My Wife

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my wife.jpg

One of the nice things about being married is you have a model to draw or paint all the time.  I do two or three pencil sketch portraits of her every day, and quite often I’ll ask her to sit for an oil portrait.

I like to light my portrait subjects from the side and show shadows and highlights on the face.  There are some subtle things that can be done, such as color reflections.  The painting on the left shows the red from her shirt reflecting on the side of her face and above her neck.  The lips are a smoother surface, and always pick up a highlight.

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Along the Thames

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Along the Thames.jpg

I’ve always spent most of my time in London on the north side of the Thames.  That is where most of the famous tourist sites are.  The last time I was there, I walked across the bridge to the south side and headed west.  It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and crowds of the locals liesurely strolled along the path.  It was very pleasant.  Street vendors and mimes entertained everyone.  The entrance to the Millenial Eye, London’s famous ferris wheel, is on that side too.  I was so impressed  with the enjoyable low key atmosphere and the great view of the Houses of Parliament across the river that I had to try and paint it.  I hope you can feel the warmth and relaxed atmosphere.

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Pastor Isaac

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Pastor.jpg

I had the privelege of doing the portrait of Pastor Isaac.  He has a church in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  I wanted to portray him as a spiritual man with symbolic representation of the “light of the gospel.”  I had him next to a sheer curtain which diffused the light on his robes and the opened Bible.  I tried to give a delicate look to the pattern of the curtains, and wanted to give a shiny look to the gold sash on the robe.  Hopefully I presented him and his message in a simple, yet sacred manner.

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Portrait Show

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portrait show.jpg

Last year I did a portrait show at the Sherrus Gallery in Northville, Michigan. I had gotten snapshots of prominent community members. They didn’t know what was going on. I painted eighteen portraits.  Then the ones who were painted received special invitations to attend the opening reception. They were very surprised to see themselves on the wall. I love doing portraits.

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Still Life No. 2

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Apples and Cup No 2.jpg

I taught a still life class this morning. This is how I painted the subject today. You can see three types of light. The light from the lamp I used is yellowish, like all light bulb light. You’ll see hints of yellow on the tablecloth. The other kind of light comes from the window. It is blue light coming from the sky. You can see subtle blue highlights on the apples and on the tablecloth. There is also reflected light. If you look underneath the apples you see yellow reflecting from them on the cloth. There is reflected light on the cup, from the apple, the window and the light bulb.

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Mother and Child

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Mother and Child.jpg

This was a commission I did of a mother and her child. I tried to portray the child’s personality as she looked in wonder at what was outside the window. Her gesture gives life to the painting. I have complimentary colors. The inside has warm reds and oranges while the view outside is in shades of blue, giving an interesting contrast. The faces are a pale pink, with the only shading where shadows would appear. I paint what I see. Sometimes dark hair has a bluish tint to it when certain light falls on it.

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More Than Self Their Country Loved

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More than Self Their Country Loved.jpg

I was thinking of my late father. He was from “the greatest generation.” He and thousands of others left the comfort of home and fought for freedom loving people during World War II. He spent time in Italy. Luckily he wasn’t hurt during his time there, but many others on both sides laid down their lives. I have walked through cemeteries in America and Europe where rows of crosses stand. Many young men never went home to their mothers and fathers, their wives, their children and their friends.

This painting was done to make some kind of statement. I’ll leave it up to you to decide what the statement is.

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Cornfield

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cornfield.jpg

I’ve lived in Indiana since 1998. This painting really shows a typical view. We are really in the corn belt. I can leave my home and drive about ten or fifteen minutes and I’m right in the middle of the cornfields. In the musical “Oklahoma” by Rogers and Hammerstein there is a song that talks about the corn being as high as an elephant’s eye. I don’t know how tall that is, but I’m 6’5″ and it definitely grows a lot higher than my head!

There is atmospheric perspective in this painting. The corn right in the front is painted large, while the barn and the trees are small. That gives the feeling of depth. Does this painting make your mouth water for some fresh corn on the cob?

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