Drawing Today

I didn't have time to start another painting before going back to work, so I decided to draw.  I love, love, love to draw, but don't spend enough time sketching.  It was too hot to go outside to draw (98º) so I pulled out some photos from some of my travels. This is Burano, Italy, an island very near Venice.  There are many lace makers on the island.  This market had lace items in all of the stores - table linens, dresses, and umbrellas. It is a beautiful place with many colorful buildings. I intended to add watercolor to this, but I liked the ink just like it is.  I'll paint the next one.

Burano

5.5" x 10" 

Ink on CP Watercolor Paper

Alamo Street

I have been driving often through the neighborhood where I grew up.  I don't know why, but I love to take pictures there of the boxy little houses that are sagging a little and are pretty simple and neat. Many of the formerly white (translate boring) houses are now all colors of the rainbow!  And that makes them more fun to paint.  I loved this photo because it showed the curve of the street.  I had a couple of close friends who lived on this street.

Alamo Street

6" x 18" 

Oil on Cradled Board

$150

Harley

It has been a very long time since I have posted a painting.  I have been working on this one for several months.  I haven't had a lot of time to paint.  This one took much longer than I anticipated.  I was working from a photo that a friend gave me of her husband's motorcycle.  I have posted the photo below.  You can see the photo was taken on a cloudy fall day.  I was going to just copy the photo, but decided it was not very exciting.  The owner of the Harley ventures up to Sturgis, SD for the big bike rally every few years.  I did some research online and found some pics of the area around Sturgis, so I placed the bike in that landscape. However,  that decision brought lots of problems - lighting and shadows.  I actually had to go to the Harley store and take some photos in the late afternoon.  Then I couldn't figure out the handlebar that was coming toward the viewer. To solve that problem I ordered a toy Harley from Amazon that was identical to the one in the original photo. I finally got it all worked out.  I am not completely thrilled with the cast shadow, but I repainted it three times, so I'm sticking to this one.

The photo

Jerry's Bike
9" x 12"
Oil on panel

Another Long Story

I love these wide format canvases.  And I love street scenes.  These streets are just like the ones I played on as a child.
  It feels so comfortable and so full of memories.

University Neighborhood
Oil on 6" X 18"  cradled canvas
$150

The Long and Short of it

I bought 2 of these wide format deep cradled canvases for some reason. I like the size and shape, however the cradle is 2" deep.  The canvas feels strange because it is so deep and it is very heavy.  It will sit securely on a shelf or a mantle without a frame.  I will paint the sides dark, either black or dark brown stain.
I painted this from a photo I took last summer in the University of Memphis area.  It is a neighborhood very much like the one where I grew up, not very far away. It will soon have a companion piece painted from a photo taken in the same area.

"Old East Memphis"
Oil on cradled canvas panel
6" x 18"
$150

Slice of Light

I painted this in Leiper's Fork, Tn last fall while attending the Tim Horn workshop (timhornart.com).  We painted outside all week. This window caught my eye between two buildings right on the main street through town.  It needed a little work back in the studio because the light was changing so quickly.

"Slice"
6" x 8"
Oil on Panel
$60