Pearl Snap Can
08/25/11 09:04 Filed in: Daily Painting
Back to painting beer. Ahhhh. Stopped by the Whip-In to restock and picked up some Peacemaker and Left Hands Milk Stout. I had set aside a Pearl Snap can to paint so today was the day.
Comments
Lemon Bars
08/18/11 01:08 Filed in: Daily Painting
I had to paint some of the amazing lemon bars that my sister-in-law Elizabeth baked for us. They are soooo good. The heat of Texas has been temporarily blown away by lemony goodness...
My Right Boot
07/27/11 09:28 Filed in: Daily Painting
You need a pair of boots, so todays painting is my right boot. When working on the left boot I went past a point where the boot was mostly a silhouette, kind of wished I had stopped there. So, when working on this painting I remained conscience of that ‘point’ and stopped.
My Left Boot
07/26/11 09:25 Filed in: Daily Painting
I have a great old pair of cowboy boots that I bought from our friend Evan Voyles twenty years ago. I think I like this one. May be the subject matter, or may be the simplicity. When I was trying them out I recall Evan saying that a good pair of boots give you some attitude. So, I don’t wear them too much :)
The Happy Frog
07/21/11 02:33 Filed in: Daily Painting
The happy pig now has a playmate, the happy frog. Feels pretty tadpole-y. It is another plastic toy turned model.
Cement Mixer #2
07/16/11 06:19 Filed in: Daily Painting
Still trying to catch up from vacation. Love this truck, it is really fun to paint, and who doesn’t love orange?
Tape Dispenser #2
07/13/11 09:23 Filed in: Daily Painting
Another attempt at the tape dispenser. Office supplies are almost as seductive as tech items. Though, I guess there is a lot of cross-pollination between the two, kind like humans and cylons :-) I like these last two paintings, and I think one of the reasons they are better is because I did not wear my reading glasses while painting them (no glasses=simplification, wear glasses=add detail).
Tape Dispenser
07/11/11 08:05 Filed in: Daily Painting
This is a favorite object in the studio. A rock solid, fairly old tape dispenser. I think I will try painting it again today because I was in a hurry and did not premix my paints and it just sort of missed the mark. Using one of the canvas panels that Dan gave me. It’s nice. Mason likes how I did not paint out the underpainting.
Tigger
07/09/11 04:36 Filed in: Daily Painting
My Aunt Joan has a lovely cat named Tigger. Deserving of a portrait she is. She is known as Lucky Tigger because she was saved from the dividing line of a crazy busy highway in Philly when she was a little tiny kitten (someone had cast her litter on the side of the road, humans often do not use their brain).
Coffee in Lisbon
06/21/11 09:42 Filed in: Daily Painting
Ok, so I am breaking some of my rules here. It was a pretty busy day which included doing a couple of illustrations for the fabulous Artist Hardware. Above is one of the them (that was not used). So today, it is line art instead of paint!
Blackberries
06/19/11 09:30 Filed in: Daily Painting
Live Oak
06/18/11 06:22 Filed in: Daily Painting
I really enjoyed doing the painting yesterday (Blunn Creek #3) and thought I would try doing another tree today from a previous painting (Live Oak at St. Cecilia).
Blunn Creek #3
06/17/11 08:51 Filed in: Daily Painting
Using Blunn Creek #2 and a sketch to work from I did this painting. Hot and melting, that is how we are feeling in Texas right now. It is going to be 105 degrees here today. Ouch.
Little Metal Car
06/15/11 07:28 Filed in: Daily Painting
We have collected many things over the years and occasionally we find these things by tripping over them. This is a tiny metal car, maybe 1.5” in length, its shape is not really well defined, but it is very cool. No windshield, a rumble seat. Sweet ride. The paint was getting a bit soupy. Maybe I need to go back into this tomorrow.
Courtyard Facing South
06/14/11 12:30 Filed in: Daily Painting
I had a nice time yesterday evening hanging and painting in the courtyard with my buddy Dan. We sat out there for 2 hours or so and the temperature dropped from 96 to 92. Downright chilly.
Happier Pig
06/13/11 04:33 Filed in: Daily Painting
Looking at the other pig paintings, which were supposed to be happy, I felt that they did not seem happy. So today I used Happy Pig #2 to work from and created a happier pig, but maybe I need to rename it psycho pig. At least this pig is smiling. Baby steps...
Happy Pig #2
06/11/11 07:39 Filed in: Daily Painting
How did bacon get it’s name? I know I could just google this question but I would rather let it rattle around in my head for a while (and maybe yours as well). Bacon. Bacon. Bacon. What if pigs where the dominant species at the top of the food chain? Would they look at us in our pens and think, hmmm, breakfast is gonna be good tomorrow! Would the word bacon have been invented for some delectable part of us? No, maybe it would be niblets... Yeah, pancakes and niblets tomorrow for breakfast, that’s what this piggy is thinking!
Cat in His Bowl
06/10/11 02:40 Filed in: Daily Painting
Another attempt to paint our wonderful cat Lewis. This is from a photo, which unlike cats, does not move. It is diffucult to tell from the painting that he is in a big bread bowl. But he is, the cool ceramic pressing against his tabby fur. The look on his face is classic Lew, what I call the ‘flat eye’, not mad (yet), not annoyed (yet) but thinking about becoming one or the other. I painted over the Lewis Sleeping painting from 6/08/11.
Purple Cone Flower
06/09/11 04:50 Filed in: Daily Painting
I found a nice shady spot in the garden this afternoon and some purple cone flower which started coming up a couple of weeks ago.
Lewis Sleeping
06/08/11 01:53 Filed in: Daily Painting
Gloria has really been hoping I would paint Lewis (who is a very special cat). So there he was, sleeping, and I thought I would give it a go. I got him roughed in and no surprise here, he turns, and then some more, and I am really messed up and well, that is what this painting looks like. Messed up. I’ll try again. But this is really, really bad. Painted over.
Tennis Ball (Hooray for Rafa!)
06/05/11 04:49 Filed in: Daily Painting
Hooray for Rafa Nadal! I painted a tennis ball on a clay court while watching Rafa beat Roger for his sixth French Open title this morning. I may go back into this and add a white line, or paint Rafa on the ball.
Watering Can
06/04/11 06:23 Filed in: Daily Painting
This was my Mother’s watering can. i vividly remember her watering her violets and ferns with it. The can is an absolutely perfect design, really functional, your hand slides into the most comfortable spot for use. I used to know a bit of history about it, I will update as soon as I remember.
G Stencil
06/03/11 09:28 Filed in: Daily Painting
Box of Paints
06/02/11 03:45 Filed in: Daily Painting
X-Eye Guy
06/02/11 03:43 Filed in: Daily Painting
I missed a couple of days and am trying to catch up. This sketch/painting is a character from an old sketchbook. Kinda cute.
Carrots Revisited
05/30/11 09:04 Filed in: Daily Painting
Live Oak at St. Cecilia
05/29/11 02:26 Filed in: Daily Painting
Our neighbors have some lovely live oak trees on their property. Every morning I get to look up into the canopy outside our bedroom window as the sun rises. We are told that these trees are well over two hundred years old.
Iron Giant #3
05/27/11 09:31 Filed in: Daily Painting
The IG seems on the verge of being cross-eyed here. Hmmm. It looks like this is painting number 100. I need to decide if I am going to continue on or not. Go to 200, a year? Not sure. I like how IG doesn’t have a nose, the fin that split the middle of his head extend down there, but being a big bomb wouldn’t really require a nose would it.
Deadeye
05/26/11 11:45 Filed in: Daily Painting
This is a painting from one of my sketchbooks. We went to a show of Martin Puryear’s work in Fort Worth. Really amazing sculptures. I had done a sketch of Deadeye in 2009. I did not recall the color of the sculpture so I just used paints left over from yesterday.
Piggy Gets a New Hat
05/25/11 09:27 Filed in: Daily Painting
Piggy is forever concerned about UV protection for his sensitive head. After all, early onset of baconitis is no laughing matter. His new hat should help though. Stay lean, not crispy, that is piggy’s motto.
For Mommy by Sam (the robot)
05/24/11 09:09 Filed in: Daily Painting
Another painting of one of the homemade robots we made years ago. This one is by Sam, entitled, For Mommy by Sam. If we were really the enginner types we would call it FMBS. Wall anchors make really cool eyes btw. As I worked on this I liked the unfinished feel, and decided keep it that way (I have done several paintings where I think that have continued to long on them).
GooGoo the Robot
05/23/11 09:08 Filed in: Daily Painting
Doing the two portraits of Iron Giant got me thinking about how much I love robots. On the shelfs near my desk are several homemade robots that Mason and I built when he was little. What great memories, we would cobble together scrap wood and plastic bits that I had set aside in a bin. We could spend an afternoon doing this. Screws became antennas for detecting various aliens, screws were also excellent eyes, zip ties could be anything. GooGoo is one of our favs. My thought was to try and render it more like a robot, but I will have to try again, I just kind of painted it.
Beets
05/22/11 08:42 Filed in: Daily Painting
I never ate beets as a kid. I love them now (I really like the right side of this painting). / In Cooper/Wilson collection
Iron Giant #2
05/21/11 08:39 Filed in: Daily Painting
Mason told me that the Iron Giant painting was my best yet, I glowed... So, I return to the big fella, the big IG, for another smiling metal portrait.
Iron Giant
05/20/11 07:18 Filed in: Daily Painting
I almost forgot to paint today! I had put underpainting on six panels yesterday, grabbed one, saw the awesome Iron Giant coin bank next to the workbench and did a portrait of him. I really wanted to keep this loose and suggestive. / In private collection
Dead Bird #2
05/19/11 10:30 Filed in: Daily Painting
Our cat Izze got another warbler this morning. A beautiful little bird, with ferocious claws I might add. I sat in the courtyard with the bird on a piece of cardboard and painted. There was quite a bit of bird song going on around me, and I thought, that may not be song but ticked off birdies planning a full on assault on me, the human with their dead buddy next to him. I’m still alive.
Flying Cat
05/18/11 05:42 Filed in: Daily Painting
It’s a flying cat? No, I guess a leaping cat. I’m not sure... A gravity defying cat! / In private collection
Chips Clipped
05/17/11 09:17 Filed in: Daily Painting
More Clementines
05/16/11 09:02 Filed in: Daily Painting
Returning home late from a meeting meant, either skip the daily painting *gasp*, or grab something quick, open a beer, and paint. Gloria had brought home some clementines so there you go, subject solved. A couple of weeks ago I made up a little jar of medium (a 50/50 mix of OMS and linseed oil) and I am really enjoying it. It seems to give me the viscosity I like while not getting to muddy.
Lentil Jar #2
05/15/11 08:09 Filed in: Daily Painting
A busy Sunday. Another painting of the lentil jar. I was trying to find just a bit of sharpness and detail and let the rest of the painting go soft.
Onions
05/14/11 09:18 Filed in: Daily Painting
Watermelon Radish
05/13/11 01:24 Filed in: Daily Painting
Gloria brought me a watermelon radish the other day to paint. Very alien looking, like the tendril might reach out and pull the radish along, creeping toward you, in the middle of the night...
Carrot Stubs #2
05/12/11 10:33 Filed in: Daily Painting
These carrot stubs are so cute. I think the Gathers (of the Hunter Gathers) of days gone by must have discovered the wheel when cutting apart little veggies and chasing them on the dirt. I have done over eighty paintings!
Carrot Stubs
05/11/11 09:23 Filed in: Daily Painting
It’s raining! Which is really exciting for us in Austin. We had some carrots last night and the tops (minus the greens which we ate previously) were trimmed off and became the subject of Wednesdays daily painting. note the background is more yellow than green.
Light Bulb #5
05/09/11 09:55 Filed in: Daily Painting
I like getting to know a subject, which is probably why I keep returning to the light bulb. Thinking about that reminded me that while I lived in NYC, I made myself do two drawings a day (mostly pastels and mostly work gloves that I would find on the street). I quite like this painting (I painted over the Beer Glass #2).
Blue Heaven Teacup
05/08/11 04:14 Filed in: Daily Painting
Clementines Revisited
05/07/11 09:35 Filed in: Daily Painting
I finally made a rack to organize all these little paintings. In doing so, I looked at this painting and liked its composition but not the color. It felt muddy. So todays painting was reworking this panel. I like the brightened fruit, but things still feel a bit muddy. / Painted over
Maybe I can paint Gloria today to mark Mother’s Day. Below is the rack I made this morning. It’s a piece of scrap wood with two rows of finish nails set 5/8” apart. I needed a longer piece of wood. It’s already full.
Izze's Gift
05/06/11 03:38 Filed in: Daily Painting
One of our cat’s is quite a hunter (sadly). She brought a lovely little bird this morning. Gloria suggested I paint, she said it is called, Memento mori–a common classical theme in painting. So, I tried and frankly, felt sad the whole darn time. I mean, if your gonna kill it, eat it.
Beer Glass #2
05/05/11 10:30 Filed in: Daily Painting
I really did not like the portrait of Mason from the previous day so I turned it into a glass of beer. Old Chub to be exact. It’s a scotch ale. Good, but I doubt I will buy it again. Below is a in progress shot that is fun. I almost wish I had stopped here, Mason as a beer glass... / Painted over
Thunderhead #2
05/03/11 08:12 Filed in: Daily Painting
I wanted to take another shot at painting the thunderhead cloud we saw last week. I had taken a photo and used that for reference. I used three colors, cad red, cad blue, cad orange (and of course white). This took around an hour, maybe less. I had forgotten that Mason had a cello lesson... I’m curious to look at this in the morning. / Painted over
Landscape in a Glass, Part 2
04/30/11 05:58 Filed in: Daily Painting
I was about to dig through todays box of veggies in search of a subject for a painting when I looked at yesterdays results. Hmmm, It did not seem bright enough. So todays painting is a re-working of yesterdays. An improvement I think.
Landscape in a Glass
04/29/11 08:19 Filed in: Daily Painting
I opened an old sketchbook and saw this. Looked like a fun sketch to try turning into a painting . I think I will try this again or re-work this one a bit tomorrow.
Tree & Sprinkler (on Peachtree Street)
04/28/11 07:24 Filed in: Daily Painting
I did a quick painting while Mason was at his piano lesson. A nice Crepe Myrtle and a sprinkler, which you could not see at all (but you could see it’s spray and a sharp shadow line going through it).
Lots-o-Paintings
04/28/11 10:59 Filed in: Daily Painting
My studio mate Ellen said I needed to take a photo of the growing pile of paintings that have amassed since I stated this on-going project. So here it is. A lot of these are waiting to be sent out to folks (they have to dry and get varnished). I need a system for storing/stacking, keeping my eye out for an old 45 rpm record holder of maybe a dish drying rack.
Thunderstorm
04/27/11 07:48 Filed in: Daily Painting
An amazing thunderhead rolled by last night. We did not get any rain from it, but I did manage a quick sketch that I then worked over this evening. I haven’t been able to really capture how incredibly beautiful this event was, but I was exhilarated by the attempt!
Anderson Lane from Blackerby Parking Lot
04/26/11 07:24 Filed in: Daily Painting
Burnt umber and white study of Anderson Lane from the Blackerby parking lot while Mason was in his cello lesson. I roughed the car in and then the owner came out and drove away, against my pleas and offers of hard, cold cash. Even beer would not sway him... /In Private Collection
Still Life with Clementines
04/25/11 10:53 Filed in: Daily Painting
More yummy clementines. I decided to make a still life with objects close at hand on my workbench, clementines on a paperback book, a blue sticky note pad propped up by a jar of solvent. This painting got a bit soupy but I kind of like it. / Painted over
Courtyard and Turnips
04/24/11 03:27 Filed in: Daily Painting
Sitting on the couch in our courtyard is a favorite place of mine. So, to me, it makes sense to keep coming back to it and paint. This time I really limited the info and moved quickly. I think it is the best one so far. I also painted another bunch of turnips. No underpainting, lots of medium and it was pretty soupy. I think it was the first time I was wishing for a bigger panel to paint on.
Veterans Field, College Station, TX
04/23/11 12:31 Filed in: Daily Painting
I drove Mason to an Ultimate Tournament at Veterans Field. It was fun to see the boy throwing the disc. It was SO windy it was hard to paint. I managed one painting. Sunday I will need to do two paintings to make up for Friday. The underpainting was the dumb bell painting from Thursday.
8 lb Dumbbell
04/21/11 01:27 Filed in: Daily Painting
Took a shot at really limiting my palette. Burnt umber to do the underpainting on a white panel and then used blue, white, and a touch of yellow. This is so blue I’m sad. / Painted over
Project #2
04/20/11 02:36 Filed in: Daily Painting
I have been reading a book by Charles Sovak, about the direct painting method. Essentially it is a classroom in a book (and I am taking the classes!). This is the second project. Using burnt umber and white begin by massing (no line work like in drawing) the subject in burnt umber. Once satisfied with that, start working from light to dark. But what is different here is it is not supposed to be a, “paint what you see” approach. Instead, it is paint the object that is closest to you the lightest and work darker as you move back (or away from you). In this case it did require me to look differently at the subject because the objects in front were not the lightest, but the darkest. Enjoyed it. And doing this I reminded myself to “dude, limit your palette.” / In the Pasch Family Collection
Can of Brushes (revised)
04/19/11 08:33 Filed in: Daily Painting
Gloria took a peek at the painting from last night and commented that she liked it, but the the background wasn’t really working with it (not that you could tell from the photo that was posted last night). I take what Gloria says seriously so I went out this morning and looked at it again with her comments in mind and she was right on. So my painting today is really a reworking of yesterdays. I added some warmth in a couple spots around the can next to some cooler shadows. I also added some additional highlights in the brushes. I think it is much improved. / In private collection
Can of Brushes
04/18/11 09:38 Filed in: Daily Painting
I painted over the Back Lot, Blackerby painting here. This one was going quite poorly, but aided with a nice Fullers London Pride it improved to OK. Beer makes everything, just a littttle bit better. This is a really lousy photo btw.
Light Bulb #4
04/17/11 05:19 Filed in: Daily Painting
Purple-Top Turnips
04/16/11 03:18 Filed in: Daily Painting
Another in the CSA veggie box series. I didn’t have any underpainting on this panel (yesterdays as well). I blocked in the subject first (avoiding the shadows). Added some color, brought the background in and then the shadows and more color to the subject.
Old Johnson Wax Bottle
04/15/11 09:24 Filed in: Daily Painting
I decided to take another stab at the Johnson Wax bottle. I painted it previously on 2/6/11 (and painted over it soon after). I definitely think I am improving, which, you know, feels good.
Dan's Shoe (with legs attached)
04/14/11 09:25 Filed in: Daily Painting
The subject was our friend Dan, hanging in the courtyard, visiting with Gloria and I. I did not premix my paints and used left-overs from the other day. That was a mistake. I like the shoe. Loafers. / I painted over the Sunflower #1 here / In the Pasch Family Collection
Gameboy color
04/12/11 08:59 Filed in: Daily Painting
Hmmm, maybe a series is beginning. A series of old electronics that once were the focus of attention. I used a 5x7 canvas panel for this. At first I really liked it, but after a while I began missing my gessobord panel. / In private collection
Xbox Controller #2
04/11/11 09:29 Filed in: Daily Painting
I have had several folks comment on how much they liked the other xbox controller (which has been painted over) so I i did another last night. Mason and I both think it is better than the previous version. I need to look around for some other controllers to paint and do a little series. / I painted over Three Jeans to the Wind
Clementine #3
04/10/11 05:36 Filed in: Daily Painting
Studio View
04/09/11 05:31 Filed in: Daily Painting
There were a lot of distractions on Saturday and I wound up stopping before this got done. So I guess you would call this a work in progress (or not, maybe it is done, rules are rules). We have a very urban view of downtown Austin from our studio.
Violin
04/08/11 08:29 Filed in: Daily Painting
That was a busy Friday. I had a great visit with our friend Rowan who has been beguiled by paints as well. Later, after my homemade pizza was satisfactorily placed into our bellies, Gloria suggested I try to paint a violin. They are as hard to paint as to play. If you see those strings sparkling a bit, it is because I used metallic silver paint. Sweet. / In private collection
Clementines (x2)
04/07/11 09:02 Filed in: Daily Painting
Clementines are back in the store. Quite tasty, and lovely to look at. I set up in the courtyard and painted while the sun ducked in and out the clouds. This painting went quickly so I decided to do another (below). On the second painting I left more mineral spirits on my brush and tried to work in a quick, ‘blocky’ way. I think most painters would consider this an underpainting. I really like the fast lines and suggestion of space.
Lightbulb #3
04/06/11 09:13 Filed in: Daily Painting
Back Lot, Blackerby
04/05/11 07:52 Filed in: Daily Painting
I took Mason up to his cello lesson at Blackerby violin shop and painted a wall in the back lot. Some buildings behind it had nice shadows on them. It all felt abstract and turned out that way. As we were getting ready to go I saw another spot on the corner of the wall that been tagged by surveyors and thought that it might be a neat series of paintings, to do locations where I find the oranges survey tags had been placed. / Painted over
Lightbulb #2
04/05/11 09:49 Filed in: Daily Painting
Same lightbulb (clear 4 watt sign bulb), different angle. Think dynamic, think... lavender? Its spring!
Ivy and the Wicker Suitcase
04/04/11 05:45
Our friends and neighbors Brian and Valerie have created a wonderful musical. If inclined please take a look and contribute to this beautiful project. And, as a bonus Mason plays cello, and Sam plays violin on it!
Three Jeans to the Wind
04/03/11 05:33 Filed in: Daily Painting
I never nap. But today I did after the family and I went and saw the movie, Source Code (which we enjoyed immensely). Waking up I thought I better work on a painting and saw three pairs of jeans on the laundry line. My subject for the day. But I was too sleepy. The mosquitos are back in Texas. I need to remember to put some bug juice in my paint kit. Looking forward to tomorrows painting. / Painted over
Light Bulb
04/02/11 06:24 Filed in: Daily Painting
I didn’t think that revising the sunflower #2 should count as my daily painting so I looked for another subject. Earlier in the afternoon I visited with my buddy Scott about led lights (which really are good now, a tad expensive, but worth it). So, in Scott’s honor, I painted a clear, 4 watt sign bulb. Did you know that folks are now selling incandescent bulbs under the aptly appropriate name of heat bulbs? Funny. / In private collection
Sunflower #2 revised
04/02/11 06:19 Filed in: Daily Painting
I wasn’t liking the background in the top right of this painting, so I decided change it completely. The darker color really helps the yellows and oranges to pop out. I need to look at this again tomorrow, no so sure that I am happy with the changes, but feel ok about the painting. / In private collection
Sunflower #2
04/01/11 10:14 Filed in: Daily Painting
Taking another stab at the sunflowers. Better than yesterdays attempt for sure. I need to work on the background some more than it is done. But, right now it is too wet. I really like some parts of this. Excited to finish it off tomorrow and try another. I grabbed one of my sable brushes and it really acts differently than the stiffer brushes that fit into my paintbox. I am going to keep one in there from now on, it is very smooth.
Sam Playing Minecraft
04/01/11 09:56
This doesn’t count as my painting of the day. It’s a sketch of Sam from 3.19.11. A position that we often see our kids in, frozen, eyes focused, fingers moving in decisive motions as their virtual world is being built, modified, or plundered. Sam told me it doesn’t look like him. Uh huh, right.
Sunflower. Urgh.
03/31/11 01:18 Filed in: Daily Painting
Painted during my lunch break today. I had bought some sunflowers for Gloria, so they became the subject. This really needs more time, but I doubt I will be able to get back to it today. Here is something I have learned. Every time you think, “I’m getting the hang of this!”, the oil painting gods come down and slap you silly. / Painted over
Short on Time Tonight
03/30/11 09:25 Filed in: Daily Painting
Yikes. Painting fast last night as it was 11:30 p.m. when I started. Dinner, my tennis league, and then I had to finish Gloria’s annual birthday book. This was complicated by a printer that was inoperative for a while. So, I opened the sketchbook and thought I would try a quick painting from it. I used the paint that was left over from yesterday and moved quickly. I guess that would be oil sketching. Neat.
Asparagus
03/29/11 08:42 Filed in: Daily Painting
Another vegetable painting from our weekly box of veggies from Hairston Creek Farm. These will get sauteed tonight with some ‘taters and grass feed beef. Yum. Again I used a pink underpainting that I let through in many spots. I love using the blue compliment in the shadows. / In private collection
O'Henry Middle School #3
03/28/11 09:52 Filed in: Daily Painting
Here is another from O’Henry. Done while Sam is at his orchestra rehearsal. I got a bit lazy here and should have picked a better subject. It was completely dark out when I finished and looking at the painting under a light in the camper, I thought it was pretty bad. When I looked at this morning it had improved to bad. I do like the top left portion though. I mess with this again today, or paint over it.
Sam Reading
03/12/11 01:40 Filed in: Daily Painting
A domestic scene. Sam reading on the couch. I had about thirty minutes and then Sam needed to go. I hope to get back to this one and finish it. / In private collection
Ocean part 1, my first painting class
01/20/11 01:15
My lovely wife Gloria gave me an awesome gift for Christmas. Oil painting classes with our neighbor and fabulous painter, Valerie Fowler. Working from a sketch this is the result from class one. Oil is sooo, different from watercolor!
Ocean part 2
01/28/11 01:14
This painting took a real turn today. I decided before class that I would wrap it up, but also wanted to loosen up a bit.
Courtyard #1
02/04/11 01:12 Filed in: Daily Painting
Started another canvas in painting class today. Using a sketch of our courtyard. Canvas is really springy. I like panels better. I think there are some good moments in here, I’m just still looking for them.
Courtyard #2
02/05/11 01:10 Filed in: Daily Painting
After working on the courtyard painting with Valerie, I thought I would try it again from life. Better results, but I really have to learn how to resist putting everything in there.
Wax bottle
02/06/11 01:07 Filed in: Daily Painting
We have a beautiful old Johnson’s Wax bottle. I thought I would try an impasto painting of it. Geez, this oil painting is hard. I will paint over this for sure. Not going to get real precious about this paintings. / Painted over
Grapefruit #1
02/13/11 01:02 Filed in: Daily Painting
Using my little sketchbox and trying to get used to painting in oil. I love this little set-up and the parameters of using small panels to paint on and doing a daily painting. I revised this painting a couple of times (don’t have a photo it here), the background color were a bit overwhelming. I think I am going to challenge myself to do a painting a day (if at all possible). / In private collection
Grapefruit #2
02/14/11 01:01 Filed in: Daily Painting
More grapefruits. Fun to eat. Fun to paint. The underpainting is the Johnson wax bottle painting.
Alien #1
02/15/11 12:58 Filed in: Daily Painting
Mason and I found this great sketch-book that we had drawn in many years ago. In it were some fun doodles of these aliens and pigs (pre-angry birds fyi). The aliens were attacking the pigs and trying to conquer the earth. The painting reveals the anatomy of the aliens. So scary.
Funnel
02/17/11 12:56 Filed in: Daily Painting
Tube of Paint
02/18/11 12:54 Filed in: Daily Painting
Trying to get the impasto going, thinking about the mark I am going to make.... / In private collection
alien (in progess)
02/19/11 12:53 Filed in: Daily Painting
Travis High #1 and #2
02/20/11 12:50 Filed in: Daily Painting
I hung out at Travis High while Mason played ultimate. I loved trying to paint the urban environment. I’m really happy with the painting of the basketball court. / In private collection
Travis High Chiller Unit.
Nighttime Road
02/21/11 12:48 Filed in: Daily Painting
I drove Sam and Ginger to their orchestra rehearsal and thought, “here’s a challenge, paint at night.” I was right. It is challenging.
Missing Cream
02/22/11 12:46 Filed in: Daily Painting
Another from the sketch-book. How would you feel Mr. Coffee without your Cream? Sad, uh huh. Sad.
Alien Resist
02/23/11 12:44 Filed in: Daily Painting
More from the combined sketchbook of Matt and Mason. Though, certainly this has something to do with the upraising in Egypt. I worked over this a couple of days. It is 9x12 on canvas.
Green Door
02/24/11 12:43 Filed in: Daily Painting
Apple over Canandaigua Lake
02/25/11 12:39 Filed in: Daily Painting
I had done some underpainting on some panels and got slightly carried away with this one. Using a palette knife I started painting Canandaigua Lake from memory. The intent was to still paint over it, but just as I started to do an apple my son Mason walked in and said he loved it. Really? Yes. It’s yours, thats the rule dude. / In private collection
Water Glass
02/26/11 12:36 Filed in: Daily Painting
This one was done down at Valerie’s studio. The light was beautiful, lots of colored pencils in the background making fields of color (that I simplified). I finished this and thought, you know what, I think I can paint. / In private collection
Courtyard and Roof
02/27/11 12:34 Filed in: Daily Painting
I can’t quite remember the right day for the this painting. Bold, graphic, and destined to be painted over. Bad photo, sorry. It really is almost this bright.
Nighttime Drivers Seat
03/01/11 12:28 Filed in: Daily Painting
Another painting outside O’Henry Middle School, while Sam is at his orchestra practice. I sat in the passenger seat of the camper and painted across the road. At first I thought, there is nothing there, which sort of felt like a challenge so I painted it. More there than initially thought, but not a lot more.
This is on 6x9 canvas panel. Thought I would give it a try. I like the Ampersand Gessobord more.
Aliens #3
03/02/11 12:26 Filed in: Daily Painting
Back to the sketch-book and more aliens. We all know why they are here. Bacon and french fries. And belly aches. This is a bigger 9x12, and on canvas. Almost all other the other paintings I am doing are 5x7 on panel. I love me the Ampersand panels.
Gopher Plant Flower
03/03/11 12:23 Filed in: Daily Painting
Gopher plants are very interesting, long, almost architectural plants. They are getting busy about now blooming and growing. I sat near the fountain and tried to paint one of the flowers. The color is not right, to warm, it should be bluer. But I the quality of some of the brush strokes.
Grapefruits #3
03/04/11 12:21 Filed in: Daily Painting
A quick morning painting before heading off to the studio. I tell ya, Texas grapefruits are sooo good.
Gloria Sleeping
03/05/11 12:19 Filed in: Daily Painting
I haven’t really tried painting someone yet, so I thought I would paint the lovely Gloria. In her favorite mode... sleep.
Double Apple
03/08/11 12:16 Filed in: Daily Painting
You see two apples right? I had tried three days in a row to paint and apple, and did, but it just sat there bored to death. So, I played with some of the oil mediums and got the smaller apple looking good and then decided to sketch another one over the top. Kinda neat. It was fun to do.
Courtyard #3
03/09/11 12:13 Filed in: Daily Painting
I thought I should try this scene again, to see if I had improved at all. This so. Of course it may have helped that we did a serious garden clean-up as well.
Marissa and I paint each other
03/10/11 12:09 Filed in: Daily Painting
Mason’s friend Marissa came by today and decided to try to paint each other. It was really lovely out so we set up on the front deck. / In private collection
Blunn Creek #1
03/13/11 12:06 Filed in: Daily Painting
After one of our clean-up and restoration days at Blunn Creek Reserve, I decided that I need to start going there and try some painting some landscapes. Wow. Painting in the woods is really hard. Tons of information to filter through. That said, I loved it and plan to go back.
xbox controller
03/14/11 12:02 Filed in: Daily Painting
Spring break means serious video game playing at our house. The boys left a controller unattended and thought I would try painting it. You know, symmetrical black on black is not the most exciting subject. I worked on this one a couple days in a row and plan on painting over it. / painted over
Beer Glass
03/15/11 12:00 Filed in: Daily Painting
I love a nice beer. Painting beer, really painting glasses, is so much fun. If I get lucky, I sort zone out and just start seeing blocks of color. I’m very happy with how this turned out. The underpainting on this one is the former xbox controller.
Scruffy
03/16/11 11:55 Filed in: Daily Painting
Returning to one of my sketch-books again. On the lower right you can see a black blob. That is one of our cats, Izze, cleaning herself and then promptly leaving after she realized I was looking at her. She was a subject for about five seconds. I told Gloria that would happen :) I painted over Courtyard #1 for this one. Have I mentioned how much fun oil painting is?
Blunn Creek #2
03/17/11 11:51 Filed in: Daily Painting
A painting on St. Patty’s day should use a lot of green no? This did not even occur to me until posting this. I returned to the same spot as Blunn Creek #1. I like the idea of trying to get to know a place. This time I really limited my palette and worked hard to isolated colors and info.
Mary Pat's Chicken
03/18/11 11:47 Filed in: Daily Painting
Our friend Mary Pat sent me a link to some great photos of her chickens. So while I sat in the courtyard and listened to Ben Kweller’s new cd playing next door (at a sxsw party), I painted one from a photo on my iphone. I used some mineral spirits on this painting and really liked how viscous the paint became. A bit watercolor-like. I might try some more paintings from photos soon. / In private collection
Pathway
03/19/11 11:43 Filed in: Daily Painting
It was a nice warm Texas day today. I set up near one of the Mountain Laurels and looked down the pathway towards the street. The blooms of the Laurels filled the air. I love this spot in our yard. It makes such a nice transition between the front yard and the courtyard. South by Southwest ends soon :)
Courtyard and Arrow Sign
03/22/11 11:37 Filed in: Daily Painting
In the courtyard again trying to get in the painting before dinner. Liked painting but not so thrilled with the result. / In private collection
Tennis Balls
03/23/11 11:32 Filed in: Daily Painting
My buddy Robby celebrates his 64th birthday today, so I thought I would paint him some tennis balls. He is after all a master of these furry ovid creatures. The it in a parking lot, with balls on the dash of the car with my sketchbox on my lap, while Mason has his cello lesson. NPR on the radio, sunshine and painting... I had to work really fast on this on and am quite happy with how it turned out. Robby likes it too. His granddaughter can now read and now knows that he is 64. She also approved of the painting. / In private collection
Good Beer, Bad Painting
03/24/11 11:29 Filed in: Daily Painting
Enjoyed a really nice Kona stout with my buddy Bill. Actually, Bill brought the beer, which is even better. The beer was a lot better than the painting. Hey, not attached, there will be more painting tomorrow. / Painted over
Sam san
03/25/11 11:28 Filed in: Daily Painting
Sam and cats. They go together like breakfast and tacos.
The underpainting for this is the beer bottle and glass from yesterday. / In private collection
Green Garlic
03/26/11 11:21 Filed in: Daily Painting
Every Saturday we get a nice box of veggies from our CSA. Found some good subjects to paint before cooking. / In private collection
Basil
03/27/11 11:17 Filed in: Daily Painting
Love working with the pink underpainting. I am so excited to have fresh basil again. My homemade pizza will sing!
Living in West Texas
03/10/11 10:09
Our Neighborhood Sign Man
01/28/11 02:27
Our friend and neighbor Evan Voyles makes the best signs around (for a long way around). He was written up on the UT Daily Texan today, they also had this video to go with the story.
Five Seconds from The Daily Texan on Vimeo.
Lessons.
03/03/08 01:47
Manga.
04/22/08 01:32
I was having some fun with the boys on Sunday drawing. We were using some of their favorite manga as inspiration. We started by using the isight camera on our mac and taking some quick snaps. Printed those out and worked over them with layout paper (my fav-Bienfang graphics 360). Good fun. 
