October "Apples"

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

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

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

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

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

last two paintings

fishing with dad

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