Just another painting process wherein I rough sketch the scene, fill it up with color, adjust the shapes and colors and lines, and finally start adding details and finishing the piece. Enjoy.

Horse & Carriage, 12×12″ $100

After finishing this one, I realize I must be ready for Christmas…

Here’s another painting process. Just a note: I failed to correct the white balance of these photos - they are, in reality, less yellow-brown in color - the photo of the finished piece is pretty close to correct. Not the most dynamic of subject matters, and this is one case where I like the photo still a little better than the finished painting. Still there are aspects of it I love - I’ll point them out later. Here’s the initial sketch:

…and I think that’s one of the main reasons I like the photo better than the painting - notice that I cropped the photo severely to better match my canvas. I thought this would emphasize the center of interest better (the red building and its leaning metal pole), but in reality it lessened its impact. (Hindsight is 20/20)

And then it’s just a matter of paint-by-numbers. Filling it all in with paint.

et cetera…

et cetera…

And adding in the darkest darks and lightest lights.

And starting to fiddle with things - adding the trees.

And then it’s just more detail work, until the final piece:

Ave. F - Bogalusa - 11×14″ - $75

The details I love about it are the telephone pole in the background - I left the initial china marker sketch and just painted around it. That gave it a nice effect, I think. Also the building just below the telephone pole - I like the way it turned out . . . almost a watercolor look to it. I also enjoy the sidewalk/curb running along the bottom - the waviness of the hand-drawn lines give it a certain charm i think. The colors are not quite as contrasty as in this photo, by the way, and be sure to click the photo for a closer look - otherwise those details cannot be appreciated.

I’m pretty sure I will be returning to this photo in the future - a wider-aspect canvas and a more muted color palette would work wonders, I’m sure. Any thoughts?

I’ve done several posts in the past on the painting process - my painting process, that is - and I thought I’d dig those out and put them into the spotlight for anyone interested. So, here are four links - enjoy!

• Process: At the Big Table, in which I complete one of my favorite paintings
• Painting Process: Street Cars, in which I paint a New Orleans scene
• Marathon Portrait, in which I struggle with completing a face
• Pug Mug, in which I paint the mug of a pug

Chocolate Puppy 20×16″ $250

Just another cute puppy painting. Everyone loves a cute puppy painting.

Four Dragonflies 10×20″ $250

Bogalusa became one big game of pine tree pick-up-sticks in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I took this reference photo on a foggy morning after returning home from our evacuation vacation. The photo didn’t really show much of the destruction - unless you knew what our street looked like before the storm - but the eerie mix of fog and peach colored sky was the main reason I took the photo, and the reason I wanted to capture the scene on canvas. Although the actual painting is a bit darker and the sky a bit richer in color, here’s a photo of the final piece:

Returning Home, 30×40″ $800

Thinking of the upcoming Northshore Art Market and the fact that I didn’t really have many New Orleans scenes in my paintings, I came across this photo among my reference photos and thought I’d give it a try. As the painting came together (over a day and a half period of time), I could tell it was going to work, that I was going to like this painting. So, with an eye toward my sometimes under-utilized blog, I took a series of photos at each step of the process for all to enjoy. (more…)

For the most part, my paintings are generally based on real life - well, to be more accurate, real life by way of a reference photo usually - but every now and then I’ll dabble in completely abstract painting. This painting was inspired from a song I wrote and my brother Matt put to music. It was a bit of an abstract song in it’s own right and listening to it the other day, I just felt the urge to paint this painting. Needing something more than just dripping paint, I wrote the lyrics with a china marker, then, not happy with the look of the lyrics, I partially obscured it with paint, leaving legible only the words, “something unsure.” Thus the name of the piece.

Something Unsure 30×48″ $1,200

Interested in the lyrics? Thought so. Here they are:

“all the time in the world”

everyday a new day - beginning and ending
and we wash away the dust from our sad shoes
give thanks for our lives and hope for good weather
but all of our lives we’re running in circles
we’re walking on eggshells, and borrowing hours
we’re taking turns, we’re stepping on shoulders
we’re dangerous and angry and guilty and sadly
fortunate son, you’ve got big shoes to carry you
as you try to get by, try to get an alibi

everyday a new day - it’s calling our names out loud
say we don’t need this, but there’s something missing
and you say, “we’ve got all of the time in the world,”
but hot on our heels, the creatures are closing in

something unique - something creative
something unsure - beginning to believe again

Toddler at Play 20×20″ $350

Coffee & Beignets 24×36″ $450

Coffee with Grocery List 25½x36″ $400

Coffee with Spoon 20×20″ $350