"Ariel" 18x36 oil on panel

My most recent painting from life at the National Academy.  

Previous Best Paintings

 After Repin 

 The Commuter

 Peace, Jesse

  Private Moment 

 With Hat in Hand

"Joey" 16x20 oil on panel

First painting from life/model in 6 months.  It felt great to get back to classes at the Academy and studying with Sharon.  Not great, but an OK effort for the first one back.

"Sailor's Delight" 16x20 oil on panel

"Red sky at night, sailor's delight".  An amazing sunset on Lake Champlain.  I'm trying to decide if this one is finished.  Seems you can work forever on a sky.  This photo shifts very gray and flat.  In person there is much more vibrancy.  Hmmm -- I guess I'll decide tomorrow.  Sleep on it.

"Sweet 'White-Cat'" 12x16 oil on linen

A tribute to Casper, my little buddy for the last 16 1/2 years. She isn't doing so well, so I wanted to paint this before I have to say good-bye. While she's still around to yowl at me her drawn out "m-o-m", and follow me around quietly requesting a lap. My heart breaks to see her slip away, so this is painted with much love.

"Beach Treasures" 16x20 oil on panel

The photo doesn't do this one justice.  It has much more depth and subtlety in real life than I can capture in camera.  Loved this photo.  Thanks to Monica and Elsa for letting me use it.

"Fields of Gold" 12x24 oil on panel

A perfect VT summer day.  I may do a few more touches, shadows on the barn.  But this has been sitting in my studio un-posted for too long.  

"Wobbly First Steps" 12x12 oil on panel

An exercise in getting more paint on the panel.  It seems easier when I use panel vs. canvas.  I'm trying to really load it on, and also be a little freer and looser.  This was a good subject to be free and loose.  Another title or caption I thought of "I'm all ears, Mom!"  Such a cute little guy.  Shelburne Farms herd of sheep early summer.

"A Wake at Sunset" 12x24 oil on canvas

A couple of days ago I decided to work on this one little more.  More paint, more paint.  And I think I made it better.  It's been a struggle this summer to find time to paint.  So busy, such a wonderful summer in VT.  But I need to paint more.  So, this was a start.

"Daydreamer" (Ancrew) 15x30 oil on canvas

The last painting from my year of classes at the Academy studying with Sharon Sprung.  Figurative painting from life/model.  Andrew was a wonderful subject.  I wish a photo could show more detail that is in the painting, but alas. . .  It was a very good year of painting and I feel like I learned a great deal!  Thanks to Sharon, the most amazing teacher.  Now, a summer of painting on my own in VT.  More to follow, hopefully soon.

"Peace" (Jesse) 18x24 oil on linen

This new painting emerged out of a great deal of struggle.  Two and a half weeks ago I started a new pose on an 18x36 gessoed panel.  The drawing and composition were a good start and I proceeded to paint only to feel completely stymied.  The paint seemed to be soaking in and getting chalky.  Not at all like oils on panel usually respond.  I use really good quality oil paints, so materials didn't seem to be the possible problem.  My immediate conclusion: it must be the painter (of course.)  I continued to work really hard, piling on the paint.  The solution to everything is usually "more paint", but by the following Monday when my teacher arrived I was terribly frustrated.  She immediately said "something's wrong", and encouraged me to "move on, get a new start".  I hate to quit, and was beating myself up something awful.  It's easy to get so DOWN (sensitive? moody? fear of failure?)  So easy to fall into negative self-recrimination.

But I'm here to listen and learn from Sharon, so I bucked up and took her advice.

She moved me to the other model in the room, Jesse.  And I found a linen support I had laying around in the locker room.  A fresh start, but with a lot shorter time to work on the painting.  Yikes!  But, Jesse has such character, great muscle definition and skin color, a great look, and I love the peace sign earring.  As it turned out, the whole thing was a pleasure to paint.  And what started as a bomb turned into a success.  And relatively quickly, for me.  Lessons learned: sometimes a fresh start is just the ticket.  And, Sharon's theory is that the gesso (acrylic) I used to prep the panel was the problem.  It probably hadn't properly "cured".  Live and learn. . .

Andrew 12x12 oil on panel

I started a new large painting on Monday, but the model needed to take the day off today, so Andrew substituted and we did a one-day painting.  I would love to spend more time painting him.  He has a great look.  But painting quickly from life is a great exercise.

"Waltrudis in Blues" 18x18 oil on canvas

Another painting from Sharon Sprung's class. I loved the many shades of blues and greens which beautifully offset the model's delicate complexion and hair. Very tricky to capture a more mature model's features without being harsh. Such small differences can make her look too young or too old. I learned a lot, again.

"Private Moment (Amanda)" 18x36 oil on panel

A cropped version of the same photo previously posted. This will be exhibited at the Academy in Sharon's Class show beginning April 2 and hanging for 2 weeks.

"Private Moment (Amanda)" 18x36 oil on panel

Still on the easel at the Academy, my most recent painting finished in class yesterday. It will go in the class show which will be hung on April 2 and run for two weeks. So, I probably won't have a chance to photograph it until after the show. I was surprised and pleased at how well the composition turned out in this painting since I was one of the last in the class to "pick my spot" and that usually means a disadvantage in the view of the pose. But this was kind of nice, peeking past the backdrop/curtain at this lovely young woman. Amanda is an amazing model and a pleasure to paint. I learned a lot with this painting, too. (Thanks to Sharon, as always!)

"Dressing" (Rachel) 24x24 oil on canvas

A new figurative painting from class, and another that the photo does some weird stuff. I need help! The colors seem to shift inconsistently and things show up that are not even in the painting. Also, so much detail is lost. It looks murky. And I don't have this problem when shooting anything except my paintings. :-( But photography aside, this is a fairly successful painting from life. A beautiful model and an interesting pose. That fabric is tough! I referred to the master, Sorolla, whose fabric is incredible. Mine needs work, but all in all, a pretty good effort, I think. I only wish my blog followers could see it in person.

"Moment of Silence" 24x24 oil on canvas

I loved this pose, the feeling of a moment of silence between two people. Connie and Cesar. Excellent models. This is still unfinished. I need to work more on Connie, and also on the scarf and vest. But I was really pleased with Cesar's face so I wanted to go ahead and post it. I don't know when I'll get back to it, as most of my non-class painting is done in VT. In my class I'm on to another one which I'm liking a lot as well.

"The Dancer" 18x24 oil on canvas

I haven't posted in a while and I have two new images to share, but I'll preface these posts with the comment that I am frustrated with my ability to photograph the images, and I'm not sure what to do about it. I just can't get them to look like they look. So much detail is lost. So much color shift, and so much reflection. OK, I'm done with my rant. This was a studio/class painting and my "spot" was seated just below the model, so I it was a tough place to paint. But the model was amazing and I loved the challenge. The tutu wasn't easy either! So, despite frustrations, I've decided to share.

"The Commuter" (John) 24x36 oil on linen

A new studio painting completed today at the Academy (Sharon Sprung's class.) Sorry about the reflections on the darks. I may try to re-photograph it tomorrow. This is another of the large format paintings - 24x36 - done from life/a model. I seem to have the most success with either very small or very large.