Oyster Bar

16x20 oil on panel
sold

Last fall, I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful couple in their favorite restaurant - The Oyster Bar - in Forth Wayne, IN. It was a dim, narrow and historical old building with a lot of charm and character and they wanted me to paint some scenes from it. They get first pick of the scenes I've worked on. 
I'm sending this and two others to Castle Gallery soon for their annual Valentine's Show. Opening night is February 9th.

Slow Pour

20x24 oil on panel -
Sold

Opening night tonight at the "Femme" show at Russell Collection Fine Art in Austin and I had two paintings sold during previews yesterday!
The paintings were larger scale for me and definitely harder. The other I really struggled over, but the results apparently were satisfactory! Its a good feeling to know going in that I have sales and people like what they see!

If you are in Austin do come by tonight during the reception and say hello and see the wonderful variety of work created by some very talented women!

A Well Balanced Diet

12x12 oil on panel
Weekend Special - $350 + s/h
sold

This is in my studio and can soon be in your home! Its available unframed for a special price this weekend only. Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

The Beignet Beat

12x8 oil on panel

Ask Castle Gallery about this painting.

What I wouldn't give right now for a beignet from Cafe du Monde. I need to take another trip there. Its been too long!

Double Latte

20x16 oil on linen

I really enjoyed this painting. I needed to focus on something other than the news. And this gave me ample opportunity to lose myself in lots of shapes. Something like this could be overwhelmingly confusing. Its really just a matter of ignoring objects and seeing just color. I painted the color/value in the right places and it turned out to describe a pitcher, or an espresso machine. It helped a great deal that I kept the colors similar and well matched.

Its hard to describe, and I have no idea if others do this or not, but I tend to start with one color mix and then continue to work that morphing new color shades and values in and around that original mix as it spreads across my palette. Each color I place has some of the original DNA.

Now, if I apply this to a city scene.... it could look like a patchwork quilt. I think there one has to ignore some of wide variety of broken color you see and focus on values. Learning to edit is the key there.

(Its been a long day, forgive me if I sound like I have no idea what I am talking about.)

Speaking of news, we're still battling wildfires in central Texas and just staggering numbers of families have lost their homes. This while friends out east are heading for higher ground from the monsoons. I could be wishful for more balance in life. My thoughts continue to be for all those suffering.

In and Out

18x20 oil on linen panel
Available at Russell Collection

Also one of my show pieces for the Best of Texas show. The opening reception Friday was really fun. A real Austin event with live music and loads of people. It all coincided well with Texas Independence Day and South by Southwest which begins next week. The variety of art is really unique I think too. The artwork ranges from the abstract to impressionist, large to small and in between. The Russell Collection offers something for every taste. I am really proud to be part of their gallery.

A Well Balanced Diet

12x12 oil on panel

I have no idea where I will send this yet.

Here is the painting I showed yesterday while being varnished. I'm currently stewing over how to paint a restaurant interior without so many dark colors. I did two others last week that just seem to dismal and dim. I will let you know what I come up with.

Varnish

I sat down to varnish today finally. I've had several paintings that need it, but its been so cold I couldn't do it outside. The house stinks now and I felt lightheaded all afternoon - jk! - but the work is ready to go to galleries now.

As I was varnishing this restaurant scene, I was struck by the difference it made in the colors. So I thought I'd share. The left side is varnished, the right is not. Its quite dull in comparison. When you thin your paint with OMS or some other solvent, you break down the oil - so the paint will dry duller. Since I paint a lot of fat over lean, my paintings can really vary from gloss to flat, so I like to varnish everything to bring the colors to life, create an even surface, and of course, protect the painting from dirt, dust, oils, smoke and other environmental hazards.

Something from the Bar

12x12 oil on panel

Available next week at Russell Collection.

Bouncing back to the darker colors and playing with interior lighting. Bars are fun because of all the spotlights, reflections, and varying neon lights creating ambiance. This is the back bar of the Cypress Creek Cafe where we had a fun dinner during our workshop in Wimberley.

The Beignet Beat

12x8 oil on panel
Ask Castle Gallery about this painting.



As promised... though i missed a day and will load up today....
This is going to Castle Gallery with me for the reception on Thursday. Its a fun scene from Cafe du Monde in New Orleans and I thought I'd show you the frame on it too. Coffee and beignets reminds me of hot cocoa, which reminds me of cool weather, which makes me long for fall. We're still sweltering in triple digits here.

As a side note: My laptop hard drive died last week and I lost all my stuff on it so if you had emailed me recently and I haven't responded... please write again!