"Breakfast Interruption"

"Breakfast Interruption" 12x12 oil

The first of my new works for the Southeastern Wildlife Expo in 2016!

"Grizzled Veteran"

"Grizzled Veteran" 30x15 oil

Reserved for the 2016 Southeastern Wildife Exposition in Charleston, SC.

"Early Encounter"

"Early Encounter" 20x24 oil

With less than 3 weeks left before the SEWE show in Charleston, SC, I'm spending some long hours in the studio putting together a body of work. Soon after SEWE, I'll be at the NatureWorks show in Tulsa. Lots to do before then!
Stay tuned...

"Majesty"

"Majesty" 6x6 oil

Painting these tiny western landscapes has been pure joy! It's amazing how much can be learned by painting small quick studies. This one is part of a series designated for the 2015 SEWE show in Charleston, SC. It will be interesting to see the public reaction to my new oil paintings. This will be my first show displaying mostly oils.

"New Day"

"New Day" 6x8 acrylic

This one (along with 20 others!) is headed to Charleston, SC for the Southeastern Wildlife Expo.

 

Painting Over Photos... Really?!

Last weekend I had my paintings on display in Charleston, SC for the annual Southeastern Wildlife Expo. I always look forward to events like this. Aside from talking shop with the other artists, thousands of people pass through the doors, so it's a great time to meet and greet the public... and just maybe sell a few paintings.

As people stroll by throughout the course of the show, the comments... some meant for me to hear and some not...can be amusing, puzzling, or downright maddening. Yet there is one comment that I've heard several times over the past couple of years that I'm not sure what to do with. It usually goes something like You're just painting overtop of photos, right?

Seriously?!

I'm not aware of anyone really doing that, though I'm sure it's probably happening somewhere. That comment/accusation always catches me a little off guard and I'm never quite sure what the hell I should say. The thought that immediately comes to mind is to flash a glare that says Move along before I bust you in the mouth! (my sister calls it my "stink eye"). However satisfying it might be to send some uninformed little pest scurrying down the isle, in situations like this it's rarely productive (not to mention I'm getting too old to really pull it off and/or back it up). In public, I try to keep the stink eye under wraps.

Of course if I protest too vehemently (perhaps as I'm doing now), I look guilty as sin. If I say nothing, folks automatically think they're correct. I guess the answer is somewhere in between. If people are really interested, I usually try to explain a little about my process, though I'm never quite sure if the message gets through.

Of course I use reference photos. That's no secret. It would be impossible for me to achieve any reasonable amount of believable accuracy in my work without them. In reality, most of my paintings have elements from several photos pieced together to create an interesting composition. Most of the time, it takes a fair amount of planning and drawing to correct "flaws" in those photos that can be distracting to the overall motif. That's pretty basic for most representational painters. Some just do it better than others.

I've recently wondered if I should keep a half-finished painting on hand at these shows just to smack down the notion that my art is nothing more than paint layered on a photo poster I had made at Wal-Mart. How devastating would it be to my career if people actually started to believe that's what happens in my studio?! Sometimes I feel like I'm pounding my head against the wall.

Reworking the Blue Jay

Sometimes I really misjudge a painting as it comes off the easel. I was really happy with this little 5x7 blue jay study last year (image on the left), but it never got a second look at either of the shows it went to... and that's unusual for these mini bird studies. So I put it back on the easel for a little makeover last week. I really liked the bigger soft brush work in the background of the earlier version and I'm kind of sorry I lost that, but the added warmth if the updated piece is pretty appealing. I'm not really sure if I made it better, but it's certainly different. We'll see if it gets any more attention at SEWE later this week!

"Little Red"

"Little Red" 7x5 acrylic

This is the final painting for the SEWE show in Charleston, SC. I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends and a bit warmer weather.

"Foxy"

"Foxy" 5x7 acrylic

Starting the push toward SEWE... less than 2 months to go!

SEWE 2012 Wrap-Up

Another Southeastern Wildlife Expo has come and gone and I feel like things are looking up. It’s funny how the collective attitude of the show-goers changes from year to year. There was a happy energy throughout the venue that built to a crescendo Friday evening during the Quick Draw auction. Congratulations to my good friend, Lyn StClair for executing such a masterful painting in the Quick Draw event. It whipped the auction crowd into a frenzy and achieved an appropriately high selling price. This year’s featured painter, Dustin Van Wechel set the show “on fire” selling 25 of his 29 paintings… each done with Dustin’s flare for drama and remarkable style. It was exciting to see him do so well. Sculptor, Don Rambadt continued to wow the guests with his new work. He told me he had fun creating the pieces for this show and it was apparent in each of them. As for yours truly, it was my best show to date. A total of 9 originals found new homes and I couldn’t be happier. I felt my body of work was my best yet and a few of my favorites struck a chord with collectors as well. The entire Charleston experience… the food, the music, and the friendly people… keeps me looking forward to my next visit J

I forgot to mention... the painting "Graceful Exit" featured in the previous post was the first to go at the VIP Preview Thursday afternoon! After reworking the background of that small piece, it became quite popular and I probably could've sold it to more than one collector. Who knew?

2011 Year in Review

Looking back on another year, the chair in front of my easel is showing a lot of wear. It’s been a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs… from having the Woodson Museum add my Birds In Art painting “Shimmer” to their permanent collection, to a crippling mid-summer sales slump that had me looking for a “real” job (I know! It was really that bad). Not only was 2011 my most prolific year painting, it also ended as my best year for sales… which isn’t saying much, but it’s been a slow steady improvement from one year to the next… and that’s always encouraging.

• The plein air workshop I attended in September taught by Jim Coe has been a springboard for my art. My color choices are more adventurous. I’m getting more comfortable working with oils. And of course, I’m loving painting outdoors! I’ll be doing more of that in 2012.



• The fly fishing bug of my youth has bitten me once again. I’m finding the hours I spend on trout streams even more enjoyable than I did when I was a youngster. It’s also led me to some interesting and beautiful places I would have otherwise passed by.



• Both the Southeastern Wildlife Expo and the Waterfowl Festival were sparkling successes for me. These shows give this old hermit a chance to make new friends, catch up with the old ones, and sell a painting or two. I really look forward to those events and hope to be a fixture there for the foreseeable future.



• Many thanks to Phillepe at the Lord Nelson’s Gallery in Gettysburg for taking a chance on me. I hope this is the beginning of a long and prosperous partnership.



• There were occasions when I found myself in out-of-the-way places with the most remarkable people. An extended road trip with master carver Larry Barth is high on that list. I also spent a morning waist-deep in a Maryland swamp, duck hunting with sculptors Paul Rhymer and Walter Matia. Nice J



• And lastly, I’d like to thank all the folks that take a moment out of their day to occasionally read this blog. The popularity has been humbling. Hats off to you.

So as the book closes on yet another year, I file it away for happy reflection. At the same time, I scan an especially ambitious list of goals for 2012. It looks like the coming year will be a wild one! Stay tuned…

SEWE 2010... the aftermath

Now that the 12-hour drive from Charleston is over and I've had the better part of a day to get caught up on some thing neglected while I was away, there's a little time to reflect on the experience of my first major art show. Of course, getting to the show in the first place was a task in itself. The first 300 miles of the trip were spent in 4-wheel drive at 35mph. It was snowing so hard in West Virginia there were times when I just had to guess where the road was and 50mph gusts made my truck hop sideways... but I made it in one piece.

By the last day of the show, my back and feet were sore from standing so much and my voice was almost gone. I met so many new people that my head is still spinning. I've learned a lot from this experience and I'm already kicking around ideas for next year.

It snowed in South Carolina while I was there and everyone blamed it on me! Still, some days had high temperatures in the 50s and after the weather we've been having in PA... that was just fine.

Now... if only I could gather enough ambition to finish unloading the truck...