ALMOST FINISHED

" The Adoration of the Magi"

This painting is almost finished. There are only a couple of things that are bothering me. The post on the right is too light in value and there is a strange straight. line coming down off the tail of the dog on the right.

USING PHOTOGRAPHS TO HELP CRITIQUE MY WORK

Recently I have found that taking photos of my work while it is in progress helps me critique my work and make corrections. I think seeing the image with out the distractions of the paint covered surfaces is very beneficial. It is like putting a mat around your work to check it but you don't have to stand there with the mat in your hand. This nativity painting is almost finished. But I see things I don't like. The left side is wrong, that fence post thing will probably go away and that house shape. The shepherd boy to the left has problems. The pattern on the collar just looks messy and I either need to darken his face or lighten the figure (one of the Magi) behind him. The lights in the houses are all the same color, not good, and the yellow brick road is too much. So those are my next steps. Too bad, because I was hoping to be finished with this painting today. I've been singing Steve Earle's "Nothing but a child" for days now. And while it is my favorite Christmas song, I'm ready to move on.

YESTERDAY'S GLAZE FIRE

Here are some of the interesting pieces from yesterday's glaze fire. A pineapple/papaya chip and dip, a colander, and some oval shaped bowls, (just the right size for veggies).

chip and dip $95

colander $74

oval veggie bowls $48

What did we do before computers?

Well, I might not like the final image so much, but I do like the title.

I'm in the gallery all day today, 10 am to 10 pm and it is very quiet so I am fooling around on the paint program on the computer. I like it, you can do weird and experimental stuff and not worry about wasting your expensive cadmium red. What I do like about this image is that the shirt is off set to one side, not in the middle like my shirt painting, and that it is very loose. Now I am thinking it might be fun to have one of those tricked out computer painting programs.

Well, this does give me something to do while I'm in 7 artists key west for the day. I'm also going to check out Twitter, at the moment I don't tweet, but maybe I should.

PAINTING CLASS ON THURSDAY

On Thursdays I paint in a class instructed by Jim Salem not very far from my house. Our painting spot looks out over the Gulf of Mexico and we frequently paint the water and sky. As many times as I have seen Jim demonstrate clouds you would think that I would "get it", but not quite yet, but they are getting better. This painting is 12 x 12 inches.

Here is one of the views from our painting spot.

ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA

"Antony and Cleopatra" or "Undying Love"?

I like the title "Undying Love", but with that title, I doubt anyone will know that this is a painting about Antony and Cleopatra. Here is my story line. Oops, I think the trendy thing to say these days is, the back story. The columns represent Egypt and Rome and you cannot separate the lovers from their origins. They are "of one heart" and in that heart is the temple of love (corny, but I like the image) that is burning inside. The ghost of Caesar, seen on Antony's shield is always with them. And of course, it is that ghost in the guise of Rome, that destroys them.

This painting is 11"x 14" and is a combined medium on canvas. There are collage elements in it, along with stamping and painting. This isn't going into the gallery until I get more pieces in this series. I now have four, but I would like about eight.

BLUE PELICAN

This feathered friend is red-white & blue in honor of our upcoming Labor Day holiday. I had two tall canvases staring at me this weekend. I intended to paint bright abstract palm trees on them, but I wasn't in the mood for palms and a pelican was a perfect fit. I still have one canvas left for a palm if I want.

"Blue Pelican" 22" x 12" $350
7 Artists Key West
604 Duval St. KW FL
305 293-0411