Lamp Lady

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One of the biggest problems portrait painters have is what to do with the background. Often it is just filled in with dark color values, a fireplace, or books on a book case.

This is a painting of a woman who owns a store that sells all sorts of lamps. I felt it needed to portray that fact. The woman is the most important part of the portrait, so she takes up most of the space. She is painted in bright colors. The lamps are in the background – very small, yet apparent, with muted tones. The background should never overpower the subject matter. Doing it this way provides a portrait of the woman, while at the same time, lets you know what she’s all about.

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Napa

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My favorite subject to paint is nighttime reflections in wet roads.  I love driving down the street on rainy nights and seeing the colors of taillights and neon signs as they are mirrored in the puddles of rainwater.  This painting is of a scene in the middle of an intersection in Rising Sun, Indiana.  The buildings, streetlights, and a soft drink machine are reflected.

The dark sky against the rest of the painting creates a dramatic contrast. The building is wider up front and goes narrower as the view goes to the rear. The same thing happens with the road. This technique is called linear perspective. Linear perspective gives the illusion of depth – you can walk right into the picture and down the street.

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Bridport Harbour

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A  few years ago I went with my wife and her parents and my mother to visit Britain. Our ancestors are from there. We had researched where many of them lived. We went from England to Wales and Scotland. It was a very emotional experience to find our where our families were from.

One of the areas where many of them were born was Dorsetshire along the southern coast of England.  Many were from Broadwindsor, while others were from Bridport. We stopped in Bridport. I have always loved boats and the sea, so it was especially exciting to me. I have tried to portray the view I had of the many fishing boats. You can see the reflections of the boats in the water, as well as the water reflecting back on the boats.

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Clouding Over

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This is a street in downtown Rising Sun, Indiana. I’ve created a mood of an overcast day by using cool colors with a bluish tint. There is a feeling of depth because I have used linear perspective  – the buildings are larger at the left, then go smaller as you move to the right. There is atmospheric perspective because the closer objects are more detailed than the ones further back. You may notice the decor around the roof line on the closer building, along with the writing on it’s side. There is a yellow light inside. The light from light bulbs is generally yellow.

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Roadster

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This is a painting of a beautiful classic car. It is a Cord. At the time I painted it, it belonged to Shawn Miller from Indianapolis. He loves classic cars. I painted it so it could be displayed at the Classic Car Club of America convention that was held in Indianapolis.

I’ve loved cars since I was a little kid. I have lots of automobile brochures from the fifties and sixties. I drew pictures of cars while I sat in my school classes. Many of them were grabbed and crumpled up by angry teachers who wanted me to pay attention. This is a fun painting.

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Painting Commission

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I was recently commissioned to do a painting. The person had been to the Grand Canyon about twenty years ago with his future wife. He wanted to give her a painting of the memory for her birthday this year.

I tried to portray the afternoon sunlight on the tree and canyon, as well as the shadows.

The customer was very happy with the painting.

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Shell Seekers

4

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I had taken my wife and daughter on a trip across the country. We were to spend the night at Ocean City, New Jersey where I had lived briefly twenty years before. We arrived as the sun was going down, but wanted to play on the beach. I wanted to play in the surf, but my wife and daughter were more interested in digging in the wet sand trying to get sea shells.

I have tried to portray the early evening sky. I have painted some light yellow splotches along the horizon to give the impression of lights in buildings. Also I painted reflections of the people and sky in the water along with white waves going ashore.

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Morning Walk

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This is a painting of my wife taking a walk in the morning. She is walking east. You can see her shadow behind her. The bright sunlight makes the lawn yellow, but the shadow from the tree is a  darker green. The plants on the right side reflect the sunlight and are painted white. The sun shines through the leaves in the tree. I have used linear perspective. The sidewalk and road go from wide up front to smaller as you go further in the painting. As you go towards the end of the sidewalk, the scene is not as well defined as it is in the front. This is atmospheric perspective. These techniques give the painting depth. The colors used give the illusion of the bright early morning sunlight.

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