magnolias

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

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

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"

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

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

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

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