Cloud #21 - Boston Evening Star

Oil on paper, 5" square

This is an image I have worked and reworked many

times. It is the view from my studio (and after that,

my newborn daughter's room...) when I lived in

Boston in the 80's and early 90's. Like some figure

poses, there is something about the shapes in this

image that I find endlessly intriguing. I witnessed

many sunsets from this window, and I could prob-

ably do 25 more of these paintings and never get

bored, mining my memory for colors.

This was supposed to be a "daily painting", but

ended up being a "two-day daily painting" because

I needed to create two layers.

Thanks for visiting today.

Cloud #20 - Ocean Sunset

Oil and Acrylic on Gessobord, 7" x 5"

Cloud #19 - A Potomac Afternoon

Oil on linen-covered panel, 5' X 7"

I really enjoyed doing this painting on linen panel today. I have

painted this composition before in gouache, and I'm happy with

the way it came out in oil. More colors, more complex water in

some ways. It is fun to make it up using what I know and remember.

Things like this aren't always successful, but it's a wonderful feeling

when it is.

Cloud #18 - Storm over Fields

Oil on Belgian Linen, 3.84" x 7.15"

I decided to paint on some of my canvas today for a change. The

texture of the Belgian Linen is so fine - it is just beautiful. It was

a nice change to work with bristle brushes instead of soft hairs.

Thanks for visiting.

Sharon Reclining Redux

Oil on board, 10" x 6.5 NFS

Andy in Color (hand-colored drypoint etching)

Drypoint Etching and Colored Pencil

2.6" x 3.8"

Andy was a great model who used to pose for

my figure drawing class. He had a beautiful

profile, and that is why I was inspired to do

this drypoint of him. I decided today to enhance

the print with colored pencil, and I am very happy

with it.

Italian Twilight

Oil/Mixed Media, 3.74" x 2.86"

This tiny mixed media piece depicts the last rays of the

sun illuminating a building in an Italian piazza. I lived in

Italy many years ago, and have always been fond of

depicting Italian scenes.

Thanks for visiting today.

Cloud #17 - Starlight over fields

Oil on archival gessoed ragboard, 5.25 x 5.25 "

bid here

Cloud #16 - Sunset over fields

Oil on Archival Gessoed Ragboad, 4.1" x 3.4" SOLD

I am continuing with this series, for as long as it lasts.

Thank you for visiting.

Cloud #15 - Storm in the Mountains

Oil on Gessoed Ragboard, 7.5" x 8.5" SOLD

Cloud #14

Oil on gessoed ragboard, 4.75 x 4.75" SOLD

I know it has been a long time since I have posted

anthing at all. A broken wrist and a nagging physical

problem, unfortunately, conspired to keep me from

painting. But, I am better now, and glad to be getting

back to work.

This is a continuation of my cloud series - apparently

I am not done with these yet. They are fun, I have to

say. Just free and easy painting on a small scale --

a good way to ease back into the discipline of regular

working.

Thank you for visiting today.

Wave and Reflections

Gouache (opaque watercolor), 4 1/4 x 3"

I'm teaching gouache again this quarter at school,

so I've been practicing the medium in order to be

able to give demonstrations in class.

I was quite pleased with the overall appearance of

this piece - particularly the reflections. (love those

little pieces of blotter paper!)

All of my work in this medium is small, and as a

matter of fact, I keep it all in notebooks. This was done

on Fredrix watercolor canvas, which I love. I cut

it out and pasted it in my landscape notebook with

all the other paintings. I love my collection of notebooks!

Thanks for visiting.

Woman from Giza

Pencil Drawing, 2 1/2 " x 3 3/4"

I went to Egypt in 1972 - many years ago. But

I still vividly remember the women and their

sometimes ornate, but usually, black, clothing.

I found this image in an old book about Egypt.

There was no credit for the photo, or I'd give it

here.

Thanks for visiting.

Reworked Iris

Oil on Archival Rag Board, 7" x 11"

bid here

I actually presented this piece quite a while

ago in my blog, but, the other day I was looking

at it and realized that it was not done yet.

So I got out my paints (particularly transparents)

and went to work finishing it off. There is not quite

as much pink in the background as it appears in this

photograph.

Every spring I get the urge to paint flowers - well,

actually I like to paint them all the time, particularly

in gouache. They have such wonderful shapes and colors,

and it is always a problem to figure out how to portray

their delicacy and ephemeral qualities, as well as the

color. This is especially fun in gouache, which can be

used either opaquely or transparently. One can

communicate a lot of information with this combination.

It is great.

Thanks for looking. Sorry about the lack of postings recently.

I've been on a small "vacation" from my work. Hope to be

getting back into it now.

Cloud 15 - Autumn Afternoon

Oil on Gessoed Ragboard, 4" x 4"

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Cloud 14 - Caribbean Cloud ll

Oil on Gessoed Ragboard, 4" x 4"

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This photograph does not do this painting justice,

unfortunately. The blue is very intense, and the purple

strip in the middle practically vibrates.

Cloud 13 - Caribbean Cloud

Oil on Gessoed Ragboard, 4" x 4"

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I am still preoccupied with clouds. I like working in this

size format. Perhaps they'll get bigger with time. I like

painting over a color. This was painted over dark orange.

Thanks for visiting.

Cloud 12 - sunset over a lake

Oil on Gessoed Rag Board, 4" x 4" SOLD

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This was painted on an orange-primed piece of rag

board. The picture does not do it justice, unfortunately.

Thanks for visiting.

Head of Achilles in Oil Pastel Sgrafitto

Oil Pastel and Crayons, 4" x 5 " NFS

In this technique you cover a stiff piece of paper or

card with Crayola crayons in different colors.

If you think about the color that will be the last

layer on your piece, you can choose the crayons and

you can choose your color scheme before you even

start working. For this I also used a metal ceramic

tool that had a rod with six pieces of very strait

wire at the end. This way you coud draw two to six lines

exactly the same each time you draw. It was very

easy to create cross-hatching this was.

"Baroque Spirit"

Softground Etching, 7" x 9" NFS

I thought I would show a piece that is in the same

vein as my pastel drawings. I did this a while ago.

As a matter of fact, it was my first softground etching!

This is a statue behind the villa where I went to

graduate school in Florence. It was sticking out of

the end of a staircase leading to the garden behind the

villa. This was in San Domenico da Fiesole, halfway

between Florence and Fiesole. We had a beautiful

view of Florence rising out of the mist. It was a

beautiful place. We did not live there, we just had

classes there, and lived in apartments in Florence.

Anyway, I love this piece, partly because it was

a happy accident on a first try!

Thanks for visiting.

Cloud 11 - the storm breaks

Oil on Gessoed Board, 4" x 4" SOLD

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I painted this during a class last night.

I worked on an orange background

and really enjoyed it. Although this is

just a sketch, I feel it has a sense of

depth. It makes me wish I were in the

Caribbean.

Reworked Greek Venus Torso

Pastel and vine charcoal on white paper, 10" x 13"

I actually thought I had finished this drawing, but

when I looked at it today I realized I hadn't. So I

worked on it again and am happy with the results.

Thanks for visiting.

Marble Head of Pompey

Pastel on Frankfurt Cream, 11" x 14" NFS

This drawing is actually similar to what is underneath

my previous post, "Head of Achilles". This drawing

has been covered with acrylic medium, as I was

planning on painting over it in oils. However, I decided

that I like it like this - a very faint, mysterious image

in delicate colors.

Danielle in Profile

Oil on Heavy Paper, 7.5" x 10" SOLD

This is a friend of my daughter's. I have

done four paintings of her to date.

I like the simplistic, abstract qualities

of this painting. It is something I would

like to explore.

Thanks for visiting.

Blue Angel

Pastel on Sennelier Carte Pastel, 7" x 10" SOLD

Torso of Meleager, Greek fragment

Soft Pastel on Franfurt Cream paper,

11" x 14" NFS

Head of Achilles - mixed media

Oil over pastel drawing - 12" x 14"

I didn't actually do this drawing/painting

today, but I've never shown it, and decided

that I want to. If for no other reason than to

inspire myself to move on to something

else for a while that I love to do -

pastel drawings.

This particular piece is interesting in that

it is a mixed media image. It was done

on Frankfurt Cream paper, first a pastel

drawing was done, and then I isolated that

with acrylic medium. This particular paper,

that has been around for centuries, literally,

is very resistant to warping or wrinkling when

it is wet.

After the medium dried, I used my oil paints

and those little squeegee things called

"Color Shapers" to finish the image. I was

very happy with it.

I hope to have some new images in the same

vein in the near future.

Christina with a Shawl

Oil on board, 5/14" x 7 1/4 " SOLD

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This is a sketch of a friend of my daughter's who

has an incredibly beautiful head. I have painted

and etched her several times. This is not a detailed

image, but I like it just the same.

Thanks for visiting.

Oil Sketch over Grisaille of Sharon Posing

Oil on Linen, 4 1/4" x 6 1/4"

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This is a loose color study over
a black and white oil grisaille
(underpainting).

Painting this way is really fun,
because you do a black and white
version first, let it dry, and then
paint over it.

This is the way oil paintings were
first done in the 14th/15th Centuries.

I painted into a wet glaze of Gamblin's
Transparent Earth Red, a wonderful,
all-around useful color that I have used
many times for this same technique.

Cloud X

Oil on gessoed ragboard, 4" x 4 1/4" SOLD

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This may be my last cloud. I have something else
to post that I did today.

Thanks for visiting.

Cloud 9

Cloud VIII

Oil on gessoed ragboard, 4" x 5.5" SOLD

Cloud VII

Oil on gessosed card, 4" x 4"

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Cloud VI

Oil on gessoed board, 4" x 4" SOLD

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Cloud V

Oil on Canvas, 4" x 6" click here to bid SOLD

This is another in the series. I am really caught up in doing this, and

can't seem to stop painting clouds. I'm hoping to follow this up with

full landscapes. I'll just have to see what happens.

Thanks for visiting.

Cloud IV

Acrylic on Gessoed board, 4" x 4"
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Cloud III

Acrylic on Gessoboard, 4" x 4"

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For this painting I used the new Interactive Acrylics,

and was pleasantly surprised. They come with several

different bottles of mediums. One that keeps the paint

wet longer, another that makes the paint dry really

fast, in case you want to use it as an underpainting.

It was easy to apply, brushed out nicely, had lovely

colors, and even blended easily, with the ability to

create soft edges. All in all, a very nice product. You

should try it.

Cloud II

Oil on panel, 5" x 5", click here to bid

I think this is becoming a series. I love imagining the

sky. When I arrive at something that seems "real" to me,

it is so exciting. As though I am really "seeing" it.

Cloud

Oil on Gessoboard, 4" x 4", click here to bid SOLD

After all this snow, gray skies, cabin fever, S.A.D.,

etc., etc., I just decided I had to paint myself a cloud

that would remind me that spring and summer will

really be here some day. As a matter of fact, I have

daffodils sticking out of the ground in my front yard-

only right now they're buried by three feet of snow.

It's a good thing they are hardy plants!

This picture just makes me feel happy, and I hope it

helps your mood too.

Thanks for visiting.

Thunderheads

Gouache sketch on blue paper, 3" x 4"

I have been working hard on several paintings that are more

complicated . They require a lot of concentration, but leave

me little time for daily painting right now. I don't want to go back

on my resolution, but being preoccupied with painting is the point

here, I think(?). Not a daily race to see who can publish first.

So, I've posted one in the series of small landscape sketches in gouache

that I have been doing all along. Gouache fascinates me, because you

can use it either like watercolor (transparently), or opaquely, the way

it is really meant to be used. I like the leeway that gives me to experiment.

This particular study doesn't have any transparency in it, and was painted

fairly thickly, kind of like an oil painting. Anyone who loves oil painting
would love working in gouache!

Thanks for visiting today.

The Vision

6 1/2" x 9", SOLD
Oil over prepared underpainting
(unfinished piece)

I am happy about the direction in which this
is going. It is a variation on a pose that I have
used before, and with which I am endlessly
fascinated. In this version the red dominates.

The Beautiful Parakeet

3 1/8" x 4 7/8" - Pastel Pencil on Wallis Sanded Paper

I am working on some more complicated

paintings right now, and cannot be a "painter"

as such, every day. As everyone knows who

uses them, we paint when we use pastels.

I am very fond of this little drawing. I'm thinking

of going to the pet store - I asked them if I

could photograph their birds and they said

"yes" - to get some more material.

Monotype of Spring in the Blue Ridge

Oil Color Monotype, 5" x 4" , painted on zinc, transferred to

Rives BFK using an etching press. click here to bid

This is a small monotype done in a loose fashion. I love this tech-

nique, and wish I had more time to do them. They're tricky though-

for every five that you do, maybe one or two are keepers... Although

this isn't my favorite - I've done so many - it has a nice feel

to it, I think.

Thanks for visiting.

Drawing of Donald Copper

6.5" x 8.5" , Graphite on Drawing Paper,

click here to bid

Figure Sketch in the Studio

Oil on Belgian Linen monted on board,

5.75" x 7.5" , click here to bid

This was really fun to do. It started out as a quick

sketch in mechanical pencil on some linen canvas

that I had. Then I coated that with polymer medium

with a little turquoise acrylic in it.
Then I painted in the light areas with a little white

and yellow oil paint.

After letting it dry over night I glazed it with Liquin

and Gamblin's Transparent Earth red, and it was all

stream-of-conciousness after that. I know it is loose,

but I rather like the effect, particularly the balance of

the bright turquoise blue and the bright spotlight.

Unfortunately, the beautiful effects of the paint don't

really come across in this photograph. Belgian linen

has a tighly-woven, exquisite surface that is unlike

anything else. It gives a delicate quality to your paint

passages that you sure can't see here! Just try to imagine

it....

Monotype of a New Orleans Fountain Statue

Oil Color Monotype, painted on zinc, printed on BFK

Rives printmaking paper using an etching press

4.5" x 5"

NFS

I didn't have the time to do anything new today, so

this is my offering. I've always been fond of this.

Thanks for visiting.

Sunset Sketch

Oil on Gessoed Wood, 5" x 7.5", click here to bid

I photographed this right after I finished painting it, so that explains

the glare. This was really fun to do. I used a different medium today,

which was essentially just linseed oil with some solvent in it. I usually

use Winsor & Newton's Liquin, and have for years, because it is such

a good glazing medium. But, this is a very frank sketch, so something

where you can just push and smear the paint around is best for

something like this. It's really fun.

Another good sketching medium is Dorland's wax medium. It also has

the advantage that it dries almost instantly, and, it can be buffed up

with a cloth when it's dry. How weird is that? Mix a little Liquin with it

to make it more fluid, and it's really great. By itself it's good for palette

knife work.

Thanks for visiting today.

Christina

Oil on Board, 7 " x 9.5 ", SOLD

I have been working on this image over a series of

years, actually, and am glad to have finally resolved

it. The contrast of her almost-black hair against the

turqoise background is something that has always

obsessed me, but I couldn't rectify the colors in her

face with the rest of the painting. I finally decided to

just "go with the flow", and I'm pretty happy with the

results, which aren't really true to life due to my

camera. Her face is really more colorful than this.

The Young Egon Schiele, a pencil drawing

Graphite on paper, 5.5" square, NFS

I've been getting ready for my weekend workshop all
day, and haven't had time to paint, so I thought I would
"cheat", and post something I've already done.

I love this drawing. I love Egon Schiele's work, bizarre
and idiosyncratic as it is, there is so much beauty there.
I know some people have a difficult time finding that
beauty, but for someone who loves to draw as much as
I do, it is very evident.

Poor thing, he died at a very young age (early 20's I think)
of the pandemic flu in 1918. What a waste of a great talent.
Well, he certainly produced a lot while he was alive.

This was done from a photo of his face at the age of about
sixteen, and clearly shows his intelligence and sensitivity,
I think.

Thanks for visiting today.

Sophie by the Window II

Oil on Canvas on Wood, 7 1/8" x 10 1/2" SOLD

I did not paint this in one day. I have been working

on this painting on and off for a few months now.

It is a copy (in reverse) of a painting I did of my

daughter about seven years ago. I just love the

composition and colors so much that I had to do

another one. It was painstaking, but worth it, I think.

I love the orange/gold/yellow kimono jacket contrasted

with the purple/blue/white kimono robe, and the light

in her hair. Isn't she beautiful? (on the inside, too)