" Grandma's Girl"
Nothing is as safe as being wrapped up in Grandma's apron when you 're feeling a little shy. This represents one of my first moves toward larger images on Larger canvases. previously many of my subjects heads were not much larger then my thumb.
"Andrea and Juan"
Study in Light and shadow with father and baby girl. another of the early attempts to move from small images to larger more life size renderings. Detail is a little vague
Still lifes are among some of the world's best paintings. Glass always has facinated me too, so I mixed the two in this, my first painting of glass. .. This much was done in one setting and really needs some attention but the affect was enjoyable and happened rather quickly so I won't go further with it. I often paint when working with my students to be on hand when they have questions or difficulties and these simple paintings come about in that process.
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" Green Glass still life"
Oil on Canvas
If you grow up in Seneca County in Ohio you see corn growing almost every where you go outside of town. Nothing else is like the taste of fresh picked corn whether it be sweet corn or just early picked field corn. This Oil painting is of corn grown right in my own garden behind my house. This is not my only facination with corn though. This is one of 3 corn paintings and I also had a 3 dimensional wood piece done by an artist friend who since has past away. That piece he did gets so many comments and it inspired this painting in his memory.
"Corn in the Garden"
Oil on canvas
1998 ..............................................................................................................................................................
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This painting is a favorite with many people. Grandmothers and babies make great subject mater but often the unnoticed things in a work of art tell a greater story then what is obvious. Grandma is pinching the baby in order to create an opportunity to "bond" with the baby and thus soothe the distress caused by the pinching. This is a little known practice you won't get to see in every day life.
"Grandmother's Touch"
Oil on canvas
1995
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This painting is one of the few florals I have ever done. Now part of a private collection the work has a calmness that is not captured in the photo here. A lot of shine from the varnish coat is also not allowing the depth to show through in this photo presentation of the work.
"Water Lillies"
24 x 36
privtae collection
(Click picture to enlarge)
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Oil on Canvas
22 x 30
(click picture to enlarge)
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Corn is a subject that just won't let you down. The close up view is one of my favorite compositions and there is a certain thrill to seeing things larger then life. Even scaled to size that's a pretty big ant if you think about it. Dali had a thing with ants and this is my one and only. It was fun to paint although I don't usually think of my paintings as being " Fun"
Imagine this in a nice ornate frame. I like to paint the unexpected as you most likely can see. It's even better when it is framed as though it were worth a mint ! At least I am not calling a toilet seat " art'
"Organic Corn"
16 x 20
Oil on Canvas
2007
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The Bottom of this painting is missing in case you hadn't noticed. Years later I repainted a new copy that in cluded the entire painting This is " the meditative Rose" by Salvador Dali. The entire painting ( done by me) can be seen in the lower portion of the right hand col.
The Rose has been one of my Iconic images for many years. Once I painted a rose in airbrush on a Motor cycle gas tank with an air brush, Painted a vase full of them for my mother, Hammered out a rose in Silver pedal by pedal and cast 2 of them in Bronze. There is nothing like a rose
The ros
Repainted from
Salvador Dali's
"Meditative Rose"
Oil on Canvas
24 x 30
private collection
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Why is this painting about scissors? Well it was done for my mother who has been in a nursing home for about 9 years now. I remember those orange scissors as far back as I could walk. Mom cut everything from flowers to chickens with those kitchen shears so rather then paint chicken parts I decided to paint the flowers instead. Nobody ever loved flowers more then mom. I wish I had done a better job but that's the way it is some times.
"Scissors"
Oil on Canvas
22 x 30
( click on Photo to enlarge)
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Chickens were always around when I grew up. My mother grew up on an estate like the Waltons with everything at hand including a chicken coop, so we not only ate the fresh eggs we also had them (the chickens, occassionally) for Sunday dinner. Couldn't help but think about the nervous nature of those birds and what may have gone through their minds. I know how I felt at the thought of all the feather plucking. Don't even ask me about my sisters ! They still get sick at the thought of plucking chicken feathers.
"Trepidation of Three Fowl"
2003
Oil on canvas
( click image to enlarge)
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Ok so stop calling me to order lunch ! Yes I did at one time paint lunch special signs for a truck stop but that's not the real reason I did these cheeseburger paintings. There are 4 all together but only 2 here. Do you have any idea how many burgers Americans eat? People are even filing laws suites because burgers made then fat.
" Cheeseburger"
Ok so stop calling me to order lunch ! Yes I did at one time paint lunch special signs for a truck stop but that's not the real reason I did these cheeseburger paintings. There are 4 all together but only 2 here. Do you have any idea how many burgers Americans eat? People are even filing laws suites because burgers made then fat.
" Cheeseburger"
30 x 40
2004
( click on Photo to enlarge)
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Your thinking this burger is from a chain originating in Ohio? ....something about a red headed girl with pigtails...oh come on you're getting to be too much of a fast food expert. But where would you hang a cheeseburger painting? By the way I ate there just the other day but no chili.
" Double Burger"
Oil on Canvas
16 x 20
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If your thinking this is me looking like a sheep herder you are not all wrong. The real point of this work was to see if I could get the woven fabric to look some what like it was supposed to look. Some times the focus is on certain parts of the rendering and other areas do not get the attention they should have. Honestly I have a reason for almost every Painting I do and it's usually to try some thing new. One of these days I plan to get serious about an entire painting.
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"Textile study"
Oil on Canvas
28 x 30
2004 .........
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.........................For some reason my daughter always loved the red eyed tree frog. She had it pasted everywhere, that is till I painted this for her and she told me she had out grown her love for frogs of any sort. Seems the frogs she has been kissing lately have not turned in to her prince yet.
" Red Eyed tree Frog"
Oil on Canvas
20 x 20
( Click on Photo to enlarge) .
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My kids had to have their share of pets and exotic creatures. My son was keeper of this fine speciman along with his spiders and other strange things. Thank heavens he had a regular dog too, although I don't believe I had ever painted a dog untill just recently.
"Lizard"
Oil on Canvas
1992
16 X 20
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.......................... Well if you're thinking what most people think you are probably seeing this wrong. Cultures have different ways of dealing with and honoring the dead in their families. The " Ancester Hut " represents the storage of the cleaned bones of the deceased, but the most common thing I hear is " my grandson would like that ". Non the less it is one I personally appreciate from a cultural standpoint . Bones are amazing. Henry Moore found them to be the subject of his sculpture many times.
"Ancestor Hut"
Oil on Canvas
20 x 28
2000 ( Click photo to enlarge) .............
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It's one of my newer paintings and fast becoming among my favorites out of the many I have reproductions I have done. It's been said that I am 3 different painters but I might admit that there are more then just the three. This is to be the first of the Giclee prints that will be available as it is smaller then most that I paint and there fore more economical. This is available now through the frame shop on Miami St. In Tiffin, and they do a great job with everything they frame.
2008
( Click Photo to enlarge) .....
..................................Palettes: Old and New
Hand-held palettes have been used since the 15th century, though since then they have evolved in both shape and composition. Originally, they were rather small, square or paddle-shaped objects with a thumbhole. By the 19th century, large oval or kidney-shaped palettes were fashionable. Made of wood, they were soaked in linseed oil and allowed to dry hard before use, to prevent oil from the paint being absorbed into the wood. Nowadays, wood palettes are sealed with polyurethane varnishes or lacquer.
When large wooden palettes were most popular, people often painted on canvases prepared with a red or brown ground. A mahogany or mahogany-stained palette showed how colors would look against this color ground. Most artists prefer a white palette when painting against a white ground.
Palettes are available in different shapes and sizes and are made from a wide range of materials including: wood, Plexiglas, acrylic, plastic, glass, aluminum and disposable paper. There are also paint mixing trays and cups for watercolors. Choosing a palette that’s best for you is a matter of personal preference. Considerations include the paints you use and how large a mixing area you need. Consider also whether or not you want to hold your palette while you work, as in the case of the classic kidney shaped palette with a thumbhole. Some artists prefer to keep their hands free and work with a flat lying palette stationed at the proper height on a table. One advantage of a hand-held palette is it allows you to move about the studio and view your artwork from different angles while continuing to mix paint. An enameled butcher’s tray also makes a good palette as it has a hard smooth surface that is easily cleaned.
Paints on Palettes
Oil and acrylic paint can be used successfully on any palette surface. If covered with plastic wrap, oil paints can keep for a few days. When out of their tubes, acrylic paints have a relatively short life span. They can be covered in wrap as well, and sprayed with a water bottle for a not-so-long, but longer life. Sta-Wet palettes are an alternative type palette that help acrylic (or other paints) last longer. This palette includes the use of a sponge-like material. When wet and covered by a palette film, where the paints are placed, can substantially increase the longevity of your paints. You can make a cheaper version of a Sta-Wet palette with wax paper. Traditionally, watercolors work best on palettes that have slanted wells, shallow dishes and/or mixing areas. Some watercolor artists prefer a palette with one large mixing area surrounded by little compartments. Others prefer to have several small wells for each pure color, and adjacent to each well, a larger one for mixing a fluid version of that color.
Color Arrangement
Many artists find it beneficial to arrange their colors consistently in a certain order. This is advised for anyone, especially beginners, because consistent color layout is the first step in familiarizing yourself with the use and blending of colors. Arrangements from light to dark can help form an understanding of where colors fall in context to each other, possibly tackling future color issues during the painting. Also, if you have more than one hue of the same color it is best to arrange them next to each other by a warm/cool breakdown and continue that layout with other colors.
Cleaning Your Palette
Another large factor in determining which type of palette you buy depends on its ease of cleaning. The joy of disposable palettes is obvious. The soiled paper can be thrown away while a fresh palette awaits underneath. Although many artists prefer it, it is not always necessary to have a spanking clean surface each time you paint. In fact, some oil painters keep their pigments on the palette and clean only the middle mixing area, adding pigment from the tube onto the palette only when necessary and not each time one paints. Oil paint can be cleaned off the palette with turpentine or scraped off with a blade. The same holds true for acrylics and watercolors, although water should be used instead of turpentine. It is much easier to clean palettes when the paint is wet.
