Trying out mobile blogging app

Doing a large painting in studio from on site watercolor. Testing out this mobile app for my blog. Hope it'll allow me to post more. More to come soon!

Carteret Contemporary Art Show, Beaufort Home Tour a success- Back to work

Thanks so much to all that came by the studio and went to Carteret Contemporary to see the show with Kevin Aita.  Next event, October- and a solo show at Adam Cave Fine Art, on the horizon.

 I've been back working on my watercolors over the past week, but something just hasn't felt right. I realized paper is very important in creating a watercolor! After completing 5 or 6 paintings that I was unhappy with, using an Arches paper (not the block), I went back and got the Strathmore Windpower pad I am used to. This particular Arches seems to be too absorbent, but is a great weight. It is also rough! Don't get me wrong, I use a block that is tremendous, just can't figure out this one. I guess I prefer what I've grown accustomed to. Hope that solves it, we'll know the next session...

Here are a few... sinky inny ones. 2 site pieces and 2 done while hanging with my new artist son, Ollie.

And here is what he is doing... Scott Wood "sharing" the ball with CJ Leslie(who prob wishes he was still at NCSU)- who is 

dunking over a Tar Heel.  GO STATE!

Carteret Contemporary Art- June 15- July 4

The opening Saturday night went well, liked hanging with Kevin Aita and his family. Here are a few more form the show.

Old Salt 12x12"

The Strong, Silent Type 18x24"

Charlotte Industrial area

A Pivers Island Pit Stop 24x36"

The King and I 24x36"

Carcassonne, France 18x24" 

Smoky Exit 30x40"

Next event, Beaufort Home and Garden Tours- June 27,28 (last weekend in June). I'll be in the studio and selling prints, cards, originals. See you then!

Atlantic Afternoon- painting as it was in progress.

watercolor sketch

This painting was so big, I did a detailed drawing on the linen as a guide to keep me on track. 

Yardstick for scale.

Also note the day passing behind the painting. Entire block in done in around 7 hours. Big brushes, lots of paint... Then weeks of tweaking!

Here are some progress pics I took while doing one of the large paintings earlier this Spring. From sketch to block-in.

Hospital Commissions

Around March and April, I had a project painting 2 pieces to go in a hospital somewhere in NC. Each painting was 48x75" Certainly the largest paintings to date for me. Here are the final pics. I look to show the progression of one in a future post.

Atlantic Afternoon 48x75"

oil on linen

South River Sun 48x75"

oil on linen

I'm Back!... Carteret Contemporary Art Show June 15- July 4

First off- Show at Carteret Contemporary Art, Morehead City, NC from June 15- July 4 2013. I'm showing with the incredible Kevin Aita. Opening from 6-8pm tomorrow night. I have around 15 peices in there, mostly studio work from the winter and early spring.

 Painting has been my second job after keeping a wonderful son during the day. Thank goodness for my wife and in laws for helping out an incredible amount with the kids to allow me more time to work. I am back in the studio almost full time again, thanks to Nanna and Boppy, through the Summer. I'll be on the Beaufort Home Tour route again this year, the last weekend in June. Here are some of the paintings that will be in the show starting tomorrow.

This is one 18 x24" I started with Mike Rooney one windy day in the spring "Down East". The wind beat us for an hour and a half, till we packed it in. I hadn't been able to get out in more than a month, and the rust definitely showed. But I soldiered on for more hours on this one in the studio, hoping to retain the seed planted while out. Hope to post the before and after to show difference sometime.

Portsmouth Homestead 11x14"

Portsmouth Post Office 9x12"

Core Banks CARcass 24x36"

Shed with a view, Portsmouth 18x24"

Turns out there is quite a small collection of paintings I did from a trip out to Portsmouth Island last Spring with my friend and captain/navigator/guide Joey Smith. This collection of paintings are quite a bit more textural than what I had traditionally been doing, due to the process I had to adopt, and the fact I consciously wanted to show the physicality of the paint. I have only been able to paint in small chunks of time which would mean continuous drying and reworking of layers, sometimes putting a painting away for weeks before getting back to it. I also dropped all earths colors, and went with the standard warm/cool primary palette. It has been a fun exercise and am interested to see what the reception to these will be. 

Merry Christmas

No posts lately, due to more pressing matters such as keeping my new little boy full time. Here's hoping all have a Merry Christmas. Will get something up soon, but lately have been doing some commissions and starting lots of work. Finishing, however, is more of a challenge right now. Maybe the new year will offer more time for working. But here are some pics of my annual Christmas windows at Smith's Red & White store in Dorches, NC, well known for their pork products. Each window is 4.5 x 6 feet. This is our 15th year doing them. They'll be scraped off in 4 days... Go get some sausage links, old fashioned candy, and check em out!