Water Lily - the final tweak

So I thought I was done with this but it was bothering me as I looked at it.  So I added small details of dark blue color in the middle shadows around the yellow center and the little white strands surrounding it. I think this is the final piece which gives it its final depth and detail.

Stuffed Reindeer

As Thanksgiving passes by we march on to Christmas.  This is an Oil study of a stuffed Reindeer usually reserved for the mantel here in the house.

Small Business Saturday

I went to Small Business Saturday at Calvert Brewing Company today.  I sold some paintings and enjoyed their Milk Stout beer.  I worked on doing an expanded version of the Sunlight Spruce trees.  The original is 6 inches by 12 inches, the larger is 12 inches by 24 inches.  I finished a pretty good block-in and the start of details  All around a great day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I meant to post this last night, but I forgot in the prep for the holiday.  I am going to Calvert Brewing Company, Upper Marlboro, Maryland on November 26, for Small Business Saturday.  So come out and drink some beer and check out some art.

Palm Trees - the three trunks

I worked on this sketch of three Palm tree trunks done in pencil.  Enjoy, especially with the chill coming to Maryland.

Octopus - the Experiment

This is an experiment of an oil painting.  The design is not original but I thought the challenge to do this in oil would be interesting to paint.  So this is partially complete.  I need to work on the arms, improve the tentacles, and add eyes to the head.

Rocky Mountain Stream - Block-in

I did this small oil study tonight in the Calvert Brewery while drinking Stout and watching the Capitals Hockey game.  Yes, I may be a little ADD, but it is not a bad start.  The water, the mountains, and the ghost trees will need the most work to improve and make believable.

Bristle Cone Pine Marker sketch

Tonight's sketch of the day is a marker sketch of Bristle Cone Pine trees.  They like to grow t the tree line near high attitude in the Mountains across the mountains of the western of the US.

Scraggly Pine Tree Sketch

I used the brown markers to finish these Scraggly Pine trees tonight.  I have a little ADD and I did this sketch while watching the Washington Capitals play hockey against the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Caps won tonight which makes the sketching the most enjoyable.

Scraggy Pine Tree sketch

More tree work tonight.  I survived another day of regular work and enjoy this part better than the stuff today.  So I did this quick sketch to work on the quick capture of trees and sketches.

Pine Tree Study in Ink

I worked on this tree study tonight of Ponderosa Pine Tree done in Ink Markers.

Kite Shop, Ocean City Maryland

I spent the weekend in Ocean City, I did this plein air study of the Kite Shop from our hotel balcony.  I want to do more paintings like his in the future.

Mountain Cloud Study - Block-in

I worked on this tonight, more of the cloud study series.  Trying to get better initial block-ins.  Though this will need some work to get it right.

Rose Hips

So I refuse to watch election crap.  I painted this and had the Hockey game on as background noise.  I did this oil study of Rose Hips.  This was a practice in quick, one touch style painting.  I want to get to the point I can do one of these paintings in one go and to not have to go back and make changes or additions.

Winter Foliage - Part 2

I worked on this small study and did some small adjustments and added some branches.  This will need some work and adjustments, before this is finished.  Anything is better than the election cycle.

Beach Clouds - Finished

I tweaked the Beach Clouds painting by making some small fixes to the clouds, horizon and the beach area at the bottom.  I added a two masted sail boat anchored off shore.  This was done in oil painting.

Water Lily - the Finish

So, I worked on this today, I started back painting after a bit of a sketch of no painting, just pencil sketches.  It felt good, so I worked on this Water Lily painting from August.  It helps to leave something alone and then see it after some time with fresh eyes.

Happy Birthday James

Happy Birthday James! He would have been 31 today. I miss my adventure partner.

Palm Fronds sketches

Tonight's practice, a couple of Palm Frond sketches with pencils.