Journal 2021

September 2021 Critique

2109A – LANDSCAPE WITH TREE – 20×32 – Oil on Panel – This is the first of a series of trucks I intend to finish this month. In this painting, I did some experimenting with the composition. I decided to locate the subject (the auto) so that it takes up about half the surface area. Normally it would be located one-third of the way from the right edge. Next, I located the tree in the background too near the subject rather than one-third of the remaining distance. And finally, the horizon and the main subject slope toward each other. For some reason, it works for me. It gives me a feeling of being squeezed into the frame, a tension that would not be there with a traditional layout.

August 2021 Critique

2108A – SOUND AND FURY – 24×24 Oil on Panel – In this painting, I combined my Color Chip style with Posterized limited color selection. It’s a relatively large work for me at twenty-four inches square. The title comes from the William Falkner novel ‘THE SOUND AND THE FURRY’, one of my favorites. Like the book, this painting is observable from more than one point of view at the same time.

“It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.” W. Shakespeare

July 2021 Critique

2107A RORSHCHACK MAN 12X18 Oil on Panel – In this painting, you may be able to see an abstract, ala Picasso, man’s face. The human tendency to see specific, often meaningful images in random or ambiguous visual patterns is called pareidolia such as seeing things in the pattern of clouds. I did this painting using a poster style of painting, very graphic in nature. I am working on a series using this same style at different levels.

2107B MAN IN 4 COLORS 16×20 Oil on Panel – I am working on a series of paintings using a poster style. This technique works best with poster paint or acrylics but I work in oils so oils it is. The oil paint requires me to use two or three layers of color to get somewhat of an even color. I am leaving the brush strokes to accent the fact it’s painted in oil paint.

2107C JEFFERS GIRL 16×20 Oil on Panel – My granddaughter’s boyfriend is an actor and a painter. I did this painting in the same style he uses with a little variation. Like Picasso said, “Good artists copy great artists steal”.

2107D THE ANCESTOR 16×20 Oil on Panel – This is my attempt to combine posterized painting with my color chip style. I love to experiment with different painting techniques.

2107E FIRST NATION 24×24 Oil on Panel -This work is done using the same style as my recent painting ‘2107C JEFFERS GIRL’. In this painting, I used more color in the same flat posterized technique. I like the way the background color ties all the pieces of the puzzle together.

June 2021 Critique

2106A – TUCSON SUN – 16×16 Oil on Panel – I started this painting in February of this year and worked on it off and on for five months, never feeling it was going in the right direction. This week I pulled it out and reworked it from start to finish in one day. I am still not satisfied with it but I have to get it out of my life. I can no longer stand to see it in the corner staring back at me.

2106B – THE DAY HIKE – 16×16 Oil on Panel – This painting is based on a photograph sent to me by my son in the spring while he and his wife were hiking in the Hollywood hills.

2106C – THE NIGHT SCREAM – 12×18 Oil on Panel – This is one of those paintings that just happened. I started working on it this morning with the intention of doing only the layout. The next thing I know it’s noon and I’m finished. One of those times when you lose yourself in the flow of the moment. It feels great when you have that experience.

May 2021 Critique

2105A MY SPRING GARDEN Oil on Panel 16x20 small

205A – MY SPRING GARDEN – 16×20 Oil on Panel – This painting is based on a photograph I took of my garden last year. It’s painted in an impertinent style using pastel hues for the most part. I deliberately made the distant sky a soft pink which I cared throughout the painting. I feel this ties the painting together and leads the eye from the foreground to the background. I have three other paintings I started last month however for some reason I have not been inspired to finish them. I did this quickly painting to loosen up and get reinspired.

2105B – STUDY WITH APPLE – 16×16 Oil on Panel – This is a quick study to loosen up.

2105C – SUTDY FOR KITCHEN – 16X20 Oil on Panel – Quick study using a limited pallet of colors.

2105D – ‘45’ – I saw a photograph of a RINO and it reminded me of someone we all know.

April 2021 Critique

2104A – SADDLEBROKE HERO / Brianne Spaeth – 16×20 Oil on Panel – I was asked by SaddleBrooke Community Outreach organization to do a portrait of Brianne Spaeth the owner and pharmacist of Desert Life Pharmacy for her heroic effort to bring the Moderna COVID vaccine to SaddleBrooke. It’s my understanding that 80% of our residents have received the all-important shot. When planning this painting I asked to take a few photos of Brianne then selected one of my favorites for the finished piece. This image was chosen because of the heroic pose and the clean background. I used a Monet style of painting rather than the more abstract style I am fond of. You will not that I carried the colors from the sky into her lab coat to give continuity. I also decided to leave the green awning on the front of the building for a point of reference.

2104B – AT SUNRISE – 48×48 Oil on Panel – This is the largest work I have ever completed 1t 4 foot by 4 foot. It’s the largest piece I can fit on my easel. Four foot by four foot doesn’t sound all that big until you consider that 16 square feet. I’ve been working on this for over two months. I’m satisfied with the result. Now to find a place to hang it.

March 2021 Critique

2103A – COME FALL COLORS – 16×16 Oil on Panel – Now that this painting is finished I see several things that need correcting. One example is the hard edges around some of the objects. I will need to soften them up before varnishing the surface. I like the reflection of the leaf on the surface of the table.

2021B -HOT POT – 16×16 Oil on Panel -I like the drama of the light in a dark setting. It makes the red chili pop. I selected the blue/green tabletop to compliment the red without being too obvious.

2003C – PRIMARY COLORS WITH SHAPES – 16×16 Oil on Panel – This is about as simple of a painting as one can make, comprised of basic shapes and the three primary colors.

February 2021 Critique

2102A – SYNCHRONEITY – 16×20 Oil on Panel – I have been working on this particular painting for three months. It’s one of those jobs I would do just a little every few weeks. At last, it’s finished. I like the final result of the transition of gray to blue using orange/yellow as the transition color.

2102B – PAISLEY COWBOY – 16×16 Oil on Panel – This painting is based on the Tucson rodeo photograph by Gail Kolenda. I wanted to get rid of the background clutter and concentrate on the action of the rider and bronco. This style is very poster-like using a variation of my color chip technique.

2102C – QUICK POM – 16×20 Oil on Panel – A quick still life I did yesterday to loosen up.

2102D – RAINBOW SKY – 16×20 Oil on Panel – This painting is based on a photograph sent to me by Kim Campbell. The photo had an unrealistic sky exploding with color. I decided to do the barn and landscape in a representational style and the sky using my color chip technique.

2102E – TUSCON SUMMER – 16×16 Oil on Panel – The nice thing about being ‘Just a Sunday painter’ is you can paint any subject in any style you like without worrying about the marketability of the painting. Most professional artists need to be concerned about their art selling to their market. If the customer likes their work they will buy it. If it is not what appeals to their taste or does not fit with their décor they won’t purchase the work. The Sunday painter can give their work away or threw it away, it doesn’t matter to them if anyone wants to pay them cash for their hobby. It’s a matter of doing what you enjoy not what other people want to buy. I don’t want to be known as the guy that paints (fill in the blank) or in the style of (fill in the blank). It’s nice if someone likes my work and is willing to buy one of my paintings but I’m retired, I don’t need another business.

2002F – A BOX OF SUNSHINE – 16×16 Oil on Panel – I intend to do a series of representational still-life paintings on 16×16 panels. I don’t know how many will be in the sequence. It’s a good way to loosen up by changing style and format once in a while.

January 2021 Critique

2101A – TRAY AND WANDA – 16X23 Oil on Panel – I was given a very low-resolution photograph to work from, It was a picture of a picture with the original having been taken with a flash, which washed out all color and contrast. I know this is not a painting I can be proud of but it is the best I could do with the materials given to me.

2101B – OUT TO PASTURE – 48×30 oil on panel -This is one of my favorite works I have done recently and one of the largest, 48 inches by 30 inches. I experimented with the painting of the sky allowing the burnt umber underpainting to show through. This gave me a very wispy appearance representing feathery clouds without painting them in. The soft pastel background helps to bring the subject forward while representing the detail of the fields in the distance.

2101C – GONE TO SEED – 36X36 Oil on Panel – This is the second in a series of three large paintings I am doing about old abandoned trucks. This work is three foot by three foot. I find that I like working in these large sizes the issue will be where to store them.

2101D ALONE- ALONE ON THE RANGE 36×36 Oil on Panel – This is the third and last of a series of (relatively) large paintings with an abandoned truck theme. In this work, I used a more graphical style, more poster-like in appearance. I keep the foreground in sharp focus, albeit blocky with outlines, and the background simple and slightly out of focus. This style is not intended to be realistic or have much in the way of discernable detail.

December 2020 Critique

2012A – WALMART ART 101 – The title of this painting reflects the impression I first had upon completion. It looked like something you would buy in the art department at Walmart.

2012B – WALMART ART 102 – This is the second and last of the WALMART ART series. I find this style of painting to commercial and unimaginative.

November 2020 Critique

2011A – EMILYROSE 2020 – 16×20 Oil on Panel – I decided to try my hand at a more traditional painting style.

2011B – FRED TAYLOR ARTIST – 16×20 Oil on Panel – I painted this work in memory of Fred Taylor, writer, poet, and painter. Fred was perhaps the only true artist I have ever met. He did not create art to be recognized or to sell his work. He worked for the love of art and because he had to.

2011C – THE TAO IS BOTH NAMED AND NAMELESS -16×20 Oil on Panel – I thought I would try my hand at a landscape painting. This tree with its tentacles reaching across the ground reminded me of the Tao Te Ching.

October 2020 Critique

2010A – MAN OF HONOR / Dr. Anthony Fauci – 16×20 Oil on Panel – Dr. Fauci is an American physician and immunologist who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984. He has shown his integrity by standing up to the political pressures of an unethical president.

2010B – COVID SELF PORTRAIT – 16×20 Oil on Panel – A painting to express the feeling of being cooped up for seven months.

2010C – GIRL WITH THE PEARL– 16×20 Oil on Panel – This is my take on the painting by Johannes Vermeer.

2010D – SUMMER BREEZE – 16×20 Oil on Panel – I like the feeling of movement in this image. I think the sense of light and shadow also works well.

September 2020 Critique

2009A – DIA de MUERTOS No. 1 – 16×20 Oil on Panel – This is the first of a series of five paintings honoring the November celebration of the ‘Day of the Dead’. The use of bright face painting works well with my ‘color chip’ style of painting.

2009B – DIA de MUERTOS No. 2 – 16×16 Oil on Panel – This is the second of a series of five paintings honoring the November celebration of ‘Day of the Dead’.

2009C - DIA de MURERTOS No. 3- 16x20 Oil on Panel small

2009C – DIA de MUERTOS No. 3 – 16×16 Oil on Panel – This is the third of a series of five paintings honoring the November celebration of ‘Day of the Dead’.

2009D – DIA de MUERTOS No. 4 – 16×16 Oil on Panel – This is the third of a series of five paintings honoring the November celebration of ‘Day of the Dead’.

2009E – DIA de MUERTOS No. 5 – 16×16 Oil on Panel – This is the last of a series of five paintings honoring the November celebration of ‘Day of the Dead’.

2009F -NOTORIOUS AMERINCON LOGIN – 16X20 Oil on Panel – I started this painting at the beginning of the month, expecting it to take another week or two weeks. With the passing of this American hero, I completed the painting in a day. Thank you for your service, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

August 2020 Critique

2008A – GEORGIA O’KEEFFE – 16X16 Oil on Panel – I am working on a series of eight paintings of the giants of art in the 20^th century.

Georgia O’Keefe is known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and the New Mexico landscape. She has been recognized as the ‘Mother of American modernism’.

2008B – SALVADOR DALI – 16X16 Oil on Panel – I am working on a series of eight paintings of the giants of art in the 20^th century.

Dali was a Spanish Surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in his work.

2008C – ANDY WARHOL – 16X16 Oil on Panel – I am working on a series of eight paintings of the giants of art in the 20^th century.

Warhol was an American artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art.

2008D – PABLO PICASSO – 16X16 Oil on Panel – I am working on a series of eight paintings of the giants of art in the 20^th century.

Picasso was a Spanish painter, regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is known for co-founding the Cubist movement, the invention of constructed sculpture, the co-invention of collage, and for the wide variety of styles that he helped develop and explore.

2008F – MARK ROTHKO – 16X16 Oil on Panel – I am working on a series of eight paintings of the giants of art in the 20^th century.

Rothko was an American painter of Latvian Jewish descent. Rothko did not personally subscribe to any art movement, but he is generally identified as an abstract expressionist and color field painter.

2008G – MARCEL DUCHAMP – 16×20 Oil on Panel – I am working on a series of eight paintings of the giants of art in the 20^th century.

Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, as one of the three artists who helped to define the revolutionary developments in the plastic arts in the opening decades of the 20th century, responsible for significant developments in painting and sculpture.

2008H – JACKSON POLLOCK – 16×20 Oil on Panel – This is the last of my series of eight paintings of the giants of art in the 20^th century.

Pollock was an American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement and action painting. He is sometimes remembered as ‘Jack the Dripper’.

2008J – MAN IN HAT AT NOON – 16×20 Oil on Panel – With this painting I wanted to see if I could recreate light and shadow on a face. The high light on the nose may or may not work. For now, I am satisfied.

July 2020 Critique

2007A – SATISFACTION – 16×20 Oil on Panel – I find it amazing how you can express personal emotions with only a few brush strokes. It is my intention to do this with as few marks as possible. You may note that I used the same color for her lips as the background.

2007B – EYE IF THE BEHOLDER – 16×20 Oil on Panel – I enjoy painting close up abstract faces like this one. It forces the viewer to confront the familiar subject with a new perspective. Here I have isolated half of the face, cropping in at tight as possible while getting all three primary elements; eye, nose, and mouth.

2007C – LOVING FIRE – 20×32 Oil on Panel – In this painting, I attempted to capture the feeling of the Tucson Big Horn fire at night in April. I used two techniques or styles of painting. In the upper two thirds, I painted in the broken color style to represent the wind, smock, and heat of the fire. The bottom third utilizes the ‘color chip’ method of large, flat brush strokes to depict the fire and hills. I was inspired by a photograph taken by a friend of mine, Diane Loving, thus the painting title ‘LOVING FIRE’.

2007D - MANTIS ON RED - 16x20 Oil on Panel small

2007D – MANTIS ON RED – 16×20 Oil on Panel – This image reminded me of a praying mantis with the large round sunglasses and the shape of the face. Sometimes you have to paint just because you find something interesting in the subject. This was a fun painting to work on.

2007E – ODEN’S BEARD – 16×20 Oil on Panel – I did this subject because I liked the representation of power show by the angle and the magnificent beard.

2007F – LOKI CUNNING TRICKSTER – 16×20 Oil on Panel – Midrza Affeer, a participant on Sktchy asked me to do a painting of him. This was the result. I entitled the painting “Loki the Cunning Trickster” after Norse mythology’s trickster of the gods who could change his shape.

2007G – BRIGHT ORBS – 16×16 Oil on Panel. – I was attracted to this subject by the possibility of creating luminescent colors. I have found that you can create bright colors in painting only by having dull colors in the work for the bright colors to work of. If you have all bright colors they cancel each other out and nothing stands out.

June 2020 Critique

2006A – TOMATO CHIPS – With the ‘Color Chip’ technique I am not going for reality. I want to stretch the image to the breaking point of perception. I want to viewer to work to put the pieces together and find a meaningful pattern, like looking for images in the clouds.

2006B – COMING APART / COMING TOGETHER – GEORGE FLOYD – This is probably one of the most important paintings I have completed considering the events of the past few days. We need leadership on the issues raised by the murder of George Floyd. We don’t need the army.

2006C – ENEMY OF THE STATE – I had to paint this image. I went to my easel this morning and completed the painting in four hours. It may not be the best painting I have ever done but it’s important to release my emotion. After finishing I knew something was missing. So I added the horizontal lines (Wabi-Sabi style) for tension.

2006D -WASHINGTON JUNE 2020 – 16×20 Oil on Panel – I wanted a way to express the events in our country these past few weeks. I settled on the clenched fist and the US capitol dome. Once I laid out the design I realized the composition was not balanced. That’s why I added the words “I CAN’T BREAT”. The result was more like a poster than a painting.

2006E – CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK – 16×20 Oil on Panel -I have been working on this painting off and on for the past three weeks. I went with as little detail in the beard as possible. I’m not sure it worked or not.

2006F – A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL – 16×20 Oil on Panel – In this painting, I attempted a wide range of colors using the Color Chip technique. The resulting painting had a sinister feeling. To appreciate the image, you must either stand at a distance or squint your eyes.

2006G – VAN GOGH’S AUNT – 16×16 Oil on Panel – This person has a great deal of personality in her facial structure and the large glasses she is waring. The background came out more colorful than I expected. I hope it does

May 2020 Critique

2005A – WHAT’S ON YOUR PALLET? – To understand color mixing based on two different color theories I created paint charts for both the CYMK and Color Wheel mixing systems as well as skin tone colors using these hues.

Chart No. 1 uses the CYMK colors (Cobalt Teal, Cad Yellow Light, Quinacridone Magenta) as well as Ivory Black and Titanium White.

Chart No. 2 uses the standard Color Wheel colors (Ultra Marine Blue, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cadmium Red Light) as well as Ivory Black and Titanium White.

Chart No. 3 has two different tests. The first three columns mix the Blues, Reds, and Yellows from each of the color systems. The remaining colors are mixes of skin tones using these colors as well as Yellow Ochre on some tests.

I found a couple of interesting results that I did not expect. These include that adding Yellow to Ultra Marine Blue results in a green darker than the original blue and you can’t get a purple mixing Ultra Marine Blue and Cad Red.

These tests took about eight hours.

2005B – WHAT’S ON YOUR PALLET? – This second set of tests is intended to experiment with how the two-color theories mix with their complementary colors.

Chart No. 4 uses CYMK colors mixed with their complement from the same group. I added a touch of white to get a better view of the color mixture.

Chart No. 5 uses Color Wheel colors mixed with their complement from the same group. I added a touch of white to get a better view of the color mixture.

Chart No. 6 shows Cadmium Red Light mixed with Cobalt Teal in the first row and Quinacridone Magenta mixed with Ultra Marine Blue. Again I used a touch of white to better see the mixture. On the third and fourth rows, I used Cadmium Red Light mixed with Yellow Ochre.

I found the only mixture that gave me a true gray was Cadmium Red Light mixed with Cobalt Teal. This came as a complete surprise.

2005C – WHAT’S ON YOUR PALLET? – The left-hand vertical row shows Ultra Marine mixed with Burnt Umber to get black. I used white and yellow to test the underlying colors. The right-hand vertical row shows Ivory Black mixed with Titanium White to get a five-step grayscale. Again I used white and yellow to test the underlying color.

The center color square shows all the colors I used in these tests. I intend to use these nine colors as my pallet for a while as I make new paintings.

Ultra Marine Blue
Cobalt Teal
Cad Yellow
Ivory Black
Titanium White
Burnt Umber
Yellow Ochre
Cad Red Light
Quinacridone Magenta

2005D- HIGH MOON – This painting started as a door with a colorful wall but it quickly morphed into a surrealistic abstract. The result is an interesting illusion. Is the moon opening in front of the color or the color in front of the portal?

2005E – SHATTERED – I used the ‘Color Chip’ technique also known as ‘Patch Painting’ on this work.

2005F – CHILE CHIPS – In this still life I used the ‘Color Chip’ technique to give the illusion of the subject. It’s up to the viewer’s eye to add up all the brush strokes and make the final image. I find the patches of color come together at about ten to fifteen feet.

April 2020 Critique

2004A – COVED19 – 16×20 Oil on Panel – After three weeks of staying at home a painting about our times.

2004B – HOT POT – This painting took me five weeks to complete. I could not find the enthusiasm to work on it more than an hour at a time. I did a lot of glazing of colors. The only reason I finished the work was that Darlene wanted it.

2004C – MAN – This is the second time I painted this subject.

March 2020 Critique

2003A – WISDOM – 16×16 Oil on Panel – This Painting is the third in the series of portraits. The first being ‘VORTEX’ and the second ‘HISTORY’.

2003B – NO COPRAMISE – 16X20 Oil on Panel – This was one of those paintings where you get into the process, time disappears. I started this work one day to kill some time. I intention was to only paint in the background and finish the painting later. Then I decided to do the eyes only. Before I knew it, the clock read 6:00 PM and the painting was finished.

2003C – THE WISE MAN – 16X20 Oil on Panel – In this painting, I wanted to go for color. I am experimenting with the CYMK color pallet. I have always used the RYB color mixing system and this is a new experience for me. I like what I see so far.

2003D – HOPE – 16X20 Oil on Panel – This is another oil painting using the CYMK color pallet. I have used a very chipped brush stroke and out of place colors similar to the broken color technique.

February 2020 Critique

2002A – PAST GLORIES – Last year I did a small study of this painting which I did not feel at the time was successful. I have repainted the image in a larger size, added more detail and rotated the front of the truck so the front is facing right. I am satisfied with this version.

2002B – OLD GLORY – This painting is a companion piece to my previous painting 2002B PAST GLORY. It is based on a photograph by Ron Powers he took in 2007. His photography tells a story. Thank you, Ron.

January 2020 Critique

2001A – VORTEX – This is the first of my paintings for 2020. This year my priority is to produce fewer paintings. I will take more time to get it right.

2001A – HISTORY – This painting is a study in color, skin tone in particular. You may not notice at first viewing that there is an undertone of green in the face. This is not a natural color but it helps to add the feeling of age to the personality of the subject. This painting like the last is not perfect but I feel it gets the message of age and decay across. My intention is for the viewer to be able to create their own story behind the instant in time a picture represents and not be pedantic about technical details. Without imperfections, it would not be touched by the hand of man or nature.

December 2019 Critique

1912A – MAN ON FIRE – After completing this painting I asked a friend who I respect his honest opinion about my work. He used this one as an example. He said that I should spend more time on my work, that this one did strike him as finished or taken to a higher level. I then showed it to a group of people at a critique and they all gave me the feedback that there was nothing more I could do to make the painting better. Next year I intend to make it my goal to spend more time on my work and work to finish the paintings to a higher standard.

1912B – SISTERS – This painting is the last work I will do for 2019. All year I have experimented with different styles and techniques. I believe it has helped me with my work going forward. Nest year I intend to slow down and concentrate on improving my painting skills.

November 2019 Critique

1911A EMILYROSE MY STAR 16×20 Oil on Panel – This is a painting of my granddaughter. She is working to get into the Hollywood acting sean. The painting is based on one of her headshot photos. I did the painting for Darlene, my wife.

October 2019 Critique

1910A – RED SEA – I have been experimenting with different styles and techniques of abstract painting.I like the results of this painting.

1910B – HIGH TIDE – This painting is the result of an entirely different way of applying paint to the surface of the support.

1910C – SELF PORTRAIT – I have been reading about Mero and thought I would try some fun paintings using some of his symbolism. This is a fun way to work.

1910D – SADDLEBROOKE DOG PARK – Here I am representing the SaddleBrooke dog park. I intend to do a series of paintings about activities in our community.

1910E – SADDLEBROOKE GOLF – I am finding these illustrations quite enjoyable. Like child’s play.

1910F – SADDLEBROOKE BASEBALL – My process is to draw the idea out in my sketchbook with a magic marker. I use a pencil to draw the concept on the panel then go over it with a magic marker. I apply the oil paint colors as I see fin then go back over the magic marker.

1910G – SADDLEBROOKE PICKLEBALL – This one came out quite funny. The character ended up looking like a turtle. This was unintentional. But I guess compared to tennis pickleball is quite slow.

1910G – SADDLEBROOKE POOL – 16X20 Oil on Panel – The is the last in the series of SaddleBrooke activities painting. They have been fun to do using symbolism.

1910H – SEA NIGHT AND DAY – 16X20 Oil on Panel – I want to symbolize life above and below the sea and our attempt to acquire knowledge.

September 2019 Critique

1909A – SCARLETT 6 of 4 – 16X16 Oil on Panel – In this painting I used blind contour drawing for the bases of the work. The colors are exaggerated.

1909B – SCARLETT 7 of 4 – 16×16 Oil on Panel – This is the most abstract version of the original work. It still maintains the basic shapes.

1909C – PUDDIN – 16×20 Oil on Panel – I have made this painting for my granddaughter.

1909D – CATALINA 16×20 Oil on Panel – This painting was an experiment this did not come out as I had hoped. I am in the process of experimenting with different styles and techniques. Not all will work as hoped.

1909E – PAINTING FOR A GREEN WALL 20×32 Oil on Panel – I have been studying American painters from the second half of the twentieth century for the past couple of months. This work is based on the style and concepts of Barnard Newman. He was known for his vertical lines he called ‘Zips’. He painted the zips using different glosses, textures and hews of the same colors. You will note that the yellow line is not perfect, this is intentional Newman would go out of his way to keep some of his zips imperfect. This image does not photograph very well. It took me seven thins layers to get a red background that was close to even in color.

1909F – BLACK SEA 16×20 Oil on Panel – I like the results of this painting. It has the feel of an action painting. You can read many stories and emotions into the resulting image. You may note the implied horizon that the top of the work giving it a representational character. The dominate brushwork implies churning motion and instability against the stable horizon line.

1909G – SPRING DAY 16×16 Oil on Panel – This is my second attempt at painting in the style of Agnus Martin. I feel this one represents her work better than 1909G. This is not a copy of any of her work but it does utilize some of her common elements. It’s very defecated to light these subtle images for photography. The colors are more even in the original painting.

1909H – THIN RED LINE 16×16 Oil on Panel – This painting is based on the style of painting done by Agnus Martin. Her work is noted for the use of squares which she would draw using ordinary pencils, both graphite and colored. She would then paint thin washes over the lines leaving them visible. Many of her works were eight-foot square. I find many of her works very meditative. I have not copied any of her paintings just the style. My attempt painting in this style is a failure in a number of ways.

1909J – INFINITY NET No. 1 16×20 Oil on Panel – This is my first attempt at working in the style of Yayoi Kusama. She had a compulsive desire to use dots and polka-dots in her paintings. She is still painting in Japan in her nineties. I did not do any kind of justice to her style in this attempt of mine. Someday I may attempt another.

1909K – SPRING DAY 16×20 Oil on Panel – This painting is the first in a series of works I am attempting using a new technique I discovered while working on the earlier non-representational works. Lighting these finished painting is difficult. The color of the painting is very even.

1909L – NIGHT TREE 16×20 Oil on Panel – I thought I would try doing a simi-representational painting using this color wash technique. I think I got an interesting result.

1909M – PERCEPTUAL AGITATION 16×20 Oil on Panel – This image is filled with movement and emotion. Like being in the eye of a storm. The iridescent colors bring light out of the darkness drawing the viewer up into the eye.

August 2019 Critique

1908A – SCARLETT 1 of 4 – This is the first of four paintings I intend to do of this little girl, each in a different style. This one is representational.

1908B – SCARLETT 2 of 2 – In this version, I used the ‘patch painting’ style and made the colors more intense.

1908C – SCARLETT 3 of 4 – Version three is a line outline with color washes. The colors are similar to version 2 of 4.

1908D – SCARLETT 4 of 4 – In this painting, I used the Wabi-Sabi style of painting by first painting the subject and while still wet applying destructing and defacing techniques to give it a weathered look.

1908E – SCARLETT 5 of 4 – This painting uses straight lines and blocks color to represent the subject. There is no attempt to be true to the colors. The only Oil paint tube colors used were Quinacridone Magenta, Cobalt Blue, Cad Yellow, and Titanium White. The lines are magic marker.

July 2019 Critique

1907A – HIDDEN – This painting uses more simple shapes and graphics to get the idea across. I do not consider this a very successful painting.

1907B – CRYSTAL MIND – This is a self-portrait using the ‘patch painting’ technique. I am attempting to create abstracted portraits using only large single-color brush strokes. With this style, the image is quite visible at a distance from the painting but up close the individual shapes are quite abstract.

1907C – THEM THERE EYES – This painting is an experiment. I want to find a way to damage fresh oil paintings in such a way as to make them look antique, aged, weathered before the paint is dry. My goal is to make works that approach the standards of the Japanese philosophy of Wabe Sabe. I have tried scraping the wet paint, using spackle lives to create lines, scratching and moving paint with a pallet knife. I have also sprayed it with water, varnish, oil, and turpentine. But I am still not getting the look I want. If you have any ideas how I can make the painting looked chipped and watered please let me know.

1907D – ME TWO – I am doing a number of paintings using the same subject and different painting styles. This one is none in the Wabi Sabi style. The image is first painted and then while it is still wet, I deface the image to give it the weathered antique look.

1907D – ME 4 of 4 – This is the last in this series. Here I have used line drawing, in oil paint, and minimal patches of color to create this different style of self-portrait.

June 2019 Critique

1906A – TWO GIRLS ON A BEACH – A friend found an old photograph in a magazine he wanted to paint. When I saw the image I knew I had to also paint from that old photo. In this version, I first painted it in detail as normal. But while it was still wet I applied what I call ‘Entropy’, destruction of the completed work taking it to a lesser state then I went back in and added detail where I felt necessary. It gave the painting the look of an old poster found in the attic after many years.

1906B – FACE IN THE MIRROR – This is an experiment in abstract portrait painting. It is my feeling that true colors are not important only relative tones. Here I have done the painting as a watercolor wash using oil. Rather than taking the image out to the edge of the support I have left a portion of white background.

1906C – DESERT ISLAND – This is a quick landscape using the open background concept.

1906D – THE ROCK – In this painting, I have combined three styles; Patch painting, Entropy painting, and Borderless painting. I am calling the style Trash paining. It has the look of an old artwork just pulled from the recycle bin.

1906E – OUT OF THE NIGHT – From this image, you cannot tell if the subject is the victim or the attacker screaming. I selected the blue and yellow colors to represent darkness and light. I used three painting styles in this work; patch painting, lost edge and trash painting.

1906F – THE CRITIQUE – This painting is based on a photograph taken at the June 2019 Non-Critique of the Southern Arizona Art Guild.

May 2019 Critique

1905A – SCREAMING MAN – This painting is meant to be a companion piece to my 2019 painting Screaming Child. I am attempting to have the viewer hear the sound of this painting. In the image of the subject, I have used pure colors while the background is made up of sharp-edged geometric shapes in pastel colors thus bringing the man forward. Some of the background shapes on the left are varying shades of yellow with heavy texture representing the sound being generated.

1905B – LAUGHING MAN – I have an issue with the background on this image. I think it is too distracting.

1905C – JETSONS / BRUCE – This is a blind contour drawing of Bruce Capra. It has a very cartoon feeling, reminding me of one of the characters from the old TV animated show ‘The Jetsons”.

1905D – HATE FACE – In this painting, I attempted to depict hate and its corrosive effect on the human sickie. I have used a similar pallet to Picasso in his Blue Period, grayed down blues and greens. These colors leave a very depressing feeling to the viewer.

1905E – DESERT SPRING – I am trying a new painting technique. I call it ‘paint and destroy’. With this style, you first paint the subject they use nonconventional painting tool, in this case, a spackle spatula to scrape off and move paint. Then you go back in and add detail as required. This is repeated as often as necessary.

1905F – DON’T MESS WITH ME – This painting was done using the ‘paint and destroy’ technique. What I like about this painting are the angles working together and intention, her glasses tilted down, her mouth tilted up and her shoulders lilted down.

1905G – WORKING MAN – This painting was completed last month. The forsome reason I neglected to record it and give it a stock number. It depicts a working man getting off his work shift.

April 2019 Critique

1904a-ron-ridge-2-16x20-oil-on-panel-small

1904A – RON RIDGE 2 – The second painting of Ron. I don’t feel it is as good as the first painting. The first captures more of his intensity and concentration.

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1904B -THE SOUL BUYER – I knew when I first saw the photograph of this individual there was a story there. Upon starting the painting I selected red for the background. I knew I was going to paint the devil.

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1904C – CHERRIES WITH GREEN BOWL – This is a quick study I did while working at the SOL Gallery near the university in Tucson. Sorry about the simplistic title.

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1904D – 1947 RED CHEVY – My first attempt at blind contour drawing. I found this first drawing very liberating. I allowed me to draw without judgment or expectation. I was able to capture the idea of the subject without consideration of the details or perspective, abstract while keeping the subject.

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1904E – GIRL WITH RED FLOWERS IN HER HEAR – With the success of the RED CHEVY I selected a portrait of a young woman to blind contour draw. Again I am pleased with the results. I am using oils but I think acrylics would be easier to control in the large flat areas in that they are less transparent.

1904G GRAY LADY 16x16 Gouache on Panel

1904F – PAINTED DESERT – This is my attempt at a blind contour drawing of a landscape. After laying out the line drawing I painted with cool colors to worm colors from top to bottom.

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1904G – GRAY LADY – I attempted to use Guache watercolor paint in this work in an attempt to get a smooth matt finish in the colors. I found that Gouache is not as opaque as I expected and you cannot apply a second coat because the water lifts the first coat. I also found color mixing to be an issue. However, the paint does dry almost quickly on the support which is good for this type of painting.

1904H – STAR – I think this is one of my better blind contour drawings. The blue and yellow background works very well with the skin tones used.

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1904J – LIGHT WITH WHITE FLOWERS – I wanted to do this painting to break out of the contour drawings I have been doing. This painting took me about three hours from start to finish.

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1904K – HOPING – After doing a number of fun projects this month I decided to try my hand at a figure painting.

March 2019 Critique

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1903A – STUDY

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1903B – STUDY

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1903C – GIRL WATCHING CROWS – A few months back I painted ‘GIRL WATCHING CROWS’ and painted it online. In December I sold it in a pop-up art show. Last week I was contacted by the mother of the girl in the painting wanting to know if she could purchase the painting of heir daughter. I had to inform her that I no longer had the painting. She wanted to contact the person that had purchased the painting so she could buy it. Unfortunately, I do not have the name of the current owner. So I repainted the image and intend to send it to the mother in the near future.

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1903D – ACROSS THE SUPERSTITIONS – This painting is based on 1903B STUDY

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1903E – BLUE CUP STILL LIFE – In this exercise, I wanted to use complementary colors, as well as the primary colors.

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1903F – JASON AND THE TEMPEST – This painting is about movement. Movement of the sky (background) and movement of his blowing hair. I have attempted to accomplish this with my brush strokes. Man against nature, man in awe of nature, this is the story in this painting.

1903g-ron-ridge-16x20-oil-on-panel-small

1903G – RON RIDGE – Ron is one of the better pool players in SaddleBrooke. He recently grew a beard. I like the look so I asked him if I could paint a portrait.

February 2019 Critique

1902a-the-innocent-16x16-oil-on-panel-small 1902A – THE INNOCENT – When painting portraits, or any subject for that matter, I generally don’t attempt to match colors precisely. I am more interested in capturing the variations in tones or hues. The skin tone can be as natural as possible or as extreme in color variation an I feel necessary.

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1902B – VIA DOLOROSA – In this painting, I deliberately distorted the colors to accentuate the feeling of agony in the face of the subject. I want the viewer to see a man writhing in pain thus the name ‘Via Dolorosa’ (Way of Suffering). The head is painted to fill the entire image so we don’t know what context the suffering is expressed or what is causing the pain.

1902c-the-remembering-16x20-oil-on-panel-small

1902C – THE REMEMBERING – This painting reminds me of contemplation on pleasurable events of the past. There is something of quiet moments to be held as long as possible in her pose.

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1902D – THE YENTA – In this painting, I attempted to extend the acceptable colors as much as possible without going into the abstract. I used the same basic colors in her face and the hat with a complementary blue-green background.

January 2019 Critique

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1901A – I’M TOO QUITE – This is a painting for my Grand Daughter. She just got a new puppy.

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1901B – SORRY – A second puppy painting for my Grand Daughter.

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1901C – QUICK APPLE – A quick still life painting.

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1901D – QUICK PEPPER – Another quick still life.

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1901E – NIGHT CHILD – I came across this photograph on Skichy and knew I had to paint it. While painting the child I found myself using very unusual colors for the skin tones. It gives the story a very ghostly feeling.

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1901F – MEMENTO MORI – This image can be interpreted in a number of ways. Anything from a homeless man to a profit to an old man witnessing his future. I prefer the latter.

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1901G – OFFICE PARTY – The personality of this subject appears to be a very happy person but underneath she wants money for the next birthday, baby shower or whatever the next office collection is for. I painted her in almost a cartoon style.

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1901H – OLD JOE – I came across this photograph recently and fell in love with the colors. This painting uses all three primary colors, some more muted than others. I attempted to give as little detail as possible in the truck and concentrate on shapes and brush stocks.

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1901J – PAINT CANYON WATER – A quick painting to use up some excess paint on my pallet.

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1901K – TOUGH GUY – This is a quick freehand sketch.

December 2018 Critique

1812A – ON THE TURN – I made this painting for a friend of mine who asked me to paint his son-in-law that recess motorcycles. I was not all that interested until I saw the photograph. I did this painting in one day. It’s 20×32 inches.

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1812B – PEAR STILL LIFE – This is the second version of 1811M PARE STILL LIFE using larger brush strokes and less detail. The image does not come into focus unless you squint or stand away from the painting.

1812c-vince-no-2-16x20-oil-on-panel-small

1812C – VINCE No. 2 – This is my second in my interpretations of Vince Van Gough portraits. Using one of his self-portraits I have redone it using my patch painting technique. This is a very impasto painting so you may see a number of highlights on the surface.

1812d-last-turn-16x20-oil-on-panel-small

1812D – LAST TURN – This is the second motorcycling painting I have done in the past week. My friend asked me to paint one of the four images he sent me but I liked two of them.

1812e-vince-no-3-16x20-oil-on-panel-small

1812E – VINCE No. 3 – This is my third in the series using Vincent Van Gough’s self-portraits. He used less vibrant colors in this portrait so I was forced to gray down my normal pallet.

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1812F – TWO TOMATOES IN A CUP – This is my last painting for 2018.

November 2018 Critique

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1811A – TABLE – This is a quick painting I did as a demonstration in the Tucson Mall. I am exhibiting my work there and wanted to attract some attention.

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1811B – VINCE No. 1 – In this painting, I have taken one of Vincent Van Gogh’s self-portraits and redone it using patch the painting technique. With this style, I try to create shapes and values using single color strokes while attempting to keep the subject recognizable. I have applied the paint impasto.

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1811C – THE SHEIKH – I was attracted to this image because of the blue and gold colors in the scarves. Also the pale green color of the eyes.

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1811D – WAITING FOR EVIL – I completed this painting while attending the Art Marketplace at the Tucson Mall. I have been going in almost every day and painting in my booth. After completing this painting I realized just how dark a mood I have been in. I think I am going to give up being in public shows.

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1811E – THE DJ – I selected this image to paint because I liked the casual feeling of the man listening to music. I used a very small color pallet using colors on the cool side.

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1811F – THIS IS NOT A DOG – I based the name of this painting on the 1929 painting by Rene Magritte ‘This is Not a Pipe’ because while I was painting in public people were coming up to me asking what kind of dog was it. “I don’t know it’s a dog.”

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1811G – STILL LIFE IN RED AND GRAY – This is the first still life I have done in some time. I did this in a very loose style. I wanted the colors to stand out, not the objects.

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1811H – STILL LIFE WITH GREEN PAIR – I painted this work at the Tucson Art Marketplace as a demonstration.

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1811J – GREEN PAIR STILL LIFE – This is the second painting of still life 1811H but using the ‘Patch Painting’ style. In the first painting, I utilized the ‘Brocken Color’ approach. In ‘Patch Painting’ I use much larger strokes of unblended color.
1811k-the-messenger-16x20-oil-on-panel-small

1811K – THE MESSENGER – This painting takes the delicate features of the woman’s face, uses very deliberate large strokes and somehow retains the detail and softness of her face. The white shroud throws a shadow across the upper half of her features, giving her an air of mystery.

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1811L – WINE STILL LIFE – This is a quick still live (under three hours0 I did at the Tucson Mall’s Arts Market Place yesterday. I see a number of things I could correct but this was just a quick study.

1811m-pear-still-life16x20-oil-on-panel-small 1811M – PEAR STILL LIFE – After a rather disappointing show at the Tucson Mall I decided to go back to basics. This painting has a number of flaws which I intend to improve on in future works.

October 2018 Critique

1810a-navajo-country-16x20-oil-on-panel-small

1810A – NAVAJO COUNTRY – In this painting, I think I have taken the size of the painted color patches to their maxamim and still retain some recognition of the subject.

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1810B – GIRL WATCHING CROWS – In this painting, I added more detail to the girl’s face thus making it the center of attention. Other than the small crows in the sky detail is not important. The brushwork in the sky and grass indicate movements and flow culminating in the upper left-hand corner.

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1810C – THE SAGE – I still find it amazing that the human eye can find meaning in simple shapes. If you were to get up close to this painting you would not recognize the subject but from a distance, they all congeal into a recognizable image even though men normally don’t have green hear and guards.

1810d-metropolis-man-16x20-oil-on-panel-small

1810D – METROPOLIS MAN – This painting has a little detail in it as I could accomplish and yet the subject is fully recognizable as a man in turmoil. I named the painting after the 1927 film, METROPOLIS. I could not get the image of the man laboring in the film by moving the clock hands in an erratic manner to keep the machinery working.

1810e-from-the-sea-16x20-oil-on-panel-small

1810E – FROM THE SEA – Patch painting uses not blending, no color matching and no attention to detail. It is the ultimate loose painting that still remains within the realm of representational painting. To see the subject clearly the observer must stand back and let the eye combine the exaggerated strokes into recognizable detail. As Claude Monet once told a patron who was examining his work at close range, “Don’t smell my paintings”.

September 2018 Critique

1809a-the-scream-2018-20x32-oil-on-panel-small

1809A – In this painting, I wanted to capture the raw energy of an angry child. One technique was to use radiating brush strokes in the background to simulate sound waves. The choice of colors for the face is mostly grayed back which makes the red in the lips that much more brilliant. This is the largest portrait I have done measuring 20×36 inches.

1809b-in-the-weeds-16x20-oil-on-panel-small

1809B – While working on this painting I got the feeling that ‘the weeds’ (nature) was trying to eat this man-made object. In time nothing will be left of us or our creations. I varied my brushwork using small short strokes for the sky, sharp flat strokes for nature and organic strokes for the truck.

1809c-the-hawk-16x20-oil-on-panel-small

1809C – This is a quick landscape. In it I contract the complementary colors of orange and blue. I have added many layers to the vast expanse of the sky. I like to leading line of the road even though it straddles the center line of the painting. This leading line ends at the tree and the hawk.

1809d-flowers-in-her-hair-16x20-oil-on-panel-small

1809D – This painting has an unusual vantage point for a portrait. I don’t think I have ever seen one this fare above the subject’s head before. The laurels are woven into and wrapping around the girl’s hair. With this style of crude painting, it may be difficult to get a clear picture of where the flowers begin and her hair ends.

1809e-lips-16x20-oil-on-panel-small

1809E – This is an unusual composition with the subject, the lips, located so far to the top and right. I think it works. Because there are so little dark tones in the painting I experimented with painting a frame around the picture to contain the painting.

1809f-pool-players-of-the-brook-24x36-oil-on-panel-small

1809F – This is a piece I did for the ‘Pool Players of the Brook’. HOA #1 is remodeling the pool room and I was asked to create a pool depicting the game of pool and include the club’s logo. I accomplished this by making a three-dimensional work. The is a two-inch deep shadow box with a 20×32 painting of pool balls. On top of that is a smaller painting of an old time pool hall. I did this painting in sepia colors. Standing above these is the logo of the pool club. When the expansion is complete this work will be hung in the room.

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1809G – This painting is based on a photograph for the Sktchy app. While using the PATCH PATING style I find that the image has no shape while I am painting close up. But when I step back about ten feet the subject jumps out of the surface. Patch Painting consists of patches of random colors arranged with minimal consideration for detail in the subject.

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1809H- I did this painting in a flat poster style. As you can see I have been experimenting with different techniques.

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1809J – In this painting, I have the patch painting technique as far as possible in this landscape. If you squint or step back the subject becomes recognizable. This painting has the color pallet of the Fauvism movement from the early 20^th century.

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1809K – WIND – I think that this style of patch painting works well to reflect movement, in this case, the movement of the wind.

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1809L – STANDING TALL – In this painting, I experimented with color in that I made the ground cover yellow and green with the Saguaro is brown, yellow and orange. The mountains in the background are dark purple. The brush strokes of the plants are vertical, reaching to the sky while the sky is horizontal indicating movement.

1809m-madonna-and-cat-16x20-oil-on-panel-small

1809M – MADONNA AND CAT – In this painting, I deliberately made the cat’s face more realistic than the woman’s. By standing back or squinting you can see the image more clearly. It’s not until you get close to the painting that the subject becomes difficult to identify.

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1809N – AWAY – I feel the sky in this painting gives the feeling of air moving around the balloons on the ground and at the same time lifting the one into the air.

August 2018 Critique

18 1808a-anger-of-defeat-16x20-oil-on-panel-small

1808A – Quick painting from a photograph I found on the Skhchy app.

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1808B – Another character from Skhchy.

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1808C – I am embarking on a series of new paintings trying different styles and techniques. With this painting, I am attempting to capture the feeling of movement. I hope to show the movement of the subjects head as she belts out a song.

1808d-quiet-guitar-oil-on-canvas-16x20-small

1808D – I am trying to expand my painting style, therefore, I am experimenting with new techniques. In this current series, starting with the painting ‘THE SINGER’ I am using broader and broader brush strokes with a more abstract style. In this painting, the subject is recognizable but distorted. I am going for the contrast between the lights and darks of the painting. My next painting will be even more abstract using the same brushwork.

1808e-sitting-woman-oil-on-panel16x20-small

1808E – I am continuing my experiment with style by going more and more abstract. In this painting, the subject has become almost unrecognizable until you step back then the woman becomes distinguishable. I used single long strokes of varying colors to get this effect.
I believe I must try new techniques in an effort to expand my capabilities. I know I can paint representational images now it is time to try new regions of art. This will also keep me motivated to paint.

1808f-glass-man-oil-on-panel16x20-small

1808F – Another experiment in painting style. In this work, I have broken the image down into random shapes and applied interior colors to the shapes. Dark lines separate the colors into a fractured pattern. The result is an extreme two-dimensional image like looking through a stained glass window.

1808g-woman-with-blue-cat-16x16-oil-on-panel-small

1808G – I find while painting this style painting it is easy to lose track of where you are in the image. I really can’t see the entire subject until I step back about ten feet. Then the painting begins to make sense. So please squint your eyes or step back before judging this painting technique.

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1808H – This was a fairly difficult painting. The large area with little or no color took me a couple tries to work out. But the attraction of this work is the red lips against the large white area. It makes the white more pale and the red brilliant.

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1808J – I painted this subject for the composition. I liked the placement of the fact under the shadow of the hat. One questionable choice is the yellow streak where the nose should be. I don’t know why I did it but it worked for me.

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1808k – My work is getting weirder and weirder. This painting is based on a photograph of a woman wairing extreme makeup or face painting. I became interested in the array of colors and shapes on her face. As a painting, this represents the face we show to the world and the person we know ourselves to be.

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1808L – This is my attempt at capturing a moment in motion. I was unsure of the green light and green reflections but with time I think I made the right choice.

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1808M – In this abstraction, I am attempting to convey the feeling of the emotion anger. Even though I am using blocks of color I think I have been able to illustrate the face of a man with light coming from the left and contrasting dark on the right. I have had a very productive month, twelve paintings in all with another six in process. No painters block for me.

July 2018 Critique

1807A – I have been working on this painting on and off for the past month. The painting shows Dillinger surrounded by postcard paintings of Dillinger events, names, and numbers that tell about the capture of the Dillinger gang. In late fall the Congress Hotel will be looking for artwork to hang in the hotel for Dillinger days. I hope to enter this painting along with others that reflect the early 1930’s.

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1807B – I have had a good week painting, finished two and have four more in progress. Sometimes you have painters block but not this week. I like the laid back feeling of this model. He appears to be in his own world.

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1807C – In this painting, I have exaggerated the color for effect. With my portrait paintings, I seldom attempt to match the colors of the photograph. My paintings are not intended to be photo representational. I am going for more of a painterly look and feel.

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1807D This is the first woman I have painted in some time. The way I paint I find men simpler to paint, their skin texture can be coarser and need not express youth.

1807e-the-circuse-is-in-town-16x16-oil-on-panel-small

1807E – I am back to trying something new. Line and color used in a posterized way. This time after doing the initial drawing I created the black lines with a black magic marker painted the background and face-hat colors then I went back in with black oil paint to recreate the lines. This worked much better than that last time I tried this.

1807f-mantidae-16x16-oil-on-panel-small

1807F – I based this painting on a photograph from the iPad APP Sktchy. I found the large dark glasses and the narrow face reminded me of a Praying Mantis (Mantidae).

June 2018 Critique

1806

1806A – This painting of John Dillinger is from an old black and white photo. It’s a fairly large painting measuring 20×32 inches.

1806B – With this painting, I wanted a companion for my Dillinger painting. My intention was to make her eyes and lips the center of attraction for the work so I keep the skin very pale with little detail.

1806c-river-of-rust-16x20-oil-on-panel-small

1806C – I wanted to do this quick abstract to relax after my last painting. I used both broken color and pallet knife with one color red.

1806D GOAUCHA No. 1 8x10 Goaucha on Panel

1806D – This is my first gouache painting. I have wanted to try this waterbased paint for some time. It will take some getting used to. Gouache is a water-based paint somewhere between watercolor and acrylic, sort of like poster paint. A long way from my oil paints. I think it will be a good paint to travel with and do quick sketches.

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1806E – My second attempt at gouache. I find it is not as forgiving as oil paint however you can get finer detail.

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1806F – I have subscribed to a new app called Sketcher. On this app people send in photographs that are copyright free for artists to draw or paint and then repost them back online with the original photo. So far I have found a number of good subject to paint in the future.

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1806G – This painting is based on a photo from my Sktchy app. I thought this person had an unusual face shape and the eyes drew me in.

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1806H – Self-portrait. I like to get in close with my portraits. I call them ‘Face Paintings’.

May 2018 Critique

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1805A – I did this painting for next years ASU Planetary departments art show. It represents six of the 18 mirrors to be used on the James Webb Space Telescope. These mirrors will be subjected to -114 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures as well as X-rays in the NASA Cryogenic chamber located at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

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Howard Cohen is a regular participant at the monthly SBFAG Non-Critique. He was kind enough to allow me to paint this portrait of him. I have deliberately exaggerated the colors used.

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This painting is base on a photograph of Howard Cohen. I have created this painting using the style of Bruce Capra’s tree paintings. Doing this technique in oils requires a lot of patience, you have to let the overlapping sections time to dry before applying the ajecent color.

April 2018 Critique

1804a-two-of-us-in-color-16x16-oil-on-panel-small 1804A – This is a second painting with the same stile of shape and distorted colors. I am trying to get down to the basic information required to create a recognizable image. Color and drawing are not important, the human mind fills in the blanks.

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1804B- For something different, I have tried to create a semi-abstract landscape using the same colors in the sky as the forest separated by the cool hills in the distance. I have been thinking about trying this for some time.

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1804C – Here I have attempted to create a painting where the subject (the wolf) is part of a larger abstract background. The cool colors blend into the night and the warmer colors represent the sun rise.

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1804D – Brenda Semanick is an important artist here in Tucson and one of the best art instructors in the community. Not only is she known for her remarkable painting but also for the commissions she has received for her public works art.

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1804E – I had started this painting as a tone study but was dissatisfied with the composition so I decided to do another (see1804D) and use this one to play around with. I did this version using only three colors and in a pallet knife style.

1804F TYLOR 16X16 Oil on Panel

1804F – Paul and Mary Kopp asked me to do a painting of their son.

March 2018 Critique

1803A – This is a portrait of Gwen Crooms one of my neighbors here in SaddleBrooke.

1803B – Ron Garan first flew in pace as a Mission Specialist on the STS-124 mission to the International Space Station in 2008. He returned in 2011 for a six-month stay. He is now the chief test pilot for World View based in Tucson. Ron was kind enough to purchase one of my paintings earlier this year.

1803C – In this painting, I wanted to experiment with color, to a breakaway for color realism by using progressively changing hues as bands through the image. I also cropped in tight on the facial features. The subject is Bruce Capra.

February 2018 Critique

A person I do business with asked me to paint this portrait of his daughter who passed away a few years ago.

This is another painting in the series ‘Art from the News”. This time I have painted refugees traveling in a desperate effort to have a new and better life. Their chances of completing the journey are small and once they arrive the better life will be elusive. The human spirit is one of hope.

January 2018 Critique

This painting is based on a barn I saw in Montana last year. I cropped down to just the essences of the seam, the fence post and the grasses growing around it. I like to focus on detail in my images.

One of our Guild members asked me to paint this from an old photograph they had from their youth. It was up to me how I wanted to paint it. I could have done it in a sepia tone the same as the photo but I decided to handle it as a hand-tinted image as was commonly done before color film.

December 2017 Critique

1712A – This is the second in the series of paintings I am doing for the SaddleBrooke pool players (Pool Players of the Brooke). This painting will be combined with two others to form a composite painting that will be displayed in the expansion of the HOA #1 caddy shack recreation room.

November 2017 Critique

1711A – I have been asked to do a work for the pool club here in SaddleBrooke (Pool Players of the Brooke). It will be an assemblage of three paintings to be displayed in the new recreation expansion building that is to be completed in the spring of 2018. This is the first piece of that assemblage, the logo.

1711B – This is my third painting form the series ‘ART FROM THE NEWS’. It is based on the Los Vegas mass shooting on October 2nd. I have entitled this work ‘AMERICAN TERRORIST’. It is my opinion that there is no additional comment needed.

1711C – This is a quick 8×10 painting of interlocking gears. I have been experimenting with a more semi-abstract style with more enfaces on shapes than subject. When I am working on many of my painting up close I do not see the subject, not until I step back.

1711D – Here is another happy painting from the news. After the Santa Rosa fires in northern California people returned to total destruction. I like the abstract shapes in the background and the chaos of rubble in the foreground. The only color in the painting is the woman in agony.

1711E -‘A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.’ 26 killed and 20 injured

October 2017 Critique

This is my second painting in the series ‘ART FROM THE NEWS’. This painting is based on a news photograph of residents of Puerta Rico attempting to get fuel to run their electric generators. I like the use of the three primary colors in this painting and the ark of the man’s body over the containers.

1710B – Linda Ahearn is a well-known Tucson sculptor and the owner of the Toscana Studio & Art Gallery in Oro Valley. If you have not seen her work stop by the gallery and be prepared to see something amazing.

1710C – This painting is based on an old photograph of mine, perhaps from twenty years ago. I started on this work in the morning and had it finished before 11:00 AM. I based the colors on lavender and orange. With my technique the gears appear to be in motion. There is additional detail in the shadows that cannot be seen from the photograph.

September 2017 Critique

1709A – This portrait is of a good friend of mine Dan Stebbins. Dan’s wife Jan is a talented member of the SB Fine Arts Guild. When I selected the color to be used for the background I elected to use a bright yellow as a complement to the blue of his shirt and the blue gray of his cap. I feel this gives the punch to the painting I was looking for.

1709B – This is my second attempt to do a portrait of Dan Stebbins. In this case it is a more traditional pose. I added more warm reds to the complication to offset the green background. I think I like the first image (1709A) better, it has a more relaxed feeling.

1709C – I saw this photo in the news and knew i had to paint it. This is an image that tells a story. A powerful story about hurricane Harvey and the human suffering that was caused. Every year I select a subject and do a yearlong series. This Year I think I will do a series called ‘Paintings in the News”.

1709D – This is a quick study for a possible painting.

1709E – Karen volunteered to have me do her portrait and this is my first attempt. It is based on a photograph I took of her at her home last week. My style of painting creates a textured image with enhanced colors. I don’t attempt to match the original colors in the photograph; instead I try to interpret the hues and shapes of the image.

1709F – This is my second painting of Karen. I often paint more than one image of the same person depending on the results of my photography. In this one I placed her on the wrong side of the frame on purpose just to see if I could break the rule about having more room in front of the subject than in back. I think it worked.

August 2017 Critique

1708A – On a recent trip to Santa Fe and Taos New Mexico we visited Mission San Francisco de Assisi one of the most photographed and painted churches in the country. Ansel Adams photographed the church for his Taos Pueblo art book and Georgia O’Keeffe painted a series of perspectives of the church. I deliberately accentuated the color of orange red in the adobe walls to give a complementary color to the blue of the sky. The strong shadows of the beams offer a dynamic diagonal graphic directing the viewer’s eye to the cross at the top of the tower.

1708B – This graphic is based on the adobe ‘stucco’ work at Mission San Francisco de Assisi. I have selected the strong colors of red and yellow deliberately in an attempt to give the composition a dramatic visual punch. I call this painting ‘Mission Wall No. 1’ because I intend to do other graphics based on the adobe work I photographed at this location.

1708C – While in Taos New Mexico this month we came upon a derelict adobe building. Through the window you could see the corrugated galvanized roof collapsed into the center of the one room dwelling. I love rust and rusty things. This painting is passed on that rusty dilapidated material.

1708D – This is the second painting based on the adobe walls of Mission San Francisco de Assisi in Taos New Mexico.

1709E – This self-portrait is based on the photograph taken by LaVerne Kyriss for the artist of the month article. I love painting portraits. If anyone would like to have their portrait painted for FREE please get it touch with me. I need subjects.

1708F – I painted this image of Steven Hawking, English theoretical physicist, for the next U of A show, ‘The Art of Planetary Science’. I have not heard when they will have the next exhibit. I was in the last show and sold one of my paintings. I think they will take up to five works for the show. If you are interested in showing your work keep an eye out for an announcement about the next show.

1708G – STUDY 8×10 Oil on Panel

1708H – This painting of San Francisco de Assis mission is based on a photograph taken on our trip to Taos New Mexico in July. The image is from the front of the structure looking up at one of the two bell towers. I have painted in the posturized style using broken color.

July 2017 Critique

1707A – I have not been painting much this month. I have not been in the mood, lacking inspiration to do any work. You could call it painters block. This painting of my wife Darlene playing pool in a tournament took me all month, and at that I am not happy with the results.

1707B – This is my final painting for the month. Jan, also known as THE BANKER, is one of the best woman pool players in our club (Pool Players of the Brook). I hope she will accept this painting as a gift.

June 2017 Critique

1706A – This painting of Dominic Borland is based on one of the photos I took of him at the time of our meeting. I could not decide which image I liked best so I painting them both. In this one I liked the leading line of the que stick and his outstretched arm. I call this painting ‘DOMINIC – The Doctor’ because there is a tradition in pool that everyone takes a nickname. Dominic’s happens to be “The Doctor”.

1706C – Janette Borland, also known as ‘The Archer’, was my partner in the SaddleBrooke Pool Players of the Brook mixed doubles tournament. We came in first place. I wasn’t because we are such good players but good lock and consistent play on our part. Janette is a very good player and I was glad to have here on my team.

1706C – I have named this painting ‘BINARY MAN’ representing the person that, although singled minded, they see all issues and situations as having two possible outcomes, or to say it another way “a logical thinker’. This painting is based on a photograph of my son using a special split image filter. You will note that the background looks the same on the left and right except there is a small skull of some kind that only appears on the left side.

1706D – This bazar self-portrait is an experiment in image distortion. I find the effect of distorted reality to be interesting and disturbing at the same time.

1706E – This painting is based on a photograph I took of an old deserted GMC truck in the town (?) of Desert Center California. It is located on Interstate 10 about 100 miles west of Arizona. I like the feeling of abandonment and loss this image presents. The rough texture of the brush work adds to the feeling of age and deterioration. Can you imagine the pride and joy the first owner of this vehicle felt when it was perched new a long time ago.

This painting is for my son and his family. It is of their three dogs: Rough, River and Wesley. They suppled the photograph to me.

March 2017 Critique

1705A – These office buildings are located in the heart of down town Tucson. They are scheduled to be torn down to make way for apartments. The complex was an interesting concept but they will soon be gone. I was disappointed in this painting because I was not able to get the vibrant colors I wanted, principally in the blues. I see that I have been painting a lot of blues for the past month.

1705B – This paining is form the hill behind the Topaz room in the HOA#2 Arts and Crafts Center in SaddleBrooke. In March I was in the Topaz room and saw the spring flower through the window. I know I had to paint this image that many others had walked right by.

1705C – I painted his from the parking lot of the El Conquistador hotel in Oro Valley. It was midday and the light was directly overhead. It was the worst possible lighting conditions. As you can see I abstracted the image to give it some interest. I hope I was successful.

1705D – I did this painting for Dominic Borland the vice president of the Pool Players in the Brook club here in SaddleBrooke. Dominic is one of the best shooters we have. The PPB is a HOA#1 organization that plays tournaments with other retirement communities in southern Arizona. I will be giving this painting to him when it has dried and been varnished.

April 2017 Critique

1701A – I have been teaching a class called HOW TO BE A SUNDAY PAINTER. In the class we have been studding the techniques I use to create a painting. As I tell the students “This is not an art class, this is a painting class”. The students have selected one of three photographs to work on. This is my interpretation of one of those images. The photograph was taken in the simi-ghost town of Desert Center half way between here and Los Angeles on interstate 10.

1704B – I made this painting to demonstrate to my class how to mix color using my broken color technique. I you look close you will notice that each color including the black is made of different shades of the same color.

1704C – This abstract painting was painted using leftover colors from my previous couple of works. I painted it as a horizontal image and it was not until I rotated it that I saw the distorted silhouette of a man in the lower center of the image.

1704D – I painted this image of the Keck Observatory in Hawaii for the U of A Planetary Department show sometime in the fall of 2017.

1704E -We went to the fourth street fair last fall where I took a number of photos of the Tucson Modern Street Car. In this painting I like the reflection of the store fronts on the side of the trolly.

1704F – This painting was taken from a photograph taken by me in downtown Tucson last year. I changed the color of the interior from the same blue as the exterior to a bright yellow gold to give more drama to the image.

March 2017 Critique

1703A – One of our good neighbors moved away last year and I wanted to do a painting about them. I found this image on the realtor’s listing notice and decided to paint it. It came out more monotone then I expected but sometimes I don’t have control over the finished image. It is what it is.

1703B – What the last painting (Palmer’s Porch) lacked in color this one makes up for. This painting is from a tourist shop on Fourth Street in Tucson. The have all the ceramic skulls laid out year round to sell to the tourists. They are for Dia de Muertios (Day of the Dead). This celebration is held from October thirty first to November second, thus the name of the painting ‘November Second’.

1703C – I am preparing for the for the next University of Arizona Solar and Planetary Department’s next exhibit in the fall of 2017. This painting represents the Shuttle one moment after ignition. I may do some addition glazing after the painting completely dries.

1703D – I will be submitting this paint of Leland D. Melvin who served on the Atlantis shuttle for two missions. The original image was a photo of the astronaut we on a plain background so I added the galaxy for interest.

February 2017 Critique

1702A – When I saw this image on the news I knew I had to paint it. I did the painting in a slightly distorted style emphasizing the graphics of the shapes. I feel there is a lot of movement in this painting. By placing the subject close to the left side I believe we get a feeling of resistance to the zephyr causing the man to struggle against the current of air.

1702B – This painting is based on a photograph my son gave me over the holidays. He took the photo somewhere in central California at sunset. I exaggerated the colors and light intensity to give the painting more drama. For the colors in this painting I used a lot of the leftover paint from my previous painting “Orange in the Wind”. I don’t like to waist paint if I don’t have to.

1702C – I was at a meeting of the Southern Arizona Art Guild and a person there said she owned a gallery and was looking for art work about birds. That inspired me to paint this portrait of a Bald Eagle. I like to contrast of the worm yellows against the cool grays. I decided to add a lot of detail around the eye for focus.

1702D – OK I can’t paint abstract. I had some paint left over from the last couple of paintings and I just purchased a new brand of paint and wanted to try it out.

1702E – “Fake News – News Fake” Kellyanne Conway – Enough Said

1702F – This painting is based on a photograph taken a couple of years ago of my grandson during the holiday celebrations. He is about to move to Montana and attend the university. We got him a worm hat for his winter adventures, he is form southern California. He will need it.

January 2017 Critique

1701A – This painting was taken from the rear of an apartment building in the ally. It is located just half a block off of the U of A Main Gate Plaza business district. I think it is the rear of some privet student housing. From the street in the front of the building you see has a very modern façade. From the alley it’s a different story. My favorite complementary colors are yellow and blue.

1701B – This home owner has hung an American flag off his front porch. Located just a few feet from the street you can’t miss it. I saw this during the 2016 election campaign so I don’t know if he has it up all the time or just during this political year. This painting would not work without the flag.

1701C – We went to the Tucson fourth street fair in December for the first time since moving here. On the street I found this street musician playing for tips. Hundreds of people were passing by without noticing his efforts. The more I paint the looser I find myself becoming. I find that I am less concerned with details and more interested in shapes.

1701D – We went to the Tubac winter art festival in December. While there we were serenaded by a mariachi band as we eat lunch on the restaurant’s patio. I captured this image during their performance at a table near us.

1701E – This painting is from the front of a house in a district near the U of A. I have mixed feeling about this painting. In one way I like it for the colors and nonconventional composition. But in another way I don’t feel that it works. It’s probably one of those painting I will get rid of in a couple of months.

1701F – This pot sits on a street just east of downtown Tucson. The old weathered fence, painted long ago, creates a stunning background for a clay pot with green succulent. I have cropped this image just above the line where the pot meets the earth. Next to it is a volunteer plant growing like a child that has left home.

1701G – I thought I would do something different. This is the result. Love it or hate it, it is different for me. I tried to use muted colors in the posterization process. I think the way some of the background colors bleed into the subject is interesting. I have seen this sort of thing done many times for effect using primary colors. In fact a few of the people in SaddleBrooke use this stile of painting in many of their works.

1701H – This is my second attempt at a posturized painting. With this one I wanted to use as few colors as possible, in this case Red, Blue and Green. It was not until I finished the work and was photographing it that it brought to mind the 2008 campaign poster for President Obama. In a way I find that experimenting with new ideas and techniques if liberating. Not every painting has to be a masterpiece.

December 2016 Critique

The following are my thoughts on the December 2016 paintings.

1612A – We moved to SaddleBrooke seven and a half years ago and we still have eight vacant (dirt) lots next to our home. We assumed there would be homes on them long before now. So much for asking the right questions when you move into a community. I photographed this sunrise last year and just got around to painting it. I like the composition with the large dark mass of the Agave in the foreground.

1612B – This painting of an “Agave Americana Variegata” was photographed in the university area down a back alley. I find many interesting images in the rear of homes. The green next to the blue wooden fence gives a nice balance to the composition. The gray wall coming in from the upper right hand corner supplies movement. I feel this is one of my better paintings this year.

1612C – Another image I discovered on the streets of Tucson. People are creating art everywhere in Tucson. However I do not think this painting came out as strong as I would like. Perhaps it’s the orange pot against the red wall. It lacks depth for some reason.

1612D – This painting will be given to the president of the SaddleBrooke Pool Players of the Brooke, Joe Giammarino, at our first annual dinner. Joe started this organization and has put a untold hours of labor into its success. We now have 36 members and participate in tournaments with other retirement communities from Green Valley to Phoenix. PS: He is a very good pool player.

1612E – This image from a neighborhood in down town Tucson was taken from the sidewalk. I was attracted by the color of the painted window frame that matched the color of the two containers with potted plants. The cropping for an image is more important than the subject itself. If you crop to tight the viewer does not have enough information to tell a story, to wide and the viewer has no reason to use their imagination.

1612F – Last month Darlene and I were down town and we happened to see a realtor’s open house sign. We decided to stop and peek in, we love to look at open houses, don‘t you? We stepped into the front patio and I had to run back to the car to get my camera. I was attracted by the diagonal shadow on the wall and the same shadow running across the chair cushion. There was light being reflected back into this photo set from a sliding glass door. I can find things to paint any where.

November 2016 Critique

The following are my thoughts on the November 2016 paintings.

1611A – I have titled this painting TECATE TUCSON. It was taken outside a bar in down town Tucson. The layout is simple; a window, a flower pot and a lantern. I there is a fourth element, the blank yellow wall. Somehow it all balances. At the bottom, on the sidewalk, there is a dark leading line that takes the eye into the painting. The beer sign in the window gives this painting it name. This painting is simple but elegant.

1611B – I photograph this image from the side walk in down town Tucson. It looks like a wonderful place to sit and watch the parade of life go by. The porch is only about five feet from the passersby.

1611C – While walking the back streets of Tucson I pasted a wooden door that opened onto the patio of one of the homes. From the street I could see this chair with the red pillow. It looked so inviting I was tempted to enter, but I didn’t. The green lantern gives a nice complimentary accent in the painting.

1611D – I came across this building with a deteriorating adobe wall attached. The owner of the structure had placed a corrugated sheet metal fence behind to dilapidated wall to close off the yard. The metal had started to rust through the zinc plating. I liked the concept of the double barrier but I did not feel the two elements would work on their own, so I included the window and door of the building. The front of the building was painting white so I added a little purple and lavender to the painting to give it some texture.

1611E – This is a painting of the Pima County office building. I like the way the mass of the dark palm tree contrasts with the might pastel colors of the building.

This image is taken from in front of the Tucson Art Museum down town. I like the contract of the round dome contrasting with the sharp shapes of the modern buildings surrounding the Pima County courthouse. I tried to place some of the color from the county building in the windows of the tall building in the background.

October 2016 Critique

The following are my thoughts on the October 2016 paintings.

1610A – I have been unable to paint for the past couple of weeks because of the time needed to finish the new Guild web site. The site is 95% complete so I am starting a new year long series of paintings I call “South of Phoenix”. This series will be dedicated to paintings of and about southern Arizona. This is my first painting in project. Last year I concentrated on a series I call “Man Made”.

1610B – This is a painting of the Espresso Art cafe down town Tucson. I like the way the worm light colors of the tables and chairs in the foreground play off the cool colors of the background.

1610C – This painting is about color, all about color. I enhanced the colors from the original image a little but not much.

1610D – Last week I took a day off and went to down town Tucson in an effort to find images for my series “South of Phoenix”. I hit a bonanza. In one morning I got at least a dozen photographs that I feel will make good subjects for paintings. This painting is based on one of those photos. It was taken just south of downtown. This is the old part of town where many of the homes are located right on the street. The residents have painted their exteriors with bright colors. This was taken early in the morning on the shady side of the street.

1610E – While photographing around south Tucson I wondered down an alley and found this image. The instant I saw the shadow and colors I knew I had to paint it. These are the true colors and shapes I saw that morning with very little editing. The diagonal shadow is from a rusted corrugated fence.

1016F – On an east Tucson street I came upon this yellow house with purple trim. The placement of the San Pedro cactus next to the window first caught you eye. I particularly like the forced perspective I see in this image. The yellow wall is made of a number if shades and tones that you can see in the original painting but unfortunately they don’t show up very well in the photograph.

1610G – I found this image south of down town Tucson on the street. What first caught my attention were the poor bedraggled plants on the window sill. They looked like they had not been watered in months, but they were still there on display for the entire world to see. The color of the wall did not reproduce accurately in this photograph. It is more of an aqua in the painting.

September 2016 Critique

The following are my thoughts on the September 2016 paintings.

1609A: This painting is based on a photograph I took on our resent road trip to Montana. These signs are things we see every day but we don’t notice their potential as graphic elements. I was interested in this image because of the complementary colors. Many stories can be imagined in these simple road signs.

1609B:This is a painting of a 1950’s Edsel grill. The Edsel was said to look like it was a Ford sucking a lemon. This model did not do well in the market and was produced for only a few years. I experimented on this image using a loose abstract technique with exaggerated mixed colors.

1609C: On our trip through Wyoming last month we stopped at the Little Big Horne national part. After returning home I got inspired to paint a couple of painting from old black and white photographs from that era. This one I did in cool colors (greens) with touches of color; red, blue and turquoise.

1609D: This painting of Sitting Bull is taken from a black and white photograph. Here I used worm colors (reds and yellows) to reproduce the original image. I also through in a few touches of medium gray for accents. The yellow background aura gives the subject a saintly effect. He was a medicine man to his people.

1609E: This painting is based on a photograph I took from a dirt road just outside of Bozeman Montana. I was attracted to this subject by the simple graphic and the layering of color from light to dark and back to light. The building is not the subject. The graphics are.

1609F: A friend of mine, Kim Campbell, sent me a photograph she had taken for the surface of a swimming pool. She must have thought it was interesting with the hidden face in the reflections. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to paint it. The image is very much like the painting I did in March of this year, 1603A “Jehovah”. I have titled this painting “YHWH on the WATER’. The only indication the viewer has that this is water in a swimming pool is the purple tiles on the bottom.

August 2016 Critique

The following are my thoughts on the August 2016 paintings.

1608A: I like the mood of this painting. Light appears to be coming from the right front giving the feeling of twilight. The blue bands at the top and bottom of the image frame the subject. The yellow sky or background helps to bring the subject forward.

1608B: This is an abstract of the front section of an old rusty vehicle. I used color in an undefined fashion that varies the hue of the surface from orange to light yellow. I find it interesting that the make of the car is recognizable by just a few lines of the logo badge in the upper left corner.

1608C: I was contacted by a gentleman here in SaddleBrooke who had seen a couple of my paintings and asked if I could paint from a photograph of a 1920’s custom automobile his grandfather had designed and manufactured. My first thought was not to accept the challenge, expecting old unreadable images. He e-mailed a number of photos of different cars and they were all wonderful. I knew I had to paint one of these cars. The one I selected that this burgundy beauty. I simplified the foreground and background keeping the bright green but reducing the detail. I am pleased with the completed result.

1608D: I told the gentleman that I intended to paint the burgundy auto but he wanted a painting of this convertible for sentimental reasons. So I decided to paint both vehicles. He also sent photographs of the logo used by his grandfather’s company so I incorporated it into this painting. The background of the photograph was very busy so I decided to make is a simple graduated color seamless context. This also allowed me to incorporate the logo in the painting. I selected the lavender tone for the background to complement the green and ochre colors of the car and mirror the colors of the first painting.

1608E: I have been out of town for a couple of weeks visiting art galleries and museums. I returned inspired and depressed; inspired because I could not water to get back to painting and depressed because I have seen quality work that I can never hope to emulate. This is a work that I started before my trip. I have titled it “Don’t Eat This” because I am a vegan and try not to eat meat.

1608F: This is the second painting in the miniseries EAT, DON’T EAT. It represents the healthy foods everyone needs. Even thou I was gone for two weeks this month I have been able to complete six paintings. I generally work about two to three days a week. I normally use two size panels; 16×20 and 20×32.

March 2016 Critique

The following are my thoughts on the April 2016 paintings.

1603A: I created this painting based on a NASA Hubble star cluster photograph. Within it I saw a face that I actuated by using selective color. I also added black outlines around the shapes to give them a cartoon look. I named this painting “JEHOVAH”, if there was a God in this universe, I invasion it to look like this, all powerful and all consuming.

1603B: This abstract was also inspired by a NASA image. The style is similar to 1603A except I surround warm colors with cool colors. The overall shape reminds me of the head of a dog in profile. I like the S shape of the design.

1603C: For a change of pace I made this painting of an old door knob and key. I used only two colors: green and orange. I like the effect of the heavy use of broken color.

1603D: I was commissioned to paint a star cloud painting by Fred and Mavis Donath for their entryway. The work was to be a large painting with bright colors. Before starting the final work I did this small (8×13 inch) study for their approval.

1603E: After approval I created this larger version (30×48 inch) oil painting on panel. I surrounded the cool colors with warm reds and oranges placing dark tones along the bottom and right side.

1604F: I did this painting as an experiment in color. I wanted to create a semi abstract cat using vivid colors. When I showed this painting to someone they remarked that it looked as if the cat had got its paw stuck in an electrical outlet. So I refer to this painting as “THE ELECTRIC CAT”.

June 2016 Critique

The following are my thoughts on the July 2016 paintings.

1606A: I wanted to try figure paintings this month. The dancer shown in this painting is from an internet photograph. I was interested in recreating the jewels on her costume as much as the young lady. Broken color worked well in the background giving me an interesting pattern of lavender to complement the colors in the subject.

1606B: This painting is of a 1957 Chevy is one of the most beautiful cars of the era. I owned one in my youth. My intent was to show as little of the subject as possible and still have it instantly recognizable to a viewer with any knowledge of this car. I use blue, red and yellow throughout this painting.

1606C: With the same idea in mind as the 1957 Chevy above I did a VW van from the same era. Again minimum information but with any knowledge of the vehicle you will recognize it at a glance. In this painting I have more of a comic book feeling to the color patterns.

1606D: I found an image of a junk yard and isolated a portion of the photograph down to just two cars. I am attempting to get the feeling of decay and mortality. Just to think that at one time these rusted relics were someone’s pride and joy. I feel broken color worked well in this painting but I could have separated the foreground from the background better, but overall I like the effect in this illustration.

1606E: With this nude I experimented with extreme colors; yellow, green, reds etc. I’m not sure it worked this time. I’ll live with it for a while and see if I like it in a month. If not it goes the way of all bad paintings. Not all paintings are fated to be a masterpiece.

1606F: This is a painting of my son from a photograph taken by my granddaughter a couple of weeks ago while we were visiting California. I call the painting “DUDE ANGEL” because it reminds me of the “The Big Lebowski” from the Coen Brother movie of the same name. I don’t often name my paintings but this one cried out for a title.

This is the process I used to paint “Dude Angel”
-1) Original photograph of my son taken on a cell phone. He was standing in front of wall mounted decorative carved wooden wings.
-2) Line drawing on pre-processed board using colored pencils. I find that colored pencils will not leave a graphite residue.
-3) Next I paint the darkest darks using Burnt Umber. This is the most important step in my process. The darks are the bones of the painting.
-4) I paint the half tone background using Burnt Umber and Liquin.
-5) I paint a tone study of subject using Burnt Umber and Liquin.
-6) Using white I outlined the subject so the final color will be brighter.
-7) I start painting the background and wings using broken color.
-8) In the last step I paint the subject using broken color.
This painting took three days to complete: step 1 one day, steps 2-6 one day and steps 7 & 8 one day.

1606G: This painting is based on an old publicity photo of Cher. The lime green background is carried through in the tint of the color on her outfit.

1606H: The other day I got a hankering to do some animal paintings. This is my first. I call it “HAPPY HOUND”. This is one of my favorite paintings. His expression is so loveable.

1606I: This is the second animal painting I did yesterday. I call it “INTENSE TIGER”.

606J: This is my third in a series of animal paintings. I call it “SNARKY CAT”. With my paintings the further away you stand the better they look.

May 2016 Critique

The following are my thoughts on the May 2016 paintings.

1605A: This is a portrait of my son’s best friend, Eric Elder. It was based on a photograph I had taken of Eric last year. I did the background in two shades of green to complement the red shirt and his complexion. This is a good likeness of Eric.

1605B: This figure painting of a woman meditating was based on a photograph from the internet. I deliberately cropped the image so you could not see her eyes or hands, leaving them to the viewer’s imagination. I used a lot of green in the skin tone to complement the red costume she is wearing. I also used a very strong black outline around the subject to present the feeling of unreality.

April 2016 Critique

The following are my thoughts on the April 2016 paintings.

1604A: I call this painting “FACES IN THE SKY”. I made this abstract based on a NASA star cluster photograph. I started with the shapes and painted from cool in the lower left hand corner to warm colors. When I had finished the initial painting I began to see faces in the patterns so I started adding eyes. If you look closely you will see over a dozen faces and animals.

1604B: This is a very large painting for me. It’s painted on a 30×48 panel. I tried to paint it with as little detail as possible, making the broken color areas as abstracts. I feel I could have done a better job on the grill. I like the abstract background.

1604C: I attempted to paint this abstract using a different more loose technique. This painting is based on another NASA photograph.

1604D: I call this painting “OLD STEW”. It was created from an internet photograph. I cropped it to show just enough information for the viewer to identify the make of the car. I feel this painting works very well, considering the feel of the subject.

July 2016 Critique

The following are my thoughts on the July 2016 paintings.

1607A: This abstract landscape is based on a photograph I took at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior Arizona. The rock and foreground were created using organic shapes however the sky is a solid color with some variation from bottom to top. This accentuates the almost cut out result of the subject. You may note a change in color temperature from warm to cool and back to warm in the foreground.

1607B: This painting, which I call “Car Wash”, is based on an image from the internet. It represents what has passed away and our deteriorating memories of the past. I don’t feel I have enough strength in the tonalities. Everything is in mid tone without enough contrast and thus there is little feeling of depth.

1607C: I am interested in paintings of pets. I am finding that the faces of cats and dogs can take on anthropomorphic characteristics. I like to get in as close as possible to the subject and try to tell a story with as little information as I can.
1607D: This is my second dog painting in this series. This animal has a cartoon look to the picture. I placed it in a sweater and this gives it even more of a human character. The bright green makes the face standout from the background. I find that one of the problems with dog paintings in the subject’s lack of color.

1607E: The third in this series of dogs is a closer image of the animal’s face. There is very little background to add color. I picked up some touches of blue in the shadows on the right side of the face. I like the color in the eyes. For the three paintings in this series I used the edge of a number 3 Creative Mark flat brush to get the texture in the fur rather than a smaller flat because it gave me more control over the lines.
1607F: I made this painting just for fun; I call it “Wet Painting” for obvious reasons. I got the idea from a TV show where the people on the program had a store bought WET PAINT poster hanging in their apartment. I liked the idea so I created my own with different graphics, tilted the lettering and brought it out to the edge. Them I added the hand print for humor. I tried a green hand but it lacked strength, so I changed to dark blue.

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The following are my thoughts on the July 2016 paintings.

1607A: This abstract landscape is based on a photograph I took at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior Arizona. The rock and foreground are created using organic shapes however the sky is almost a solid color with some color variation from bottom to top. This accentuates the almost cot out effect of the subject matter. You will note the change in color temperature from worm to cool and back to worm colors in the foreground.

1607B: This painting which I call “Car Wash” is based on an image from the internet. It represents the old that has passed away and our deteriorating memories of the past. I don’t feel that I have enough strength in the tonalities. Everything is in mid tone without enough contrast and thus there is little feeling of depth.

1607C: I have become interested in paintings of pets. I am finding that the faces of cats and dogs can take on anthropomorphic characteristics. I like to get in as close as possible to the subject and try to tell a story with as little information as I can.
1607D: This is my second dog painting. This animal almost has a cartoon look. I placed it in a sweater and this gives it even more of a human character. The bright green makes the face standout from the background, one of the problems with dog paintings in the subject’s lack of color.

1607E: The third in this series of dogs is a closer image of the animal’s face. There is very little background to add color. I picked up some touches of blue in the shadows on the right side of the face. I like the color in the eyes. For the three paintings in this series I used the edge of a number 3 Creative Mark flat brush to get the texture in the fur rather than a smaller flat because it gave me more control over the lines.1607F: I call this painting “Wet Painting” for obvious reasons. I got the idea from a TV show where the people in the program have a store bought WET PAINT poster hanging in their apartment. I liked the idea so I created my own with different graphics, tilted the lettering and brought it out to the edge. Them I added the hand print for hummer. I tried a green hand print but it lacked strength, so I changed it to dark blue.