"The Sentiment of Sunflowers" 24x12"

Sometimes, when I'm feeling "stuck", I'll pull out a completely new shape of canvas to shake things up a bit.  This long rectangular shape allowed me to focus on the abstract shapes of the flowers without having to go into a lot of detail on the vase or the background.

"Three Pears" Is Off To The AIS Show!

"Three Pears" has been selected for the 15th Annual American Impressionist Society national show.  I hope that if you will be in Denver in the fall, you'll try to stop by and see this amazing show.  Here are the details:

American Impressionist Society 15th Annual National Juried Exhbition

Event Dates: 10/2/2014 - 11/1/2014

Reception: 10/2/2014 5 to 8pm

Location: Abend Gallery

303-355-0950

2260 E Colfax Ave

Denver CO 80206

www.americanimpressionistsociety.org

For the list of juried artists, click  here

"Flower Dance", 16x20"

"All real works of art look as though they were done in joy." - Robert Henri, The Art Spirit.

This past week or so, I've been searching for the joy, to no avail.  Days on end were spent painting, and each day ended with a thorough scraping.  I had nothing to show for my efforts.  I looked at my work at the end of the day, and saw no joy in the painting before me.  Rather than waste more time (and paint) trying to make something joyless look less so, I decided to scrap it all and start again.  And again.  And again.

Today, I pulled out a painting I had started months ago.  I started to fling paint at it with a palette knife, then I scraped through it and started again.  But this time, I'm happy to say, I saw the joy start to creep back in.  Instead of throwing it on the scrap heap, I'll post it in the hopes that you see a bit of joy in it too!

A Couple of Portraits, 9x12 each

I've been asked many times if I have tried to translate my loose style into portraiture. Until recently, I haven't dared to, since I was afraid that when I loosened things up, I'd lose the likeness of my sitter.  I watched two of the best in person-- Jeff Watts and Carolyn Anderson as they painted portraits from life that were loose and interpretive.  "Nice for them", I thought.  But I'll never be able to do that!

Then I tried something completely new.  I painted these two portraits using only a very small round brush (#1, can you believe it?).  I scratched the poor thing down to the nub, but I learned that I can use paint in much the same way I can use a drawing medium, such as charcoal or pastel.  If I started to get tight, I'd use the brush to scratch away at the hard edges.   

As for the likeness, I found that as long as I have the eyes, nose and mouth in the right place, I could be pretty interpretive with the rest of the painting.  It's a baby step, but it was fun, and I'm ready to do some more!

My Fall Teaching Schedule

My Fall Workshop Schedule has just been finalized, and I wanted you to be amongst the first to know. All of these workshops will be held at Mainstreet Art Centre, Lake Zurich, IL.


PALETTE KNIFE PAINTING, September 12 & 13, 2014.  Bring your palette knife, lots of paint, and a bit of courage to this workshop.  We'll be creating paintings together using only our palette knives.  Participants will learn how to manipulate paint and keep control of the process, ending with vibrant, exciting paintings.

COLOR THEORY, October 2 & 3, 2014.  This two day class will include lectures, demonstrations, and class projects to help to demystify color mixing and theory.  

IMPRESSIONISTIC PAINTING TECHNIQUES, November 3-24, 2014, Weekly on Tuesday Mornings.  Loosen up your painting style and explore new techniques to unleash your creativity.  We will be working with techniques such as "Fracturing" and "Destroy and Rebuild", as well as exploring different surfaces to give our paintings new life and atmosphere.

I'm excited to tell you that I'll be traveling to France in October to visit the studios, museums, and landscapes of the Impressionists.  I'll have so much to share when I'm back.  I cannot wait!

I hope you'll be able to join me for a workshop or two!