Guitar, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar.....Oil Paintings

This one is 10x20 and I called it "Fender Bender" (Another attempt to amuse myself while doing the more mundane side of the art business....Tagging and pricing paintings)

This one is 10x20 as well.  It is the "Unplugged" version.

and if you need a square format, this one is 12x12.

As usual, all of these are on 1 1/2" thick gallery wrap canvas (no staples) and wired so that you can hang them without framing. (Unless you want to frame them, then you can.)

New abstract, dedicated to Paula Hallman via flora Bowley

This spring I was looking around online and stumbled upon an artist that offers online courses and monthly newsletters to help you create colorful, energetic abstracts. I have been dabbling with abstracts for a couple of years on and off, but nothing has really lit my fire.

Until Flora Bowley. I read her blog and I viewed an online sample of one of her newsletters and I was just feverishly wanting to try it. I made my plan to start the very next day after seeing the video. I gathered my tools and had everything ready. I woke up at 4 AM (did not say I GOT up, just woke up). Plans for colors and compositions were running through my head. I was so excited.

I got up and got my coffee, did my daily devotional readings, and then checked my email and FB. It was on FB that I discovered that a dear artist friend of mine, Paula Hallman, had passed away. I don't see Paula but one week a year when we are neighbors at the Red River Revel in Shreveport, but we were great friends. I "got her" and she "got me". Her passing hit me harder than I could have imagined.

I thought to myself, "there is no way I will be able to paint today, much less explore a new style". But after a few more tears a realization hit me. Paula could not paint that day, but I could paint. And I did. I went on to paint straight through from 8 AM till 7 PM pretty much nonstop. Something I never do.

I discovered that I loved Flora Bowley's system. I love the music that she paints by, I love the freedom, the depth, the energy. I love that I can paint using her format, but in the end, the paintings look nothing like hers. They are definitely mine.

So I am sharing this first one that I did (with more to follow). In the "system" that Flora teaches one of the ways to start a painting is to write words on the canvas as the first layer. You then go on to add other layers on top which eventually cover up most of the bottom layer. But in this painting, when it was all over and I stopped to look at it.....you can still see part of one of the words I had started with.

I had written Paula.  

Love you girl!  I know your spirit is exploring the universe and you are seeing the places you have traveled to in your dreams...

New Work...Scenes of the South....Oil Paintings

I leave on Friday for the Red River Revel in Shreveport, La.  It is an amazing 8-day outdoor festival that is an ingrained part of the Shreveport community. Each day leading up to the start of the show, I will post some of my new work that I have been working on for the fall.  Plus, I will highlight one great thing about the Revel itself.  

Today I want to mention my repeat customers.  I have several avid collectors that have now become friends.  This will be my sixth year to do this festival, plus I have done three wine festivals there.  I love having the same folks come back and visit and or buy something year after year. 

 

Today's paintings feature scenes of the south...

8x24

Everywhere you look in the south you see quaint little white churches.  And on Sunday they're surrounded by cars.  Lots of cars.

9x9

 

The south would not be the south without it's myriad cottonfields. 

10x20

 Fishin' and huntin'.  Its what we do down here.

24x36

 Ok, in the interest of  full disclosure, this is not really a shack in the south.  But it so looks like one that I can, without guilt, include it in this category.  It's actually a shack in Maui, Hawaii.

10x20

 Another quaint church.

8x16

Another great thing about the south.  Great music. 

Keys to it All....mixed media

 

10x30....mixed media.....$360

 

I loved my little experiment with the black and white series.  This one was done pouring paint on the canvas and then dragging it with an applicator to get the final product.  It is a less than predictable process resulting in a looser, more relaxed look. 

 

Today is the last day of the Red River Revel.  Time to take it down and pack it up and head home to see my family that I am missing so much!  : )

Ticklish Ivories.....Oil Painting of Piano Keyboard.....#10 of 30 paintings in 30 days....

 

 

10x30......oil on canvas........$360

 

I love the movement and the happiness of this one.  You can just about hear a tune when you look at it. 

 

We are 1/3 of the way through the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge.  Yikes!!!  That means we are 1/3 of the way through September!  How did that happen?

Musical Instruments...clarinet, sax, and bass...

 

The gallery that features my work on Royal St. in New Orleans suggested that I do some "musical" pieces in anticipation of Jazz Fest which draws a huge crowd of music lovers from all over the world.

I will have to say it is the first, but not the last time I have done a bass and a clarinet. 

Jazz Trio of Oil Paintings...

These are a trio of musical instruments that I painted from photos I have taken during one of my many trips to New Orleans.  They are 12x12.  This size is very versatile....tucks into a book shelf, hangs in a vertical stack, horizontal line-up (even fit under a back splash in a kitchen or bar area) or can be hung in an asymmetrical grouping.  Call me if you think you need them.

New Oil Paintings.....2013

Here are some examples of my new work for Spring 2013.  All are for sale unless otherwise marked.  If you are interested in purchasing one of these original oil paintings please enquire by email for sizes and prices.  All are on 1 1/2" thick gallery wrap and are painted on the sides (and there are no staples).  They come wired and ready to hang with no framing necessary unless you choose to go that route.  Thanks for looking at my work! 

Playing the Blues...oil painting

This painting is from a photo I took on a recent trip to Austin, TX.  These guys were playing at a place known for it's great music...the Saxon Pub.  It was a great evening and I love the painting, too.

Jazzy Trio, Oil painting from New Orleans

Jazzy Trio....30x30...oil on 1.5 gallery wrap......$900

These musicians were playing outside the Cathedral in New Orleans when we went down there for our anniversary this past August. The guy in the yellow shirt seems to be playing to his own particular audience.

All in all I am very happy with this one and have enjoyed having it around so much that it has been in my living room since I painted it. It is off to the art show today to possibly find a new home.

Wish me luck as I travel and work myself into the ground over the next week. I will try to post starting again next Thursday when I will have internet access again. Until then I'll be going from sun-up till sundown....

Sax Education 2.....

12x24.......Oil on 1.5 gallery wrap.....Sax Education 2......$290 SOLD

This is painted from a photo that I took when I was the featured artist at the Cork Wine Festival in Shreveport, La. The light in the club where the opening reception was held just made this sax glow orange. It was "at rest" during the musician's break and I just had to take a shot of it.

The painting is hanging now at the Cups Coffee House in Dogwood Market. My work is featured there throughout the month of September. I met a nice lady there today when I was hanging the show and she expressed an interest in this painting. I by accident quoted you the wrong price, as you can see, but if you are tuning in, just call me and I will honor the price I told you.

For now I am going to paint, paint, paint!