Framing Away

Well, having survived two winter storms, one with a lot of snow and then there was a lot of ice. My daughter and I spent a lot of time outdoors playing in the snow for days. But the ice storm was other worldly - put our county in a state of emergency because of falling trees and power outages and the like. I hope you all had a great holiday. We did, but was in the dark for a while! Anyway, I've been in the studio framing as opposed to painting (and reading a lot), as I have a show of watercolors going up on Monday (our local Arts Council gallery here in Boone). It gives me the chance to put together a show of new works so I'm psyched. There's always something about seeing the work in frames and up on a wall in a gallery setting that is rewarding in its own right. I've got plenty of ideas for new paintings but they are somewhat on hold - having too much fun otherwise!

Ken Painting

Ken Painting
12x16" watercolor on 300 lb. Arches Aquarelle coldpress.

This is the second Thanksgiving holiday portrait I wanted to do, this being of our friend Ken. As I mentioned below on my wife's portrait, Ken has been our friend for many years and has become my watercolor buddy. Pictured here is what we have been doing over Thanksgiving break for a while now, sitting around the table painting pictures (outside of the usual activities such as parade watching, cooking and hunting down this year's Christmas tree). Actually we've been doing this three times a year, as he meets us on the beach a couple of trips and the routine is much the same. You know you are blessed when you have such a friend - he has been like an uncle to our daughter.

Pte. 73, Mexico City

Pte. 73, Mexico City
12z16" watercolor on 300 lb. Arches coldpress

Ahh, finally finished with this month's Virtual Paintout challenge, Mexico City. This city is so vast that I took a very long time searching. I came up with about six compositions once I decided that my painting would be about color. Mexico City seems to be a lot about color - and people. So many people that that became a secondary decision - trying to find people doing interesting things or in interesting poses on the street. This is just one of several images that I really liked - I think here because of the two dogs that are just interacting with one another. The young person seemed to fit into the overall composition, but I liked the buckets that she was carrying.

A Woman Sketching

A Woman Sketching
12x16 Watercolor on 300 lb. Arches Aquarelle block.

OK, so I took a couple of photos of my wife and a dear friend sketching and painting during the Thanksgiving holiday - for the purpose of doing a painting of each of them painting. Ken is a friend who comes to spend every Thanksgiving with us (a tradition that started in New York many many years ago). I met him when my wife and I got together back in the ole school days (so I married into him). He is a senior interior designer for a major architectural firm in Washington, DC. Besides his day job he is an excellent photographer and thru the years has become my watercolor buddy.

Of the two paintings I wanted to start with doing a portrait of my wife (naturally). At the same time I was looking (lurking) at the challenge blog, Following the Masters (AutumnLeaves participates in that challenge and has a link so it's easy for me to lurk often). Well I decided to try the FTM challenge at the same time (finally). We had this old oriental rug rolled up down in the basement, and I had this coastal South Carolina map up in my studio, so the only real invention was the tile floor in the kitchen (we have oak floors). The biggest challenge to me as I saw it was creating the strong directional light that is associated with much of Vermeer's work. Vermeer has always always been one of my favorite artists. There are not too many of his pieces that exist in this world - that gives them even more a gem-like quality.

Blue Heron, Edisto Island

Blue Heron, Edisto Island
12x16" watercolor on 140 lb. Kilamanjaro block.

This image is based on a photo I took in October down in Edisto. My daughter and I went exploring down the side street our rental was on, knowing that there was a lake before we got to the expansive marshes behind Edisto Beach area. As we walked up to the lake we must have spooked a Great Blue Heron that was hiding in the reeds - so we got to see this majestic bird fly off right in front of us. As many times as I have seen this it always takes my breath. This was a first for my daughter so I was especially exuberant. On the opposite side of the road there was a heavily overgrown feeder canal and in there we immediately saw a second heron - I was able to snap off a shot with the camera.