay too much attention to the details (and there were a lot of architectural details on this building).