Toccoa Fly

Here is a 22 x 15 watercolor done at Tony Couch's watercolor class in Norcross at the Kudzu Art Zone. This is my favorite place to paint and take pictures - up in Blue Ridge, GA at the Sandy Bottoms Canoe Put in. Take a left at the Shallowford Bridge off Aska Rd and a right after the bridge and a right again to the Put In. Public bathrooms, parking, - I paint oftentimes off the back of the car. pack my lunch and drinks and am good to go and every painting of the same area is different. crazy wonderful light and reflections change with the season and time of day. Blue Ridge Mountain Art Assoc in town beside the courthouse has two of my paintings. One in the permanent collection!

Smith Gilbert Glow

Small watercolor 10x7 of the path by the waterfall at the Smith Gilbert gardens. painted on a cool cloudy day with the sun in and out

Tour de France

small 8x8 quick watercolor sketch done at a table along the Champs Elysees watching the teams cycle by.

wow

This is a plein air painting I did on Woody's boat but wait it doesn't look like it really. I intensified the colors in Picasa on the computer - I believe my eyes were bleaching the colors. This will be the studio painting

George Hincapie and BMC

Here is why I am so slow in blogging this year. Planned a fabulous trip to Paris!! I took John to Paris and really sweetened the vacation with seats on the Champs Elysees on the last day of the Tour de France which we have been watching ever since Irene came home from Belize. I painted at the table in the Hospitality tent (bought through Discover Tours assoc. with the Tour de France) just about 7 feet from the bikers as they whizzed past going towards the Place de la Concorde. This pix taken as they went straight up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe.

Spring Mountain Garden

April Paint Out in Blue Ridge, Ga sponsored by the Blue Ridge Mountain Art Association. They have a wonderful facility for showing works and this paint out was associated with the Adventure Run consisting of running, kayaking and biking. Went right by my favorite spot to paint - Sandy Bottoms Put In across the Shallowford Bridge. Painted a large one of the river and trees, running high this psring after lots and lots of rain. No picture because it is hanging in the lobby of the BRMAA at the Old Courthouse in downtown Blue Ridge. This was painted on black gesso which always makes for a dramatic painting

backpacking

Alex, Irene and I were backpacking on the trail behind our house and we stopped to try out new tiny camping stove for hot choc and tea. also i brought my paints so we all painted a little bit. This is looking up from the picnic table. When Alex put Irene's back pack on and we fitted her, all of a sudden there was this ominous hiss. I am totally directed, take it off take it off, thinking that the gas container for the stove was leaking and she was gonna blow!! Tightening the back pack we had turned on the radio and it was static. good grief the imagination is dangerous to the old heart.

China Trip

I did like China so much. for so many people, it had wide open spaces. very busy and so so beautiful

Florence Italy

Do you remember this Amy and Dinesh when we were in Italy. I have a picture of Dad and Amy and in the background is the Bridge of Sighs. or is it the "old Bridge. very small watercolor painting but enough to bring back memories

Springtime at our house 135

This is springtime at our house with the bradford pear tree already bloomed and leafing. Now outdoors, there is snow on the ground and the helleborus is green and ready to bloom. Six weeks from now here around Atlanta trees will be blooming and winter is gone. Hooray

Belizean Backpackers

This full sheet watercolor 30x22 mixed media painting highlights the backpackers and clouds which are so familiar to those who have visited Belize. This is in San Pedro on Ambergris Caye, a tropical painting featuring the architecture of the bldgs and piers of the area.

Hilton Head Beach

I was giving Denise (my daughter-in-law) a lesson in watercolor from real life. We painted on the balcony looking out over the ocean. I describing shapes, perspective, locating the subject matter etc. When we got home I put it away and this fall took it out of the pile and used acrylic paints to describe the ocean better than the way I had painted in watercolor. I love the subject matter and especially the company I had painting with me.

Quick Moving Chicago Storm

An oil painting done on the porch looking west as the afternoon spring storms passed through. One of the first storm paintings to challenge my ability to quickly put down believeable impressions. This was done in 1995

Wealcome to Gay Paree

This is a sketch while a small tour group was inside Notre Dame and I waited outside of the lanterns that are all over Paris, the Haussman roofline suggested in the background, the trees but especially the people. Definitely a people watching city. enjoyed my time there, too short and want to go again.

Guilin China

quick impression of the shore of the river as we were on the boat at Guilin China, the stepped up rice paddies, the green river (it was raining) the bamboo and some rough fences, only thing missing is the buffalo

FINISH THE UPHOLSTERY

Still having problems with the table but don;t want to tackle that just yet. The giraffe coasters are coming along fine. FINISH THE UPHOLSTERY!!! I rather be riding with Debbie

New idea - Bad Idea?

Here is a more complete painting. trying to integrate the very autumn scene through the corner window

flash or no flash

This is on it way to completion- this picture was taken outside with morning light. It seems very cool, I took an identical picture inside the studio with a flash and it was way too glarey, my shorter lense which requires much less light is broken. so it is make do time. I have filled in all the white blanks and turn the table base around. At a demo at GWS annual meeting with Judy Morris she repeated again, if it looks confusing to you it will look incomprehensible to your viewers. So I took her advice and simplified the base. As a huge (to me) painting it is taking me longer than I thought and I am doing a lot more thinking because it is so large.

Georgia Watercolor Society National Show

How nice to be included in the National Show with John Salminen, Mel Stabin, Dean Mitchell, Cathy Ehrler (we went to France with Pat Fiorello to paint in Monet's Garden). thank you to John for coming and to Mark and Helen Maselli for also coming all the way to Dawsonville and then we went to Longhorns for great eats and conversation - thank you Helen and Mark.

Keeping on

The plant has been put in, beneath the table blocked in and the table a little more believable except for the stone top. It is much easier when you take a photo and see it on the computer to see the distortion. The left edge of the table is thicker than the right edge. The picture was taken a little later in the day and the flash came on so there is a bit of a glare that will not be there with the next pix.

Too Slow

Jason and Denise are expected and this is as far as I have gotten and things are getting busy for their visit. I am having trouble with the table so when Irene gets a chance she will check the perspective. Busy week with Jason and Denise. He will give the Sunday talk and we will have hospitality at the house and he will give the Memorial talk at the Marriott and we will stay after for some appetizers and drinks. Jason will be golfing and Denise and I will go to Jasper hopefully - Debbie Meffert has invited us to go riding with her and oh yes, the circuit overseer and his wife are in.

Almost Spring

this is not from this year but it from a lovely spring in N.C. the hostas are exploding beneath the pine straw here in GA and shooting I mean shooting up over night. spring and opening day for the Braves.

my first urban from long ago

This little ink and wash sketch was from pictures takens while I visited Jason and Denise in Bethel. It is such a happy urban sketch and so fun. I have gone from that one to other small ones while I travel but this was the first!!

AT HOME IN THE BEDROOM

This is definitely an at home picture. It is a painting in
progress of the scene outside the living room corner window looking towards the side yard. I am trying to capture the feeling in a BIG canvas 40 x 60 to fill a dark wall in the master bedroom. The chairs in the painting were in the living room now are in the master bedroom so the repeat will tie in the decor and brighten that wall. (so i hope) painted in oil I hope to have it finished by the time Jason and Denise arrive - March 26. so off I go to paint, please follow and comment.

GWS - Georgia Watercolor Society

Hey guys, I just heard from GWS that this picture acrylic over black gesso - LONDON SIGHTSEERS - has been accepted into the GWS show held at Bowen Center for the Arts Dawsonville, GA. Opening reception April l7, 2010. I'll be there. Want to come, just show up. It is always a very good show. Judy Morris was the jurist, I can't wait.

at home atc

this is a small ATC. this is such a cold winter, the fireplace has been going almost every day. this is truly an at home painting