The Artist Den

plein aire time !

2011-12-18T16:24:00.000-08:00

Bernie and I got out for a couple hours in the cold to paint. We originally intended to paint a barn/water scene but the windy was pretty brisk in that open field. We opted for "Miracle Meadows" and utilized our artistic license. (The road was made up! Ha!) All in all it was a great time of sunshine and fellowship for us. As always, feel free to comment, Dean

morning coffee

2011-09-23T04:49:00.000-07:00

This ended up being an exercise in shading mostly. The spoon is one I am definitely going to try again. Silverware is not one color but a myriad of reflections of their surrounding objects. Thanks for looking, Dean

Paint night!

2011-09-17T19:54:00.000-07:00

I got at the paints tonight and painted a tube of paint and palette knife. I tried a different perspective, I was almost looking straight down on the subject.

Dominoes anyone?

2011-09-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd paint something different. It was something I think we all played at one time or another. What do you think?

empty bowl

2011-09-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a small bowl I painted. Trying to find the right colors is challenging but and exciting adventure.

Fuji

2011-09-14T08:30:00.001-07:00

I was told by a friend they like Fuji apples better so I painted one today. They certainly are different with the red and green on the same apple!

Apple

2011-09-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

Well I thought I'd try fruit for a bit. I find them a lot harder than they look. Comment if you like.

Another candle

2011-09-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

Here is one I did tonight with the candle unlit. I am enjoying working with shadows and trying to get them right. I got help from Bernie with this one. I had the wrong color on the wall. If it's still wrong that on me! Ha! As always, feel free to comment.

By candlelight

2011-09-08T19:00:00.000-07:00

I painted this tonight in an 8x10 format. The largest I've tried lately. I have not wanted to use too much paint, it's expensive! Ha!I know I will have to be doing this again. It is a challenge to paint "light". Please comment if you have any ideas for me. Dean

canteen

2011-09-07T19:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a civil war canteen I borrowed from a friend. I believe it is one of the first things I ever painted when I started 3 years ago. I was a lot easier this time:) I am enjoying working on small still life's because you can knock them out in an hour or hour and a half. please feel free to comment, Dean

Pitcher

2011-09-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

Here is a painting that was fun. I really liked the shadows on this pitcher because they help to shape it. I am definitely going to do it again and next time add the designs that are on it. Feel free to comment, Dean

plate & knife

2011-09-05T16:17:00.000-07:00

Here is one I did in an hour and a half tonight. Tried a plate and knife. I am going to try again. It was challenging. PLease feel free to comment, Dean

Pepsi anyone?

2011-09-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

Had to put away acrylics. Was getting lazy I think. Anyway I got out the oils and did a small 4x4 ish of a can of pepsi. I tried not to drive myself nuts and did it in about 45 minutes. Feel free to comment, Dean

camping!

2011-07-25T06:03:00.000-07:00

It was a hot one yesterday as the "OOPS" group met for a painting and a cookout. There were 10 "die-hards" there toughing it out. Ha! Around 2 hours into it we got hit with rain and 40+ mile an hour winds. Not one person complained. It was so hot we welcomed it! Thankfully it really cooled things off too. Here is the scene I was looking at. The truck was parked there after I started. I left it out because I wanted to keep the painting simple and for anyone to identify with it. I did this one in oils so it should be dry by christmas with this humidity! Ha! Thanks for looking, Dean

flowers

2011-05-19T16:21:00.000-07:00

Had a few minutes today and stepped outside to paint. Saw the flowers and tried that. My attention to detail was EXTREMELY poor. Was not in the mood at all to try and replicate, all I wanted to do was suggest. THanks for looking. Dean

The process

2011-04-02T19:36:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics I took from the painting I just finished. It was recommended that I post the process I went through just to change things up a bit. This painting was done in oils again. I first did the sketch in burnt umber and put in the darks/shadows. From there I started adding color while trying to maintain the values I used with the burnt umber. You can see the stages in which I added color. I started with the background and moved forward. As you can see I am learning to do railroad tracks and this is the first crack at them. As always, feel free to comment.

Back at oils

2011-03-27T14:32:00.000-07:00

I tried oils again today. I am going to work at them more and try to get better at them. This was fun to try and I enjoyed pushing the paint. As always, feel free to comment, Dean

The rescue

2011-03-24T17:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture I started with just the pepsi machine. It kept getting more involved as I went. I thought it would be cute having a little girl trying to get a soda. Then I thought it would be funny to have a little boy bringing a ladder but that didn't work out so I had him come to the rescue with pepsi in the wagon. As always, feel free to comment.

catching up

2011-03-15T18:41:00.000-07:00

I have been painting a little but playing music even more, Sorry I have been remiss on posting. The first picture is one I did of one of my ukuleles. I tried to knife in the strings but Got too much paint on the knife. Oh well. the next one is a rework of the "supporting the arts". I put a small piece of pottery in the foreground to add a little depth to the painting. I painted the hat and bobber/lures at one of the painting nights with the brush-ka-teers. That one has been interesting. I ask women and they do not see the hat but every man I showed did. What's up with that? The last one is a painting that was inspired from a photo I took in savannah, Ga. It reminds me of when a young boys fancy turns to girls. I tried to convey awkwardness and shyness. Enjoy, Dean

Florida and brushes

2011-02-08T10:19:00.000-08:00

Here are two paintings I did in the last week. The first one was in florida. I did it on a windy day inside the recreation room at my mothers condo in florida. It was basically from my head. That day was too windy for me to paint outside. The next painting is one I did last night with the brush-ka-teers (minus one). We had a couple options of what to paint and I chose the brushes. I got a bit carried away with the background but had a great time doing it. I was especially pleased with the shadowing and muting of the background. As always, feel free to comment. Dean

"Cottage View"

2011-01-20T10:35:00.000-08:00

Here is a painting I did for my aunt. It is a view from the front of my grandfather's cottage. What makes this a little different is that it is only 2 3/4 inches tall and wide. It was fun trying to paint a little smaller. As always, feel free to comment.

new year!

2011-01-01T15:41:00.000-08:00

The first picture is a acrylic I did of Megan's husband Paul fishing. I don't know why but it photographed really bad. I may just mail it to him. Not sure if he has room for it in Okinawa. The picture of the boat is one I did today. It is an oil painting. I have not painted in oil for quite some time. Once again the photo isn't that great but it was fun trying to paint in that medium again. As always, feel free to comment and thanks for looking. Dean

over the holidays

2010-12-28T16:40:00.000-08:00

The first picture I did I had to keep quiet. I had heard my mother had liked the mother and child picture I had painted earlier but that sold very quickly. Here is the repainted version I did for her for Christmas. I was told it was one of my best painting yet by one of the brush-ka-teers. He enjoyed the way all the colors in the painted were combined into the background. I did not have the heart to tell him I was too lazy to clean my brush! Ha! I like this one too as does my mother. The next painting is one I have been working on bit by bit. I never committed a lot of time in one sitting. It was fun to whittle away at. I call it "supporting the arts". I was speaking to the director of the council of the arts during a show once and brought this up as how it would make a funny painting. It took off from there. You may notice for fun I thought it was appropriate for the painting in the upper right hand side of the picture to be "the scream". I know, I need to work on my humor. Anyway it was fun just painting from thought instead of a picture or nature. Let me know what you think. Thanks for looking, Dean

plein aire time again!

2010-11-23T18:59:00.000-08:00

We were at some of Bernie's relatives this weekend doing some plein aire painting on their property. It was beautiful. We also had a huge turn out for the paint out. It was a blast. The leaves are changing and the weather was perfect. Here is what I came up with. There was a huge yellow tree that caught my eye. As always, Thanks for looking. Dean

Near the jail!

2010-10-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

And this is the view they get in jail. Ha! It is right downtown on the river. WE fished a bit then decided to paint. It was a great day of messing around. I am not a big fan of an "all nature" pic. I really have a difficult time with trees grass and water, the rest I am okay with! :)

Memories

2010-10-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

Here is a painting from days gone by. These tobacco barns are getting few and far between. One of my neighbors owns this one and let me stand in the field and paint it today. Let me know what you think. Thanks for looking, Dean

October "Apples"

2010-10-19T09:23:00.000-07:00

Well the "brush-ka-teers" were at it again last night. The topic was pumpkins. At first they all looked like basketballs! They eventually came around! Ha! The first one is Bernie's. He did it in acrylics instead of oils and really nailed it. I watched him and it was interesting to see his brush strokes so precise as if he was still painting with oil paint. Very cool. The next is Mitchel's. Once again his impressionistic side shows. I really liked his use of color in this one. Stephen on the other hand took artistic license and pretended his pumpkins were in a field. He did a great job of pulling that one off. Lastly is mine. The thing that I really learned was to break up the background with the complimentary color to the subject using the same tonal value. That was a lesson Stephen gave me last night. I know that will come in handy a lot! As always, feel free to comment, Dean

Mother and child

2010-10-04T19:46:00.000-07:00

Well it was another night with the "Brush-ka-teers"! We had a variety of still lifes to choose from and we all chose the same one. Well almost. Stephen did 3 portraits studies from his head that were very good. Once again I forgot to photograph their paintings. I think it is the fact that I stay up past my bedtime and am too tired to think when I go home. Oh well, you just get to see mine. Please feel free to comment, Dean SOLD!

redo

2010-09-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

This is one that has been bothering me. I asked my wife what she thought and this is what she suggested. I like the change. By adding water to the scene it livened the left side of the painting up more. What do you think? Dean

Back to the beginning

2010-09-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

When I first started painting 2 years ago all I did was oil painting. I got very discouraged with how long they took to dry and my lack of ability. After the first year I switched to acrylics. I enjoyed the fast drying but missed the blending ability.... anyway.... I thought I could get more "artsy" with the acrylics. If you have been watching my blog at all you can see it has been hit and miss and miss again! :) Well last night I decided to see if I could get anything half way decent out of the oils again. This is what I came up with. (It's an old movie camera) After I had started I realized I might have been a little zealous and maybe should have tried a cup or a piece of fruit! Any critique is appreciated and helpful, Thanks, Dean

last night

2010-08-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

Last night I painted with the brush-ka-teers. We painted crystal glasses on a black backdrop. Very challenging. There were 3 of them but I only painted 2. I only had 2 hours and this is what I got. Thanks for looking, Dean

plein aire & still life

2010-08-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

last two paintings

fishing with dad

2010-07-10T15:09:00.000-07:00

Here is one I have been working on for a few days. I amnot sure if I am done or not. I am going to set it aside for a bit. If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to let me know. If oyu think I should stop where I am at tell me that too. As always, thanks for looking, Dean

Headin' for Home!

2010-06-24T16:57:00.000-07:00

This painting is from a pic I took the other day at the ball park. This kid was intent on touching each base as he got an in the field home run! He was moving out! I tried to capture the dynamics of his effort. It was interesting to say the least. Thanks for looking, Dean

Ottaway Burns

2010-06-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a painting I did of Ottaway Burns statue in Swansboro. The two boys were there fishing with their dad for father's day and decided to help. I got a lot of input on how to do the painting! Ha! One of the boys told me I should sell it and I could probably get $5.00 for it! Whoo Hoo! I told him maybe should ask $100.00 and he said not to push it! Too funny! It was a great day of fun in the sun.

Catchin' a wave

2010-06-07T12:43:00.000-07:00

Here is one I tried of "no horizon". I wanted to isolate the subject and narrow my field of vision. I am going to try more with people. This should be fun!

curious cow

2010-06-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

This is a painting I did from a photograph I took in the mountains last year. The calf just seemed to be asking me what I was doing or maybe just posing for the photo op! Ha! I tried to incorporate a few things I have been learning from my fellow "brush-ka-teers". The main thing was to have the focal area with contrast. I lightened the grass behind the calf to bring even more attention to the head. I also "washed/glazed" the back of the lean to to keep your focus forward. Let me know what you think. Thanks for looking, Dean

today

2010-05-30T14:27:00.001-07:00

Sold
Today I went to a party at the river in downtown Jacksonville. There was a clam chowder cook off but I forgot to eat. I was too busy painting. I set up right in the middle of the event in front of the "Back Porch Gut Bucket band". They played the saw, spoons and wash tub bass and a bucket bass. One of the guys was having so much fun I had to paint his picture. Here it is. If you look in the background you can see him. He liked it so much he bought it on the spot. Yahoo! I can get more paint!!!! My favorite was the second picture I did. I do not have a picture of it though. Anyway, I painted some water, a dock and a little girl sitting on it. The little girl saw the picture and since it was just a quick painting I gave it to her. Her mother said that they had been walking around and her daughter was telling her how badly she wanted it. She was soooooo excited when I gave it to her! I have to say it was better than the check I got for the first one. She was ten years old and very thankful. Today was a great day of painting!

last few days

2010-05-29T18:18:00.000-07:00

Been at the easel the last few days. The first pic is a rework of one I never liked. I changed the tree up and the angles of the picnic table then I added a man walking the path. I like it a lot better in real life than this picture. Some of these seem a blown out. I then tried a 45 minute painting and did the surfer in the morning light. I am very interested in putting people in pictures. It is challenging to get them at the right "line of sight " and proper size. It is very fun though. The next two were what I painted today. I went to the bakery for a cup of coffee this morning and stayed and painted it. Mitchell called while I was there and we got together and went to Miracle Meadows and tried some horses. I need to put a little more effort in the horses. Mine look a bit like cows according to my daughter. Anyway, as always, feel free to comment,

Dean

magnolias

2010-05-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

Well monday was another get together with the "brush-ka-teers". It was Stephen's turn to provide the still life and he brought magnolias. They were really quite beautiful but very intimidating. I was at a loss as to where to even begin. My first attempt got washed down the drain, literally. I took my canvas to the sink and scrubbed it off. There were so many shadows that made this so difficult for me. The bowl shape of the flowers were especially challenging. All in all it was a great exercise in just flat out trying! I will get em' next time! Thanks for looking. This is an 11x14 if you were wondering. Dean

saturday

2010-05-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture I painted saturday. It was from a photograph I had taken in downtown New Bern, NC. I was pleased with the perspective. Not thrilled with the tower width (it should be a bit narrower) a gave the vehicles a try. do like them farther away best! Ha! Thanks for looking, Dean

last week's work

2010-05-22T07:46:00.000-07:00

Here are two I did last week. The first one is from an "OOPS" paint out with about 15 people. Bernie's parents had some very gracious neighbors that allowed us to roam between the two properties and paint our hearts out! We had a blast! It was cut a bit short though due to an approaching thunderstorm but it was still an enjoyable time. The part I liked the best about doing this picture was the owners of the barn were watching me the whole time given I was standing by their back porch. The woman who owned the property kept telling her husband look how nice the barn would look if he cleaned it! Ha! It was very full. I just chose to paint the tractor in it. As for the bicyclist, that was done from a photo I had taken a few years back. There were actually three riders in the photo but after the trouble I had with the first I opted out of the next two. That is why the composition is a little off. What was fun about finishing that one is I took it to show a friend and he actually knew where that place was and it is 5 hours away! I guess I did well on the scene itself. As always, thanks for looking.

"windy"

2010-04-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a pic I painted at the beach today. I decided to throw a turned over chair in the pic since it was so windy! It was my first try at painting a person into one of my pics as an addition instead of the subject. I tried to stay very loose and just paint him with shadows. feel free to comment, Dean

2nd amendment time

2010-04-13T06:18:00.000-07:00

Last night I painted with the "brush-ka-teers". As always we had a great time of fellowship and learning about painting. These guys are a wealth of information! It was my turn to bring the still life. I took a couple of old pocket watches, a wooden nickel, a set of 62' ford falcon keys and a old pistol that has been in our family for quite a while. Bernie and Stephen settled on painting a pocket watch while Mitchell did them all. (I have to remember to take pics of their paintings too.) I in turn just went for what I thought as 2nd amendment time. As always, feel free to comment. BTW this is an 8x10 acrylic on stretched canvas. Dean

Kinston

2010-04-12T05:41:00.000-07:00

Bernie, Mitchell and I hit the road yesterday and went to Kinston, NC to paint. There is a plein aire paint out coming up at the end of the month so we were scoping out the lay of the land. The last 2 years it has been quite profitable for the artists that went, They were selling like hotcakes! We ended up in a parking lot looking at office buildings. The architecture there is very diverse and fun to paint. I did the side of Humphrey Realty. I enjoyed the complimentary color scheme they had going on the most. Sorry about the photo/building being a bit skewed. The painting is not! Ha! It is an 11x14 on canvas board. Thanks for looking, Dean

last weeks work

2010-04-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

Here are a few from the last week. The first one is the last pear I did in oil. I did like trying oils again but was very frustrated with the difficulty of putting in the highlights. I think for now I am going to concentrate on acrylics. I then did this picture of a working woman. I intentionally left her features indistinct because it could be anybody for that matter. The daffodil picture was a still life I did with the "brush-ka-teers". I sent an email to someone to show them that painting and they bought it immediately along with the books and pearls painting I displayed earlier. I then borrowed some civil war items from Bernie Rosage and did my own 11x14 still life of them. Struggled a lot with choosing a background color. Lastly I did a scene in downtown New Bern, NC. I thought I was out of the way in this alley/passage way. I was intending to quietly paint and just see what comes out. Well I had at least 70 people walk through there and stop to watch. What pressure. Here it is, it is the episcopal church in the downtown area. Thanks for looking and as always, feel free to comment. Dean

Pear #2

2010-03-24T04:07:00.000-07:00

here is last night's pear. This was mostly an exercise of wiping away. I was using what was left of the paint on my palette. As you can see I had to use up some red. I may go to a limited palette by introducing a brighter yellow in the Zorn palette. It will definitely help with the greens. Thanks for looking, Dean

pear

2010-03-23T05:48:00.000-07:00

Again i used the limited "Zorn" palette but got a little wild and changed the fruit! Yes I am cray but I had to spice it up some! Ha! Anyway here it is! Dean

More Zorn

2010-03-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

I have been playing with that Zorn palette again. I am going to continue to try a number of oil paintings in it. I was going to do a pear also but Megan ate it! Ha! Oh well. I will try again. Anyway I did this apple last night on a 6x8 MDF board. The tree I did today on an 8x10 MDF board. I found that you really have to think to get a variety of colors with such a limited palette. As always, feel free to comment, Dean

Just a few more

2010-03-19T11:51:00.000-07:00

Here are a few I did in the last week. The first one is a 18x24 . I got the picture from another painting I saw and really liked. The other one was oil and mine was done in acrylic. The next picture was done plein aire. I tried to paint a picture of a woman painting by the water. It was very windy that day but we had a lot of fun. it is an 11x14. the next one is an 8x10 I painted with the "brush-ka-teers" It is a lamp, books and a string of pearls. Then lastly I tried and apple last night in oil utilizing a Zorn palette. A Zorn palette consists of cadmium red, yellow ochre, ultramarine blue mixed with black and a white. Very challenging and fun.

Spicin' it up!

2010-03-06T09:37:00.000-08:00

This was a still life I did to donate to the Beaufort Art Council for a fund raiser. Every year they ask artists to donate an 8x10. They then sell tickets at $25 a piece. From what I understand they number all the paintings donated and then you draw a number to see which painting you get for the $25. This was done with the "brusk-ka-teers" on our tuesday paint night. Let me know what you think Thanks for looking, Dean

Deliverance!

2010-02-18T12:47:00.000-08:00

Ha! What were you thinking? This was a still life I did with the "brusk-ka-teers" sort of. Only two of the four painted this one. I had set up a guitar, banjo and mandolin for us to paint but it was way too ambitious. Mitchell and I both just settled on the banjo. Here are the results of mine. As always feel free to comment. Dean

Winter Barn

2010-02-06T13:43:00.000-08:00

Here is a painting I did yesterday and today. It is an 11x14 painting of a barn that is on a friends property. I had taken the photo last year when we had a snow storm here. I have wanted to try my hand at snow again and see if I could paint it. I really need to think about focal points and such. Even though it lacks a defined one I still enjoyed painting it! Thanks for looking! Dean

Yankee Blue

2010-02-02T10:42:00.000-08:00

Since I did the rebel soldier a few weeks ago I thought I would take a stab at a Federal one. I asked a cousin to send me a picture on him in his civil war attire. This was my attempt. I will not tell you who it is because it does not look like him! Ha! I find that after I get started I quit looking at the subject and just paint for fun. This was interesting to have to work with so much of one color. Thanks for looking! Dean

The Brock Mill Pond

2010-01-27T14:54:00.000-08:00

SOLD!
In Trenton North Carolina there is a small mill. At one time it was the only one around for 15 miles and powered a number of things in town. It has since lost its usefulness but never the less it is still a treasure. The mill still stands (minus the water wheel) and from time to time you can find one of the caretakers there and they will let you in. Daily you can see locals in there cars having their lunch while looking out on the pond. It is nothing to see a few cars parked alongside it and people peeking in the windows during tourist season. I painted this with acrylics on a stretched canvas in an 11x14 format. I did this from a photograph I took. This summer I will go back and paint it plein aire. As always, feel free to comment. Dean

Fresh Flowers

2010-01-20T16:38:00.000-08:00

Last night was a meeting of the Brush-ka-teers! We painted a bouquet of flowers. I wish I would have taken a camera so you could have seen the various renditions. They were beautiful. I did take a pic of mine today so here it is. The background was not really that color! Ha! Thanks for looking and feel free to comment! Dean

Plein aire

2010-01-16T11:45:00.000-08:00

Here is a new plein aire piece I did today. Had a bit of time on my hand while Patti and Megan are out of town. This picture is of the shack at local fishing hole. They came down and watched me paint the whole thing! Talk about being put on the spot! It is a 9x12 and took about an hour and a half. Thanks for looking. Dean

Patriotism

2010-01-16T07:14:00.000-08:00

I was feeling a little patriotic and thought I would paint something along those lines. For those of you who have been in the Marines or affiliated with them in one way or another will recognize the eagle, globe, and anchor. I was contemplating a banner across the top but decided against it. What do you think? I can always change it. It is a 16x20 on stretched canvas. Thanks for looking. Dean

Standing watch

2010-01-13T05:31:00.000-08:00

I tried the rebel soldier again. This time in a full view and a bit more impressionistic. It is 8x10 on canvas. I left his face w/o detail because everything else was "soft" too. I had taken pictures of the "model" when we had him so I have a few things to work off of. I think I may do his backpack with canteen cup soon. If you have any pics for me to work from I sure would like to see them. Just email them to me at: dcr@ec.rr.com. Thanks for looking, Dean

"Johnny Reb"

2010-01-10T16:20:00.000-08:00

Today for our OOPS (Onslow Outdoor Painters Society) paint out we had a live model. As you can see he was in civil war attire. Once again we were at the portrait. Boy are they tough! I tried to just paint shapes and this is what I came up with. He was a lot cleaner than I depicted him but it is my painting therefore it is my rendition. There were about ten of us present. Each ones paintings were extremely different. All in all it was a great day to paint. As always, feel free to comment. Dean

This one was in the gallery for one day and is SOLD!

That was the fastest sale ever for me. I also sold another one today. Very exciting!

Keeping time

2010-01-09T16:15:00.000-08:00

Here is a still life a bit closer to home. I set up my guitar and metronome. I have a terrible time with it. It seems like it is always getting off beat ! Ha! (a little musician humor). Anyways I did this yesterday. It is an 8x10 on stretched canvas. Let me know what you think. Thanks for looking. Dean

2 more

2010-01-08T09:24:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple more I did last week. The first one is like a aerial view of a vineyard. I liked the whole idea but I could not get a "punch to it. Any suggestions? The bottle of wine and box of chocolates I liked very much. That came from a night with the brush-ka-teers. There was candy and glasses there also but I only painted the two things. I did not have my camera so I cannot show you their work this time. I am learning to not fill in all the color as evidenced in the wine bottle label. I like the idea of suggesting it. I would like to hear what you think. Thanks for looking. Dean

Just doodlin'

2009-12-29T06:47:00.000-08:00

I trust everyone had a good holiday season. A new year is on it's way so that means plenty more opportunities to paint! I did a picture of Kyle and Cassie in their Bahama dreads hats but I forgot to take a picture of it and I already gave it away. Maybe I can get them to send me one.??? Here is one I did just doodlin'. I am open to any constructive critique you might have. It doesn't seem to have any "pop" and I have no idea what to do to get it. It is an 8x10 format on canvas. If you look closely you can see the front wheel of the truck is broken. I am also working on an aerial view (of sorts) of a vineyard right now. We'll see how that turns out. As always, feel free to comment. Dean

Brush-ka-teers strike again!!!!

2009-12-16T15:01:00.000-08:00

We painted last night and it was so much fun! Very seasonal though. Here are the pictures from the shoot. The first is Stephen's, then Bernie's, Mitchell's and mine. We enjoyed the fellowship and cookies! As always feel free to comment.

Old Barn

2009-12-07T16:56:00.000-08:00

Here is a painting I did from a photograph I had taken earlier this year. As tou can tell, I was working on some shadowing and brush strokes. Please feel free to leave any comments. Thanks for looking, Dean

A tuesday paint night

2009-11-26T09:22:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of a few paintings I have done. I hope you enjoy the video instead of still pics. Let me know. I am learning how to use this flip recorder so please bear with me. Thanks for looking, Dean

"Retired"

2009-11-14T18:25:00.000-08:00

SOLD

Here is a picture I did about 6-8 months ago. I called it "retired". It is a pictured of a Marine Corps cover with a broken strap across the top and a tattered flag. Both had seen better days. I took this painting to a gallery to see if it would sell. I visited the gallery two weeks later and noticed the painting was missing. They have a small coffee shop in the gallery and the woman who runs it told me this story: Two days after I dropped it off a woman came in to the gallery and saw my painting. Immediately she started crying. She said her husband had retired from the Marines and when he got out he was a bit disillusioned. She bought this for him for veterans day. What was even better was I was told that he too cried when he saw it and especially loved the torn strap. The woman had it framed with a black frame, brought it back to the gallery to show the coffee shop woman and I was told it was beautiful. It was a great lesson for me on how powerful art can be and how it effects people. I am thankful I got to hear the story. Thanks for listening, Dean

What's for dinner?

2009-11-09T09:19:00.000-08:00

Well can you guess?

Once again the self proclaimed "brush-ka-teers" struck. We had dinner on our mind! See the fish? This was a great painting exercise in so many ways. First of all, Mitchell, had to take one for the team and go catch these fish that day. I am sure he was miserable having to tell his wife he had to go fishing so his friends would have something to paint. Thank you Mitchell for the sacrifice.

Secondly, what a challenge. I was especially perplexed as to how to paint this. They had a sheen that Stephen and Bernie captured well. I was thankful mine looked like fish! I especially enjoy seeing the difference in each of the artists style. Bernie's, shown first is in a "old masters" style. He uses oil paint usually with a burnt umber underpainting. He has since painted in a tail of another fish under the chin of the prominent one just to give the head a reason to be lifted. In fact, the fish had been on ice all day so they were stiff in their positioning. Next seen is Stephen's. The picture does not do it justice. The "shine" on the fish is amazing in person. It was fun to watch it take form in person. Mitchell had once again the most challenging angle. I love his freedom with color. I hope to acquire an eye like his so I too can transpose what I see into what I feel. It is exciting to watch him paint. Lastly is mine. I am extremely happy with the outcome. I learned about linear perspective when finishing the board. Angles are important! Ha! I was very pleased with the eye of the fish in the back and the lemons. I am going to frame this one and see how it looks. If I like it I will keep it, if not, off to the gallery to be sold. If you are interested in it just email me and we can talk. As always, feel free to comment and thanks for looking, Dean

Free Advertising!

2009-10-26T11:23:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago the Onslow Outdoor Painters society, otherwise known as "OOPS", volunteered their skills to help raise funds to restore the Yopp meeting house. The Yopp meeting house was established in 1813 making it the oldest building in the area. We all painted the meeting house and donated the proceeds to raise money for the renovations. Our paintings can be seen at Thurston Art gallery, Sneads Ferry, North Carolina. Here is a black and white image of mine and a write up of the event that appeared in their local paper. I also enclosed a picture of what I was looking along with the color painting too. Thanks for looking!

Dean

Big month!

2009-10-22T13:01:00.000-07:00

SOLD, SOLD, SOLD, SOLD!!!!

I just got a call from Red Willows gallery in Trenton, NC. That is a small gallery where I hang my paintings to sell. Anyway, they opened a coffee shop in the gallery two weeks ago and the owner called to tell me that two of my paintings sold. That is 3 that sold there this month! The first one to sell was "Pop Tucci's". Pop Tucci's is a diner in trenton. I was told a couple from Buffalo NY were passing through and picked it up. It was an exercise for me in that I did not adhere to any "real" colors. The buildings were painted as I wanted and the people were added for fun . I was very thankful it sold. The two that sold today were a great surprise! The orange water and bushes were a play on complimentary colors. I was actually going to get that from the gallery because another person saw it on line and wanted to see it in person. They were just curious though. The other painting sold today was one I did about four months ago. It is the still life with the china and the eggs. When I painted that I was very pleased. I learned in that exercise that white eggs (or other things) are not necessarily white. It was a great exercise in learning to "see". Lastly I wanted to share that I sold the smallest picture I ever painted. It is 2x4". What blessed me the most about this sale was that it went to the executive director of Onslow County's Council of the Arts. It was a real boost to think that if she wanted to buy one of my works than I must be improving. I really liked her advice too.... she said I needed to charge more for my work. Well I would live to but first I want to sell enough to support my habit! Until then I will keep the prices low. Thanks for looking and as always, feel free to comment. Dean

Cotton

2009-10-14T16:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of cotton that we did last as a still life exercise. When I say we, I am referring to me and three other artists known only to ourselves ( and very close friends) as the

"Brush-ka-teers". We gather every other tuesday and paint together. It is a great time of fellowship and fun. You will be seeing their work on this blog too from time to time. This painting is an 8x10 and available for $40-