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Ancestral Home_1.jpg

My wife and I took a trip with our parents to Britain to visit the towns our ancestors were from.  We traveled all over England, through Wales, and into Scotland.  A very important village to my wife’s family is Steeple Ashton, Wiltshire in England where her Berrett ancestors resided.  We were given a tour of the town by a distant relative who still lives there.  This painting is the home of Robert Berrett, her great-great- great grandfather’s brother.  It still has a thatched roof.  I thought it was so charming I had to paint it.

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nupastel self portrait-1.jpg

This is an award-winning self portrait I did in nupastel.  Nupastel is similar to charcoal, but has a tighter consistency and comes in different colors. I sat in front of a mirror and drew this.  First I lightly shaded the whole paper.  Then I did a simple outline of my face.  I concentrated on the darker values, for example around my eyes and nose.  I erased away the nupastel on the areas of lightest value such as the highlight on my forehead and nose.  After that, I filled in the medium values.  The technique is very simple, but makes a dramatic finished product.

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canoe2_1.jpg

I’ve been an avid fan of the canoe for many years.  I’ve paddled down a lot of rivers and have enjoyed floating on many lakes.  One early morning in Utah I slowly crept up on a moose standing in the water.  On an evening in Idaho I watched a six-point buck walk to the water, look around, then bend down to drink from the lake.  I’ve caught thousands of trout, bass, crappies and bluegill while sitting in my canoe.

I have tried to portray motion in this painting.  The faces aren’t clearly rendered.  Ripples come from the back of the boat.  Reflections  of unseen trees are in the water, and the canoe and it’s inhabitants are mirrored below.  It makes me want to head out to the river right now!

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Main Street.jpg

I’ve always loved driving my car during rainy nights.  The reflections in the road are amazing!  This is on Main Street in Greenwood, Indiana.  You see the reflections of taillights and store fronts.  The white car in the front is illuminated by the headlights of the car behind it and the road reflects the back of it.  Red taillights give the sky a reddish glow and the streetlight shines, illuminating the stores on the left.

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glass_1_1.jpg

A few years ago I was asked to do a slide presentation of my art for a women’s group.  One picture showed  a painting of paint brushes in a mason jar.  A woman in the group asked me where I got “that glass colored paint?”  I had a hard time explaining that there isn’t a “glass colored paint.”

This still life is from my demo at my class tonight.  People tend to be overwhelmed when it comes to painting metal or glass.  I try to explain my method  —  don’t think of it as glass.  Look for shapes and colors.  Draw the shapes you see in the glass, then paint them the color you see.  They come together like a jigsaw puzzle and become glass.  I might mention that I do hardly any blending, but put down colors and leave them how I see them.

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paoli-street[1].jpg

Paoli is a cute little town in southern Indiana. I like it because there is a road that goes all the way around the city hall. I like to stand on the second story and look down the street. This particular day was very wet. Most people hated the rain, but I absolutely love what a wet road does. It becomes a mirror. I loved trying to paint the reflections. I’ve used two of my favorite techniques to give depth — atmospheric and linear perspective. By having the closer cars bigger than the ones further back, and the greater detail in the front than the back, it gives a feeling of distance. The linear perspective has the road wider at the front and narrower as it goes to the back. Everything merges from a wide angle to a vanishing point at the rear. The viewer can travel in the painting down the road.

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's Funeral.jpg

Yesterday was the funeral for my dear brother-in-law, Clyde William Kump.    He died from lung cancer.  His widow, Rene, is only 49 years old.  He has a posterity of children and grandchildren who will miss him.

I visited him in Missouri one last time a few weeks ago and hurried to paint this tribute to him and his wife.  I hope Rene will find comfort in this remembrance.  I put my whole heart and soul into it.

The painting was displayed at his viewing and funeral.

3

portrait-c[1]_1.jpg

This is a portrait from my last one-man show.  It was mostly the face.  The top and sides of her hair are cut off, giving the emphasis to her facial features.  Note the highlights in her eyes, on her nose, and on her bottom lip.  The cheekbones are emphasised, as well as shadow and light.  The necklace is visable, but not prominent.  I just want you to get to know her.