#artistsforharvey

Thanks so, so much to my great collectors - what an awesome group!  We continue to send prayers, best wishes, and support to our fellow Texans.

#artistsforharvey

Dear Friends,
I've just posted these 3 Port Aransas oil paintings to my Etsy store.  Listed at discounted prices, I will donate 100% to Hurricane Harvey relief if purchased before the end of September.  They are the three remaining oil paintings from a series of work I did following many wonderful trips to Port A.  I look forward to going back!
#doingwhatwecantohelp  #portaransasismyotherhometown

Catchin Rays

12x12, oil on panel

Still Catchin Rays: Trading Spaces

12x12, oil on panel

Catch of the Day

11x14, oil on panel

My Own Little Cyber Monday Sale

Catchin Rays

12x12, oil on panel

Still Catchin' Rays: Trading Spaces

12x12, oil on panel

This was a young couple I snapped in Port Aransas.  Let's not call it stalking.  These two paintings look great side-by-side.  I loved the challenge of portraying same people/same place/different time/different light/different tide.  In honor of Cyber Monday, I'll sell them discounted - $350 for the pair. What a deal! Double-click to see larger images. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Donation to the DPW Help Japan Challenge

Sandbox

6x6, oil on panel

go to The DPW Help Japan Challenge to bid

Artists have raised almost $13K this week. In keeping with the "home" theme, I've donated this little piece to the auction and designated the Japanese Red Cross Society to receive all proceeds. Click on this link to see hundreds of donated paintings: The DPW Help Japan Challenge. Please help if you can and many thanks.

Spring Break if officially over - we had a great trip. I'm back in the studio having fun with a few commissions but I just can't share them. Birthday/holiday surprises!

Painting Summer on a Snow Day

Salty Dog

8x10, oil on panel

sold

A recent commission, this grand fella owns a family who takes him to the beach quite often. It feels good to be beach painting - familiar and comfortable.

Back to Painting Port Aransas

Sand Castle

8x8, oil on panel

sold

Painting this Port Aransas beach house had me dreaming of warmer weather. As I post, our thermometer reads a balmy 19 degrees - and for Central Texas, that's saying something. Glad we don't have the ice and snow our northern neighbors are grappling with... but don't tell my kids I said that. Their fingers are crossed for a snow day. This painting is going to Shark Boy's school auction later in the month.

Every One Can't Be a Winner

Dawg

8x8, oil on panel

Another sketch from the Jurick workshop. I saw this pooch romping around the Hilton Head beach - he was happy and funny. The painting? Well... let's just say I don't believe I did him justice. Aptly named effort, me thinks.

Catching Up: Karin Jurick Workshop

sold

With all the feasting and football (Sharkboy's team made it to the State Semi-finals!), I'm way behind on posting. This little sketch is from the Karin Jurick workshop - on Day #1 we watched her demo the photo, on Day #2 we all painted it, and on Day #3 we visited Morris & Whiteside Gallery and got to see Karin's original version. It was facinating to see some 20 different versions - proof positive that we all interpret schenes in unique ways. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Karin Jurick Workshop and Party Prep

Bathing Beauty

16x20, oil on panel
sold

You may recognize this precious child - click here to see where I've painted her before. It was so difficult for me to not dwell on her beautiful curls: "put down that brush - this is where we get into trouble." This painting will be framed to go to the upcoming Art Party. It has been such an exciting week as we've continued to do party prep!

Another bit of great news - I'm leaving this week to play for a few days in Georgia and So. Carolina before attending Karin Jurick's workshop at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina in Hilton Head next week. I cannot wait to soak up all this gifted artist has to teach - can you imagine how lucky I feel? I shipped my paints and brushes today and this will be a technology-free vacation: no blogging, no email. Just watching, listening, learning, painting. [OK, probably a teensy-tiny little pinch of eating, drinking, laughing, beach walking] Apologies if this is an inconvenience for anyone - I'll be back November 8, just in time for the party November 11. Thank you to Mr. Right, our kids, and all our friends who are pitch-hitting.

More Beach Paintings from Port Aransas

Still Catchin' Rays: Trading Spaces

12x12, oil on panel

$240, email for more info

I spied this young couple twice: the first view was the previous post. The second time, she had taken the lounge chair and he was sitting up, watching waves. These two paintings look great side-by-side. I love the challenge of portraying same people/same place/different time/different light.

It's the Little Things I Love

Catchin' Rays

12x12, oil on panel

$240, email for more info!

Truth be told, I added the yellow stripe to his bathing suit just so I could paint its reflection. Double-click on the painting to see a larger view!

Sand Box

6x6, oil on panel

$90, email for info

Wouldn't it be fun to escape to this little beach bungalow? Would it be greedy of me to 'call' that room across the front with all the windows for an art studio?

Port Aransas, Norman Rockwell, and Museum Blogs

Sometimes Island

12x12, oil on panel

sold

Another young neighbor from the Port Aransas beach this summer. Now that Sharkboy and Lavagirl are back in school I look forward to returning to that vacation, via my camera and easel. I find the study of artists and their use of photography to be facinating and have been reading about Norman Rockwell lately - a brilliant photographer. If you're interested, I highly recommend Ron Schick's book Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera. And of course the highly-touted Rockwell exhibit, Telling Stories, from the collections of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg currently at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Click here for a link to the podcast about the exhibit and here for the SAAM blog, Eye Level. Hmmmmm..., how to work Washington D.C. and Stockbridge, Mass. (the NR Museum) into college visits this year....

PS. Don't you just love museum blogs, BTW? A few of my favs: Face to Face (National Portrait Gallery), Inside/Out (MOMA), and Uncrated (Dallas Museum of Art). One I'm just starting to look at: The Jewish Museum in NYC. What are your favorites?

Cowboys on the Beach: Only in Texas

Rodeo Surfin'

11x14, oil on panel

nfs

The great portrait artist Chris Saper is an idol of mine and I used her color theory for these boys. The challenge was their widely varied skin tones and I really wanted to describe them (and their difference) well. If you could see the painting in person -- it truly glows. I was honored to have a valued collector visit the studio this week and bring friends and commissions - Yippee!

Beachy Chic, Loads of Potential

Anchor Courts No. 3
8x8, oil on panel
nfs

First, let me apologize for the glare on this photo. I've tried to correct it - using both natural solutions (different location, different days) and unnatural ones (Photoshop) but there's just no hope for it.

Found this spot on an early morning ride around Port Aransas. There are 10 little, brightly-colored bungalows at the Anchor Courts - the property is for sale and we would call it...hmmm.... a fixer-upper. It could be a very retro-charming family compound. I call the pink bungalow for living and this turquoise one for my studio. This painting is going to the ARC of the Capital Area's 10th Annual Building Bridges Art Auction in October. I'm happy to be included in such a worthy cause - click here or here for more info.

Lazy Days in Port Aransas

Little Mermaid

12x12, oil on panel

SOLD

Happy Summer to all! How lucky our family was to plop down on the Port Aransas beach one day recently next to the family of this precious little girl. She was soooo busy, with all her buckets and cups and shovels - she entertained us for hours. Simply put, I'm enchanted by beach light and reflections.

First Ones on the Beach

Early Risers

18x18, oil on panel

email for info

Another title might be 1,000 Not-So-Easy Pieces. These blue lounge chairs are "standard issue" at many Mexican beach resorts and, over the years, they have intrigued me artistically. I've tried pencil, ink, watercolor, and now oil. Plus, I've really been wanting to work in this larger format and get out of the alla prima work habit a bit. Fun, fun.

A Guy Who Still Uses Pen & Paper

Corner Office

14x11, oil on panel

$250, email for info

Beach Paintings: My Perpetual, Virtual Vacation

And Then He Said...

11x14, oil on panel

sold

Another image from Playa del Carmen. The light in that part of the world is captivating - like a subject all its own - and I had such fun trying to capture it. I drew the girls in my sketchbook a half dozen times before I picked up a brush and, no surprise, I think it really helped. I became aware of nuances - like the negative shapes - and worked to keep them interesting. Also, I tried to do more drawing than painting with the paint... does that make sense? I'm loving the cadmium orange ground; it warms the skin tones and really pops when it peeks through the sand and water.

Jinxed

Crabbin'

8x8, oil on panel

$115, email for info

After my last post, though I really didn't mean to brag or gloat, I seem to have jinxed myself and forgotten everything I thought I ever knew about painting. Actually, drawing to be more specific. I've attempted to paint almost every day this week but couldn't draw a stick figure. Much less anything I'd dare show you. Jinxed.

I read somewhere that the great artist/teacher Quang Ho says, throughout all the classes and workshops he has taught, the number one problem plaguing art students is drawing. And the number two problem? Also drawing. So, it's back to the sketchbook I go, happily I must say. It's comforting.