Abby

A commission for friend Cathleen's new family addition. Painting anything black seems like a challenge. But if there is enough light hitting the object there is plenty of information to use for details and to create form. It's also fun to use different blacks and greys although mixing them on the palette is tricky as the paint might look too dark or too light until you add it to the canvas and in context with what else is there, it is very different. The red bandana helps add some interest and color contrast. 8"x10", acrylic on canvas.

Cindy

A memorial commission for cousins J&D's dog Cindy. She was a wonderful pet and FLUFFY!!! I'm quite chuffed at how well this one came out although her heavy coat kept throwing off my sense of scale. Usually it's not a challenge to figure out where things go but with so much of her anatomical structure hidden I was struggling a bit. Oftentimes there is a point in a painting when you know something isn't working, can't quite figure out what to do about it, and think it's time to paint out and re-start. This is a good time to take a break, go for a walk or ride, and think about something else. So that's what happened and after my break I came back and saw what to do. I painted out part of what I had done and re-adjusted the drawing. Then the rest came together painlessly. 16" x 20", acrylic on canvas.

Mesmerized

Despite being a serious Luddite I enjoy creating digital images too. This was done in Illustrator, which I liken to dragging around a piece of string. Fine tuning with the point handles is a real challenge for me and I have come close to throwing my keyboard or mouse. Yeah, I don't use a Wacom. They make me queasy for some weird reason.

The downstairs neighbors have two cats and there are three next door so I get a lot of opportunities to see them in action, or inaction as it were. They like to hang out on my porch and sit there staring--meditating? Contemplating the downfall of the two-leggeds? Remembering the numerical sequence of pi? Anyway,  that's what inspired this image.

Book cover

Some friends are putting together an anthology of writings that were created for a series of workshops that are based on Sullivan's Island South Carolina. My friends that put together the events call themselves Southern Sampler Artist's Colony and this is the cover for their soon-to-be-published book, "A Southern Sampler". I still can't believe this was the fifth iteration as the others all failed in some way. But at least I'm pleased with the results, as are the clients. Acrylic on canvas, 14"x11".