daffodils

First small daffodil studies of 2026! Kept them small and simple, alla prima ...

mumuration

.                     7x9

Painted in a class with SaltyWater Art. These are my small practice studies.

Plan to do another.

self portaits

                     10x12

Working on some other self portraits indirectly inspired by my art history class' look at American artists Keith Crown and Joan Brown.

self portraits

Finished my 2nd self portrait. Things I like and things I don't: I like the shirt, the cat, the striped cloth, the shadow on the underside of my nose; don't like that I used so many brushstrokes on the face-- it's belabored.

Started a sketch to work out the third ... mashing up photos of me and my brother.

tulips!

                     7.5x11
Went to my friend Gina's today and she had some tulips.

Here, in order, are my tries at painting them.

melo and me

                      9x12

one of my classes is going to be focused on self portraits this week.

started a 2nd but it needs work.

arctic terns

                        8x12

painted in Saltywater Art's class.

I was thinking of adding blue backgrounds ... but I do like the gray-on-white.

cedar waxwing

                   12x12 sheet

cedar waxwing paintings from an online class with Ronna Fujisawa thru the Oregon Bird Alliance.

below:  a little still life in cedar waxwing colors

                       8x9

jmw turner copies

a page of copies of Turner skies on hot press paper

 a page of paintings of the sky here in NJ in my attempt to emulate Turner's skies

late afternoon sketching

                   fountain pen

.                     graphite

.                  watercolor

.           watercolor pencils

lemon bay sunset

a little sketching at sunset on the beach at lemon key last night

cranes

                       15x18

A couple of paintings I'm working on. 

Looking at them now I think I spent too much time drawing the birds, or drawing their feathers that is.

Maybe having work done these I can do another, 

looser not trying to concentrate so much on feather groupings

copy of Marin painting

Not much time to paint today so I decided to try something I've been meaning to start doing for quite a while: copy a John Marin painting.

On the top is his 1923 Movement of the Sea--Blue and Green.

On the bottom is my copy. 

This was fun and I definitely plan to try again; more dry brush next time, and better color matching.

another paint along

                         9x12

With Paul George via YouTube.

His colors were so much more subtle and also purer than mine.

He uses a lot of paint and a lot of water, but he doesn't get the fuzzy edges I get, like on my rocks ...

More practice needed!

On my way this morning to Florida for a few days to see my brother and to take a little road trip to parks around Sarasota with my oldest friend, who lives in FL now. We're hoping to hike, kayak, 

swim if it gets warm enough, 

And of course draw and paint!

painting along

                      9x12

With Paul George.

If you haven't checked him out on YouTube I can highly recommend it. I like the way he paints and his subjects. 

He often comments on a particular problem I have of not using enough water and not using enough pigment. You can really see when he paints the need for thick and juicy pigments. 

He also does in person workshops; he has one in Maine this summer. I hope someday I can paint with him in person.

still life

                     8x10

Another still life for my class at Winslow art center with Abby Ober. It's freeing and fun to paint this way ...

sketchbook

My friend Gina came over yesterday and we spent a couple of hours doing some painting in our sketchbooks.

in the style of

                       8x10

A still life in the style of Raoul Dufy.

cats wip

.                     16x20

This is homework for a class. I'm trying to put together a painting using various reference photos of my cats. 

Now I see why people always say to work on the background at the same time you work on the subject ... I've got this big blank space and very little idea how to resolve it! 

I have an idea but I'm kind of afraid to start.

cezanne

I took a London Drawing Group class on Cezanne watercolors, a 2-hour one-off. But I hope they'll do more. 

The top sketch of seven apples is a copy of a Cezanne oil painting from 1878.

more wip

I went a little further on my wip, and also started another. Stopping to consider what to do next.

peep

                     11x11

A western sandpiper painted in class with SaltyWaterArt.

You really can't beat blue and orange.