Madonna after Del Sarto

My reproduction in oil, detail of  Andrea Del Sarto's "Madonna of the Harpies"

"Jill and Sadie"

Private Collection

click to listen to: "Little Sadie"

"La France Croisee" after Brooks

Private Collection

My reproduction of the famous painting by Romaine Brooks.

"Mom and Huck"

Private Collection

Framed and photographed by the collector, this painting is resting upon the blanket depicted.  Commissioned as a  gift to the mother in the painting, I hope it will be considered special by this family and their friend.  The jolly little man is getting a smooch while he holds a lock of his mother's red hair.

Tri-colored Heron

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Painted with gracious permission from one of my favorite bloggers; an avid bird enthusiast and excellent nature photographer, Dawn Fine.  Taken in Green Cay Wetlands, Palm Beach County, Florida, the original photo can be found here.   There is a lot going on here for such a small (6 x 6 inch) painting.  I tried for a somewhat impressionistic feel.

"Portrait of Ms. English"

Private Collection

My latest portrait is of the beautiful and talented owner of the popular Etsy shop Captain Cat Collective.  I was fortunate to have the chance to paint for Ms. English who has a keen eye for sophistication and elegance.

"Eat Mor Chikin"

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I came up with this name all by myself.  You see the pig is encouraging people to eat chicken instead of him, but he can't spell so well. heh heh.  It's a cast iron piggy bank on a sack which contained a ham.   The sack says, "Peanut City Country Ham" and the yellow thing he's standing on is a peanut logo.

Still Life with Vegetables

A painting with my newly-constructed shadow box.  These veggies sacrificed themselves for this painting.  Moment of silence, please.

"Animal Shelter"

Collection of the Artist

Participated in the latest Daily Paintworks Challenge.

"Little Red Rooster"

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I am a little red rooster 

Too lazy to crow for day 

I am a little red rooster 

Too lazy to crow for day

Keep everything in the barn yard upset in every way

The dogs begin to bark and hounds begin to howl 

Dogs begin to bark and hounds begin to howl 

Watch out strange cat people 

Little red rooster's on the prowl

If you see my little red rooster 

Please drive him home 

If you see my little red rooster 

Please drive him home 

Ain't had no peace in the barn yard 

Since my little red rooster's been gone 

This is a small 6.25" x 6.25" canvas I stretched and primed myself.  It has nice one-inch wide painted black sides.  It's great making a painting completely from scratch from start to finish.  This picture doesn't quite show the rich colors of the feathers which are really the focal point of this painting.

"Flypaper"

Private Collection

Here is my latest commission. As with every painting, this had it's unique challenges.  The main challenge here was depicting the image using a flash photo reference where the blast of light from the camera had washed out the faces and created less than ideal highlight and shadow areas. There was also a bright floor lamp directly behind the subject creating an odd white light in the negative space between their faces which was distracting.  Correcting these problems is a challenge since they have an influence, however subtle, on the colors and lighting of the entire picture. The fact that the subjects' faces are partially hidden simplified my task of achieving a likeness and added to the mood of the painting.  This could literally be representative of any young couple in love.

"Anna Bella Swan"

Private Collection

I could not have had more fun painting a portrait than I did with this one.  This was for a "You As A Vampire" promotion where a reference photo was used and adjusted to appear in a moonlight setting and given a "Twilight" feel to it.  The model was so stunning, I did not want to distort the image any more than necessary, so I simply painted her as she appeared but in a more bluish-green light, and added some reflected light and lightened her irises similar to what you might see in a "Twilight" poster.

"Scarlet Begonias"

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Oil, 12" x 12" Canvas

I tried to capture the glow of the sun shining through the petals and the wet, soaked area around the vase and fallen blossom.  Hopefully I conveyed the fact that the petals on the front-and-center leaf were not a blossom, but  individual petals laying on top.  The paint strokes are highly visible and thick, especially in the blossom areas, and relatively thin in the table and background areas.

listen to: "Scarlet Begonias"

"Mrs. Soris Edwards"

Private Collection

11" x 14" Oil on Canvas Panel

Unfortunately, the photo has a considerable amount of glare, particularly in the sleeve area to the left. My technique for photographing will improve for future paintings.  

I was inspired to create this painting by the wonderful pose of the model, the lovely new wife of a friend. The main source of light was a large window directly behind the subject which created a challenge but also offered some interesting effects with the lighting and coloration of her hair. 


I included as much detail as was reasonable for such a small sized three-quarter portrait (11"x14".) I tried to emphasize the detail in the focal area; that being the face, raised hand, and décolletage. I left the other hand, the dress, and the legs quite loose in comparison.

I am now working on an outdoor still life which is coming along nicely.  Stay tuned.

Begonia Study

Collection of the Artist

This is a quick study I did before beginning the "Scarlet Begonias" painting .
The unfinished look is somehow pleasing to me.

Click to hear my favorite:   Scarlet Begonias Song