It Cannot Be July!

North Carolina Summer Day . 24 x 24 . o/c

I've been awash in painting and a sprinkling of company here and there.  It's truly summer now with the temperatures climbing into the high 90's and the days passing quicker than I'd like.  Deck time with a glass of wine after a long painting day is not even possible, civilized or comfortable until close to 8PM.  I've completed three new landscapes. . .all inspired by the Blue Ridge.  I'm using a new technique with the palette knife derived from some of my portraiture backgrounds and I'm loving the result.  Layers of color, texture and interest contrasted with the smoothness of sky and clouds.  Somehow it's resonating with me and is a nice change from the detail work of portraiture. 

Blue Ridge in May #3 . 18 x 18 . o/c

And here's the painting that started this new madness. . .inspired from the day I spent with my friend Anne.  The view from her house is beautiful. . .looking somewhat north towards Virginia.  A late afternoon storm was building, but naturally I took the artist's liberty of embellishing it a bit!  More "drama" or "oomph" as my Memphis-born friend Bonnie would say.  Frankly, that may have been the last rain in the area!  Everything is dry, dry, dry at the moment in Winston Salem.  I've been putting water out for the animals, and I have a squirrel who comes and drinks every day.  He/she takes long cool drinks; I like to pretend it's the same one and we have a bond now, but how in the world can you tell these Eastern squirrels apart?  It has me wondering though, where in the world did "my" squirrels find their water before I moved here?!  Oh, and yes I put out peanuts on the deck rail. . .they disappear almost instantly.  It's the small amusements in life that give such pleasure, don't you think?

North Carolina Afternoon . 20 x 20 . o/c

I've been using the square format on these landscapes. . .but I have a large horizontal in progress that screams color.  It's in the drying mode before more layers can be added, so meanwhile I've gone back to work on portraiture.  I'm included in American Art Collector's portrait directory this year and I'm continuing to challenge myself so that my personal modern realist style shines through.  And in my quest to learn, I'm continuing with another "Master" copy. . .the latest is a detail from William Bouguereau's (1825-1905) The Little Marauder, 1900.  I'm painting a small 12 x 12 of just her face, and after studying it so intimately to even attempt to paint something worthy is tremendously intimidating!  Here's Bouguereau's detail, and soon I will post my rendition.  To find more of Bouguereau's work, or to browse other "Master" realists, you can go to http://www.artrenewal.com/