Here's lookin' at you, kitty

Here's Lookin' at you, Kitty
6" x 6"
Oil with a palette knife on board
SOLD

I was captivated by the cute pose of this sweet white kitty. His name is Rumi and he is deaf which is ironic because the pink color of his ears was one of things that first attracted me to this picture. He has grown up to be quite the character and I have been following his antics on a blog by a fellow artist, Jala Pfaff. You can check in on Rumi and her other furry creatures by clicking here. The photo was used as reference with her permission.

Boston Uncommon

Boston Uncommon
14" x 11" x .75"
Oil with a palette knife on cradled artist panel
SOLD

I finally was able to finish this painting that I started at the palette knife demo I did at the Blackstone Art Association late last year. My reference for this painting was a photo I took on one of my lunch time walks around Boston. It is one of the many interesting views you can see near Arlington and Boylston streets, right where the Public Gardens and the Boston Common come together. I'm not sure why I like this composition because in theory it violates the rules of good composition with the lamp post right in the middle and the Hancock Tower also centered at the top. But maybe that's also why I was attracted to it too. Sometimes you gotta break the rules right?

North End, Boston

North End, Boston
10" x 10" x 1.5"
Oil with a palette knife on cradled board
SOLD

This painting shows a scene from Boston's Italian neighborhood, the North End. I was trying to capture the flavor of the neighborhood with it's narrow streets, small doorways, and interesting architecture. In the summertime, you will see residents sitting out on the sidewalk enjoying the nice weather, talking to neighbors, while tourists stroll the narrow streets looking for just the right Italian restaurant to dine. You really can't go wrong with whichever one you choose!

This weekend, we rented the movie The Town, and one of the chase scenes takes place in the North End. It would really have been something to see them filming that because the streets are just not conducive to speeding cars and quick getaways. Only in the movies.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone. I hope you find the perfect place to dine with your loved one.

UPDATE March 2013 Cynthia at the Smiling Eggplant asked me if she could use this painting to advertise her North End tours. You can see the post with my painting by clicking here.

Maggie

Maggie

4" x 4" x 1.5"

Oil with a palette knife on cradled artist board
NFS

This is Maggie. She is my dad and stepmom's Bichon Frise. I recently found the cutest photo of her as a puppy and wanted to give painting her a try. This is the same size as the Santa face I painted for Christmas and I had the tight crop of that painting in mind when I composed this one. This was a lot tougher than I thought it would be.

How far away is Spring?

Kim's Primrose

6" by 6"

Oil with a palette knife on artist board
NFS

Last night, our instructor brought a primrose to painting class for whoever wanted to paint from life. With all of the snow we have been having, it was such a nice bright spot of color so I jumped right in on it. Flowers are such fun to do with the palette knife.

Weekend field trip

Last weekend we went to NYC and one of our favorite parts of the trip was our visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They are open late on Saturday nights and we discovered that they have live music and serve cocktails on the mezzanine. What a wonderful way to spend a cold winter evening in NYC. We scored a table right up front by the music, a wonderful classical quartet. Not wanting to use the flash, the photos are quite dark so I did the best I could brightening them up in Photoshop but trust me, the setting was just perfect.

Polo made the observation that the violin player reminded him of this Delacroix painting of Paganini. I was impressed with his quick recall of the correct artist and subject. Which inspired me to want to paint her in this style.

Paganini

by Eugene Delacroix, c.1832

Reflections on the Sketchbook Project

As the Sketchbook Project comes to a close, I wanted to finally share the cover and title page I did before I mailed it out this week. You can't really see it here, but I cut out one of the photos at the right side (so there is actually a hole in the cover) and then you it peers through from the title page underneath. Hope that survives all the handling.

Cover

Title page

There are a few thoughts I wanted to capture from my experience particpating in this project:

• As I was drawing each photo, I realized that it made me think about that person the whole time I was drawing them. That was nice.

• I enjoyed drawing girls more than boys. Pigtails and pretty dresses are much more interesting than boy hair and clothes.

• I have a new appreciation for the various lead weights of pencils. I find I don't care for the H leads very much. (Did you know that HB is the same as a number 2 pencil?)

• I have missed drawing. I had been painting so much that I forgot how relaxing and enjoyable drawing can be. And you can do it anywhere-on the train or watching TV.

All of the final drawings are posted here on my blog as well as on theSketchbook Project website.

The final 2 drawings!

Carl

Jana

These are the last two drawings in my submission for The Sketchbook Project, called Boys & Girls! I can't believe it. All of the final drawings are posted here on my blog as well as on the Sketchbook Project website.

A mother's kiss

Baby Jack

My friends' baby Jack came way earlier than he was supposed to and was so tiny at birth-not even 4 lbs. I just loved this photo of his mother giving him that gentle mother's kiss to let him know that some day he will grow up to be big and strong. And he did-he is now taller than his mother!

I will continue to post the final drawings here on my blog as well as on the Sketchbook Project website.

I'm also experimenting with adding these Facebook Like buttons to my posts so if you feel so inclined, please "like' my post!

A list for Santa

Marissa with Santa

This is my stepdaughter, Marissa, all ready with her list for Santa at age 2. I sure hope she got what she asked for. It would be hard to say no to that cute face.

I will continue to post the final drawings here on my blog as well as on the Sketchbook Project website.

Zac

Zac

This is my nephew Zac when he was little. I love how huge the ball and bat look in his little hands. What a cute kid. Now he's all grown up and about to turn 21. Yikes how time flies!

I will continue to post the final drawings here on my blog as well as on the Sketchbook Project website.

Flower interruption

I interrupt the Sketchbook Project postings with a little bit of color. While the pencil drawings have been so much fun, I will be excited to get back to being productive with the knives again.

Roses
6" by 6" or so
Oil with a palette knife on canvas
SOLD

I plan to crop this painting as shown above to the 6" by 6" size but below is how it looked before I cropped it. It's interesting how you can be a little freer to paint "outside the lines" this way since it's on canvas paper and not on a precut board.

And here is a chunky delicious close up.

I hope that cheers you up on a cold winter day.

The KAL club

Hercules' Birthday

My best friends growing up were Kathy and Laurie. Together, we were the KAL club. We had badges, art projects, a club house, shows, the works!

This drawing was done from a photo of Kathy and Laurie watching my cat, Hercules, eat a piece of cake that they brought for him on his birthday. I think he's really liking the frosting. And they are really liking that he likes it.

What great kid fun we had together.

I will continue to post the final drawings here on my blog as well as on the Sketchbook Project website.

School picture

This was by far the most difficult of my drawings for the Boys and Girls Sketchbook. I think because it was the only one that was a true portrait. I wanted to give it a try because it is such a cute photo of my stepdaughter, Ariana, and school pictures are such a classic part of growing up. I kept reworking it because it never really felt like it resembled her enough-which is always more difficult when you know the person so well. I admire portrait artist so much more after attempting this drawing.

I've posted 4 versions of it that I scanned after trying "just one thing..." (I even tried drawing upside down!) The last one is where I am now. Still not completely satisfied, but will need to hang it up soon as the deadline is approaching and it must get into the mail.

Ari 1

Ari 2

Ari 3

Ari 4

Next step is to show it to her dad and see if he "approves".

I will continue to post the final drawings here on my blog as well as on the Sketchbook Project website.

Evan-Let's Eat!

Evan

My friend Jeremy is an illustrator. He made the cutest plate for his nephew Evan and then posted a photo of him using it. The expression captured on his face is the exact one that Jeremy drew in the cartoon on the plate.

As the bunnies say to Evan, "Let's eat!"

The deadline for the Sketchbook Project has been extended to January 18-phew. I will continue to post the drawings here on my blog as well as on their site. You can see the entire collection of my sketchbook drawings by clicking here.

Bill and Gary

I raided the Facebook photo albums of my friends Bill and Gary to find these gems of them when they were young.

Baby Bill

Bill makes such a cute baby.

Young Gary, the lefty?

Gary is left handed and he commented that he noticed that the photographer who took this photo is having him hold the crayon with his right hand. As a lefty myself, I can feel the awkwardness of it. However, I do love the Davy Crockett outfit complete with fringe.

As I work up to the January 15 postmark date, I will continue to post the drawings on my blog as well as on their site. You can see the entire collection of my sketchbook drawings by clicking here.

I love a parade

Dolly's Parade

Who doesn't have a fond memory of watching, or better yet, being in a parade? Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. On this cold and soon to be snowy day, I love thinking of summer!

Pippa as Tinkerbell

Pippa

This is Elizabeth on Halloween dressed a Tinkerbell. Her nickname is Pippa and isn't she a cutie? Her mother told me that when she put on her costume, she transformed into character immediately. I'm sure the magic wand was working it's magic that day!

First day of school

Lucy

Molly

The first day of school was always so exciting--new clothes (or uniforms); new school supplies; new teacher; new beginnings. These two drawings were done from photos of a couple of my friends' girls on their first day of school. You can see it in their expressions-so proud, so excited.

Dad drawings

Dad and Nana

Dad's First Communion

The deadline for The Sketchbook Project is fast approaching. I just finished these two drawings of my dad to be included. I realized that while I had many photos of my mother when she was younger, I had to really hunt to find ones of my dad. Doesn't he look all holy with his prayer book?

As I work up to the January 15 postmark date, I will continue to post the drawings on my blog as well as on their site. You can see the entire collection of my sketchbook drawings by clicking here.