Class Announcement Feb 16th

First, Here's What We've Been Up To:

Our ongoing class at the Barrington Cultural Arts Center Studio in the Ice House has covered a lot of ground this fall!  The last several classes focused on portraiture and figure painting.  Here are a few examples of the demos from these classes:

Painting the Features

Painting the Form of the Head

Abstracting the Head

Abstracting the Figure

Painting Hair

And Here's What's Next:

Our next set of classes will focus on brushwork and paint application.  Many students have told me that they would love to get back to basics and learn about which brushes to use for different effects, and how to use brushwork to make their paintings more interpretive.  This is my favorite subject!  I can't wait to dive into this new area.

If you'd like to join us, please send me an email to reserve a spot.  Our next class will be on February 16th at the Ice House Mall in Barrington, IL.  We start at 9:30am, and class continues until 3:30 to give everyone plenty of time for painting.  I'd love to see you there!

"Fairy Dance", 24x12"

"Fairy Dance", oil on gesso board, 24x12"

You might not believe this but I actually stumbled upon this very scene last summer!  John and I were poking around the shops in Telluride and came outside to see this little group of fairies putting on a performance for their parents in a tiny park.  I couldn't have posed them any better if I had tried.  I loved the way the sunshine lit up their wings.

So often, fairies are idealized in paintings to represent the most beautiful and graceful creatures that we can imagine.  Another reason this scene grabbed my heart was the coltish awkwardness and innocence of the scene.  These fairies were dancing with abandon for those who love them best.  

And what artist could resist painting a scene like that?

"Churchladies", 14" x 11"

"Churchladies"

Last time I was visiting daughter Emily in Boston, I saw this lovely trio headed down a side street.  It was late Sunday morning, and from their white dresses and shoes (not to mention the top hat) I deduced that they were heading home from church.   I tried to capture their dignity and perhaps a bit of fatigue on that morning.

I'm happy to tell you that this painting has been juried into the Oil Painters of America national salon show.  The exhibition will be held at the Castle Gallery in Fort Wayne, Indiana from Sept 30 through October 29, 2016.  If you are in the area, it would be well worth your time to stop by and see 275 spectacular representational oil paintings from all of North America. 

"Carnaval", 8x6"

Hello Friends,

For the last three days, I had the great fortune to take a workshop from Dawn Emerson, a master pastelist and all-around wonderful teacher. I dove head-first into brand new media (pastel, guache, gesso, sumi ink) and new approaches to painting. I'm going to try my best to apply what I've learned in my oil painting. 

My favorite pieces from the workshop were my figures in motion, and I think I'll be exploring this theme some more in the future. The full color piece above was done with pastel over an intense wash of super black sumi ink. 

This black, white and gray piece was started with a wash of black ink, then gray and white pastel and charcoal. For the final step, I took a thin wash of gesso to give the impression of motion.

I hope that you enjoy this new direction for my art. We'll see if I apply it to my work. I'll certainly give it a try!

Tishomingo Blues, 8x10" (Sold)

Last weekend, John and I went back to New Orleans, my home town.  One morning, we went to The Court of Two Sisters for brunch on the patio.  A live jazz trio was playing in the background as we feasted on Shrimp Creole, french bread, and Bananas Foster.  I bought the trio's CD (Charlie Fardella and his Sensation Jazz Band) and have been playing it all week as I paint.

This morning, I turned the music up and painted this scene as I listened.  One of my favorite tunes is Tishomingo Blues, so I named the painting after this one.  I learned that it's hard to keep serious and "in the lines" when you're listening to New Orleans jazz!