A sweet new pet portrait

Austin and Alyssa

8" x 8"

Oil with palette knives on cradled board

Alyssa came in to the gallery at Patriot Place while I was painting there a few weeks ago. She was with her brother and they were strolling around the gallery looking at all of our work. I asked her "What brings you to Patriot Place today?" She said, "I'm trying to get my mind off of things. I just lost my dog today." Then she asked if I painted pictures for people from their photographs and I said yes and showed her some of my work.

She left to think about it and then 5 minutes later returned to commission a painting of her and her dog, Austin. She loved this image because he used to sit on her lap with his back paws on her legs like this. It was a very special bond they had so this pose means a lot to her. 

She hung the painting at the top of her stairs so that she can walk by it every day and be reminded of her best friend.

Week 31 Practice Being a Critic

I am really excited about this month's theme: Writing & Talking About Art. I think this is one of those skills that all artists need to practice. Have you ever been asked to talk about your art and kind of froze? I have. "What do I say?" "How do I explain what I am trying to do?" "How do I sound?" Well this month, we will practice doing just that.

Week 31's worksheet PRACTICE BEING A CRITIC is below.

A Red Inn surprise

The Red Inn XL

8" x 24"

Oil with palette knives on Ampersand Gessobord

Rob asked me if I would paint this as a birthday gift for his fiancé, Steve. The inn is a special place for them and he wanted a special gift to commemorate their relationship. They live in Cincinnati but were planning on a visit to Provincetown in June for Steve's birthday. Rob gave Steve the painting before they left on their trip. Rob wrote "Steve absolutely loved the painting.  We actually went to The Red Inn for dinner and saw your paintings in the hallway, which made the gift even more special." 

I also found out that Steve and I also graduated from the same college, Miami University of Ohio. We went there years apart so we did not know each other. 

XL in the title means this is number 40! The 40th time I've painted this beautiful place at the tip of Cape Cod.

New painting from the family album

New Dolls From Peeps

16" x 16" x 2"

Oil with palette knives on Ampersand Gessobord

Available

I love doing paintings inspired from old family photos. This painting was done from a black and white snapshot in my family's photo album. That's me and my sisters with our grandfather who we call Peeps.

I love how the dolls all have blonde hair even though my sisters and I are all brunettes. Do you think all dolls had blonde hair back then, or did we all just wish we had blonde hair back then?

Here are some process shots I took along the way.

I really like how this looks with just the people painted in and the background still in sketch form. I thought about leaving it like this but then was excited to paint the details in the background. Maybe next time, I'll experiment with doing a painting like this where part of the picture is left unpainted with just the sketch showing. What do you think?

Week 30 Get Out!

Welcome to Week 30 Jumpstarters.

As we continue FINDING INSPIRATION, this week's challenge is to GET OUT! Let's enjoy this wonderful summer weather we are finally having and get inspired by nature. 

The worksheet is below, now go GET OUT!

Big owl and demo

Wise Guy II

oil with palette knives on cradled board

12" x 16"

SOLD

I was asked to do a palette knife painting demo for the Franklin Art Association and this wise guy was my subject. I thought the various colors and textures of his feathers would show off my palette knife technique nicely.

It was my first time doing a demo via Zoom. I purchased a ring light camera with a phone holder attachment that worked well. 

The demo was about 1 hour long, and this is how far I got after it was over. I finished him up the next day at the gallery.

Week 29 Revisit Your Art Books

If you are an artist or an art appreciator, I know you have a ton of beautiful art books on your shelves at home and in your studio. This week's challenge is to dust them off, grab a packet of post it notes, and spend some time revisiting a few of your favorites. It is guaranteed to get you inspired!

Here is your free worksheet:

Cap'n Jack's Wharf new size

Cap'n Jack's Wharf

10" x 10"

Oil with palette knives on board

SOLD

I've painted this scene several times but this was a new size I wanted to try: 10" x 10".  It's an iconic scene in Provincetown and a great place to take a vacation on the tip of Cape Cod. The rooms here are all unique and artistically decorated. I hope to stay here at some point in the future if I am ever lucky enough to get a reservation.

Hope your summer is going great so far.

New pet portrait commission: Ari(zona)

Ari

6" x 6"

Oil with palette knife on panel

Diane asked me if I would paint a portrait for her good friend who recently lost her loyal companion Ari. Ari was a rescue from Arizona, where her name came from. She looks like she was a such a loving and good dog. She will be missed.

Here is a close up detail.

Week 28 Picture It

It's Week 28 in the Jumpstart Your Art challenge: Picture It. If you can visualize it, it's easier to see how to make it a reality!

Your free worksheet is here:

Week 27 Study Others

For Week 27, we'll start a new theme called FINDING INSPIRATION and this week's challenge is to STUDY OTHERS. We all have certain artists that we admire for one reason or another. It's time to learn from them and how they achieve success. 

The worksheet is below ready to download.

The Lady in Red:: Happy 4th of July!

The Lady in Red

8" x 24"

Oil with palette knives on Ampersand Gessobord

I thought a new painting of the Red Inn would be an appropriate post to help celebrate the 4th of July. The inn is red and white, the sky and water are blue. 

This painting is currently hanging up at the inn for sale and marks the 39th time I've painted this inn in one format or another. This is such a special place for so many people.

Here are a few process shots including a selfie with mask:

Week 26 Don't Overreact

It's Week 26 and that means WE'RE HALFWAY THERE!

Can you believe that we are now at the halfway mark through 2021? I hope your year has been great so far. It sure has been nice to be able to be out and about without masks on, but I might be in the minority when I say that I'm not sure going back to "normal" is that comforting. Reflecting on my experience of the last year, I think I learned a lot by slowing down, enjoying our home and our neighborhood again, and rethinking priorities. I'm hoping this is the new normal. Being busy and exhausted does not equal success.

Week 26 challenges us to not overreact when we read or hear comments that are negative about our work. It also challenges us to rethink saying negative things about others work as well. Take a deep breathe, and take it with a grin of salt.

Here is your free worksheet ready to download.

Week 25 Don't Dwell On It

I was on vacation last week so I'm playing catch up this week with the Week 25 post. 

Week 25's challenge is DON'T DWELL ON IT. I find that when I get disappointed when something doesn't go my way, writing down how I feel helps me to move on. This week's challenge will encourage you to do the same.  The worksheet is below. For those of you who have a workbook, we are on page 53.

Congratulations graduates!

Julia and Lois

10" x 10"

Oil with palette knives on cradled board

Denise asked if I would create a painting of her daughter Julia, and her best friend, Lois to celebrate their graduation from Trinity University in San Antonio TX. She wanted to give it to Lois as a thank you for her and her family's generous hospitality when Julia was unable to make it all the way home to Massachusetts for holidays.

Here are a couple of process shots I took along the way.

Week 24 Remove Energy Drains

Week 24 of the Jumpstart Your Art weekly challenge for artists is to Remove Energy Drains. Listing out 5 things that are taking up your time, causing stress, or making you feel bad and making a plan to remove at least one of them.

Here is your free worksheet ready to download.

Signs of the Red Inn

Signs of The Red Inn

12" x 12"

Oil with palette knives on board

SOLD

I used a technique on this painting in order to do the lettering on all of the signs. I painted the background color of the lettering in acrylic first (with a brush). Then I painted the color of the sign over that in oil. Using my wipe-out tool, I then lifted up the oil color to reveal the acrylic color underneath. To show you what I mean, here are a few process shots that I took along the way.

Week 23 Don't Put Yourself Down

Week 23's challenge is to not put yourself down. Sounds like common sense but if you start to take notice of how often you apologize or make excuses when someone compliments you, you'll see how this can reflects how you feel about yourself. Let's start looking at little words that can change that.

Here is your free worksheet.

Commercial Street II

Commercial Street II (from Standish to Freeman)

12" x 36"

Oil with palette knives on Ampersand Gessobord

SOLD

Commercial Street in Provincetown has so many fun shops and restaurants. This is the others side of the street from my previous painting that went from Freeman to Standish. 

My inspiration for these was this painting by Norman Rockwell of Stockbridge Massachusetts at Christmastime:

I took this photo before I painted in the sky:

And here is a close up on one of the buildings so you can see the detail better:

Week 22 Keep Out!

We start a new theme this week! It's called REMOVING NEGATIVITY and Week 22's challenge is KEEP OUT. Removing negativity from our daily lives can be difficult. But taking a closer look at all we are exposed to on a daily basis can be eye opening.

Here is your free worksheet ready to download.