Study In The Style of David Leffel

I did this 8x10 study today having been inspired by watching a new video by David Leffel posted on Brightlightfineart.com.  I set up a similar arrangement to the one in the demo, then played the video while painting my own set up.  It was kind of like having him watch over my shoulder guiding and inspiring me but without the nervousness really having him there would induce.  I listened as I painted and glanced over at the video from time to time.  I approached the painting process in the way he described and am pretty pleased with the way this turned out.  Even though ultimately my own painting style has a different feel and look, I love David's work, and the paint quality he achieves.  I think this was a helpful learning process, and if nothing more, I spent a fun afternoon logging some brush mileage.  

On View in Pinehurst, NC

                                          "Good Fortune" 8x8

                                           "Perfect Pear" 8x8

                               
These paintings will be included in the show "An Evening in France" at Hollyhocks Gallery, 905 Linden Road, in Pinehurst, NC  September 5, 2014 and continuing throughout the month.

Gallery owner, Jane Casnelli, graciously invited me to exhibit them at her gallery having seen them at the Moore County Fine Arts Festival in Southern Pines, where they were exhibited during the month of August.

Brandy and Old Books

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I did this painting as a study for a larger piece I am doing featuring this brandy snifter and wanted a little practice before hand.  The large one is underway, and I will share it with you when it is finished.

This will be the last painting I place for auction on Daily Paintworks.  I have decided to focus on my gallery work, and feel that the time required to paint the 6x6" paintings on a regular basis is taking too much of my time and energy.  I plan to continue to maintain a presence on the site for the foreseeable future, and also to continue to blog as and when I have something to share. I will do small pieces from time to time, which I may post, but they will mostly be studies to help in my larger work. 

With the Christmas season upon us, I am offering the paintings I have previously posted for auction, at a sale price of $75 for 6x6"s, and $100 for 6x8"s from now through the end of the year.  The price includes shipping within the continental US. If you would like to make a purchase, visit my DPWGallery by clicking on the Daily Paintworks icon to the right, click on the painting of your choice, then simply click  the Buy Now button next to the painting.

Below are a three of my favorites

Click to Buy Now

Click to Buy Now

Click to Buy Now

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Boca Grande Workshop Report

Last week I taught a three day still life workshop at the Boca Grande Art Alliance in Boca Grande, FL.  Above is my very brief and very unfinished demo of one of our still life set ups.

Five students participated in the class, most of whom had never painted from life before.  I introduced them to a lot of information, but they were eager to learn and worked very diligently at their easels, as the following pictures show. They all said they had a great time.  I know I did, and I am very proud of the work they did.

Thanks to the wonderful staff at the Art Alliance for inviting me to give a class, and for making all the arrangements.  Boca Grande is a lovely small island off the coast of Port Charlotte and Venice, on Florida's beautiful west coast.  What a beautiful place to spend three days!

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Outside the Box

                                           SOLD

I'm happy that cooler weather is here (even in Florida), and celebrated by painting these colorful gourds.

I would like to extend a very big thank you to Neil Carroll of London, England, for his wonderful blog post featuring my painting, "Contemplating Blue and Orange".  Neil is a fellow member of the DPW  artist community, who though he claims to be "new" to oil painting, is a very talented.  His lovely still life paintings caught my attention right away when I first encountered them on the DPW site, and I am happy to share one of my favorites with you.here.  His chiaroscuro paintings are little gems.

                                    Neil Carroll, "Small Pot"  6"x8"

You can see more of Neil's work at neilcarroll.com , and on his  DPW gallery.  

One of the things I treasure about being an artist is the privilege of being part of a wonderful community of people who are among the most supportive and generous I have ever encountered; willing to share their knowledge and experience to help in any way.  Neil's blog post is just one of the many examples of this generosity.

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A Couple of Grannies

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Once again, apologies for the gap between posts.  I am going to make an effort to resume posting on a more regular basis now that things have settled down for me.

I haven't had much time to paint  small paintings in the past few weeks, but did manage to do this one.  The granny glasses belong to one of my students, who has kindly been loaning me items for still life props. I liked the idea of the Granny Smith apple and the glasses together, but the glasses were definitely a challenge to paint - symmetrical circles with thin rims!

I would like to share with you a wonderful new development in my art career.  This past week my work was accepted for representation by Anderson Fine Art Gallery in St. Simon's Island, GA. The gallery represents a variety of nationally known artists, and I am thrilled and honored to be among them.

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Pewter Pitcher with Grapes

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My apologies for the month long blog hiatus.  Sadly, my stepmother passed away suddenly and unexpectedly August 30.  In the ensuing month, I have been busy caring for my father who is 95 and, of course heartbroken at the loss of his dear wife.  Now that things have settled down a bit, I can return to the blog, though it may not be with the same twice weekly regularity for a while yet.

I have not had time to do any small paintings this past month, this is one I did earlier in the summer of a friend's small pewter pitcher.  I really enjoy painting metal, and in this simple set up I just tried to focus on bringing out the range of  colors in the pewter.

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