Recent Paintings

Drawing Completed

2012-01-13T00:35:00.001-05:00

I finished the initial drawing tonight and just noticed that in my eagerness to get something going I started my drawing before I toned the canvas. Oops. Oh well it shouldn't be a problem. I'll seal the drawing and lightly tone it before starting the under painting.

Early Stages

2012-01-12T00:18:00.001-05:00

Getting started on a new painting. It's been to long since I've done any work. With my recent move and health scare I've just had a lot of distractions keeping me from working. So I'm really anxious to get the brushes out and start laying down some color. I'm still working on the drawing at this point. I'll keep posting pictures as progress develops.

A lot going on in my head

2011-11-02T22:14:00.000-04:00

It's been almost 3 months since my last post. Things have been pretty crazy around here. Good news is we put our house on the market and sold it. We have also found a great house that we are moving into on November 15th. I will now have a true studio to work in. My current studio is small and has no heat or air. So it makes working in the middle of summer and winter tough. The new studio is in the main house and is considerably larger. So I'm really excited to get in there and start working.

Unfortunately I haven't been feeling well for the past 3 months. While working on my last painting I started to develop dizziness. I went to the doctor and he performed a number of blood test which all came back fine. After a few more weeks of feeling light headed he did more test which also came back normal. About this time I started to hear a whooshing sound in my right ear. So I was referred to an ear, nose and throat doctor to check out the cause of the tinnitus in my ear. After several test he determined that there was something pushing on the nerve that leads from the ear to the brain. He ordered a MRI of my brain which showed a 1 inch glomus tumor that is putting pressure on my jugular vein and is restricting the blood flow. That is what has caused the dizziness and the whooshing sound in my ear. Thankfully it is not cancerous. The doctor said that it is slow growing and has probably been there for about five years. The next step is to have it removed within the next few months. The surgery will be pretty extensive (6-8 hrs) and require 3 different surgeons working as a team to remove. If all goes well I should be back to myself within 6 weeks.

With all of this going on I just haven't had much motivation to paint. But that is starting to change and I'm getting the bug again to start something. I have several paintings in my mind that I want to start so to keep me occupied I might begin drawing out the next piece. I'll post up progress once I get it started.

Uncorked

2011-08-04T23:31:00.000-04:00

Uncorked
9"x12" Oil on panel

I finally finished this commission piece a few days ago and it only took me five months to complete. Jeez I'm slow! This was a fun piece to work on though. It was quite challenging at times, but I learned a lot on this one and I have conquered my fear of painting letters.

Now that it is done I'm looking forward to starting something new, but it will have to wait a few weekends as my wife and I are putting our house on the market. So I'll be busy preparing for that. Hopefully sometime soon I'll be painting in a new studio.

A Week in Seabrook Island

2011-07-01T00:00:00.001-04:00

My family and I just got back from a much needed week at the beach in Seabrook Island, SC. This was our first time to stay on the island and it was a blast. This was also our daughter's first trip to the beach so it was a lot of fun watching her experience everything for the first time. We had a lot of time to relax and play with the kids.

In my downtime I put the new camera through it's paces capturing tons of reference material for potential paintings. The shot above was taken just after sunrise on the morning we left. It was hard to leave after such a great week.

I also got a chance to break away one afternoon for a few hours and visited the M Gallery of Fine Art and the Robert Lange Studios in Charleston. I was able to see some amazing work on display by Sadie Valeri, David Gluck, Robert Liberace, Amy Lind, Ali Cavanaugh, Robert Lange, and tons more. Truly inspiring.

New Camera

2011-06-28T01:25:00.002-04:00

I just got a new camera (Nikon D90) that has HD video capabilities. So I decided to record a little bit of video and test it out. I threw this together in iMovie pretty quickly. This was my first time using the program so it's pretty rough.

In Progress Still Life

2011-06-13T22:14:00.002-04:00

I just finished painting the first layer of the corkscrew this morning. Above is a detail shot of where I finished up. There are a few spots that have sunk in since I haven't oiled this out yet, but I wanted to go ahead and post up a shot of the progress. I will move on to painting the cork tomorrow.

In Progress Still Life

2011-06-08T22:25:00.002-04:00

Untitled
9"x12" Oil on panel

It seems more often than not I start my posts off with "It's been awhile" or "Progress has been slow". I'm sorry to say that is the case once again. Work has been in full swing recently, requiring me to often work nights, weekends and even a holiday recently.

In hopes of gaining more studio time I recently started waking up early to paint before I leave for work. So far this has worked out well. I get about two hours in and on a good day I can also paint in the evening for a few hours. I hope this will help boost my production time a bit.

Now on to the painting. I'm currently working on the screw pull. The first pass should be done after another morning session or two. Since my last post I've painted in the first layer of the table. Right now it's flat and monochromatic. But once I have added in the details (reflections, scratches, wood grain, etc...) it should have a good bit of character. I've also left the bottom of the glass unfinished so I could have painted table around it to paint into. I'll move back into that section once the screw pull is done.

The Artist’s Magazine‘s 2011 All-Media Art Competition

2011-05-17T22:32:00.000-04:00

I am happy to announce that my painting "Glass Jar with Rag" received an honorable mention in the Artist's Magazine's 2011 All-Media art competition.

Click here to view the winners and honorable mentions.

In Progress Still Life

2011-05-14T15:02:00.003-04:00

Untitled
9"x12" Oil on panel

Progress has been slow recently, but I hope to increase my studio time and complete this soon. I have been working on the wine glass which is proving harder than I initial thought. There are lots of thin subtle highlights along the edges of the glass and rim (the contrast in this photo is much darker than the actual painting which is hiding some of the details.) that have been testing the steadiness of my hand to paint properly. But I'm happy with how it is coming out so far.

In Progress Still Life

2011-04-21T23:21:00.002-04:00

Untitled
9"x12" Oil on panel

Just finished the first pass on the bottle with the exception of the label. I'm going to come back to that a little later in the process. To be honest I'm a little nervous about painting the type on the label. I need to psych myself up for it. I've gone ahead and started painting in the wine glass. I'll post some pics of that as soon as I get it finished.

In Progress Still Life

2011-03-30T02:07:00.001-04:00

Untitled
9"x12" Oil on panel

I've begun working on the first color pass. As you can see I'm painting in the cloth first. Simply because it was the furthest object in the background. I tend to paint background objects first and work forward so that I can layer on top of what has already been painted.

On another easel I have started a preliminary drawing for the next wave painting. I'm making good progress so far and should have something to post up soon. This one is going to be a challenge but I'm excited to give it a try.

Under Painting

2011-03-13T13:58:00.000-04:00

Untitled
9"x12" Oil on panel

Just wrapped up the monochromatic under painting. At this stage I'm not to concerned with value accuracy. I'm mostly trying to build form and refine any issues that I had with the drawing. After working some initial values into wine glass I realized that the stem was still off a bit. So I reworked the drawing from what I had originally. I think its accurate now, but that's what I said last time. We'll see.

Under Drawing Complete

2011-02-27T15:01:00.000-05:00

Untitled
9"x12" Oil on panel

Just wrapped up the drawing for the lastest still life. I struggled a bit getting the wine glass symmetrical. I think it's finally pretty close. Tonight I will start painting in the monochromatic under painting.

Preparing Panels

2011-02-16T01:10:00.000-05:00

Things are starting to settle down a bit in regards to the new baby. I wish I could say the same for work though. Since I've been back from paternity leave I've had to work through two weekends and countless days that end at 2 am. I'm really hoping things slow down because it's starting to get old.

The little bit of free time I have had recently has been spent preparing panels for upcoming paintings. I've been wanting to give Art Board panels a try for sometime now and decided to purchase a few for my upcoming paintings. They are a bit pricey compared to other panels, but the quality seems to be really good. I read online that it is a good idea to seal them with shellac before priming (If anyone has an opinion on whether or not this step is necessary I'd love to hear it) to prevent support-induced discoloration. The above picture is from the shellac session.

Now that the panels are done I am starting to work up some drawings. Tonight I worked on the preliminary drawing for a still life commission. I hope to start laying down some paint later this week. I'll be sure to post up some pictures as I progress.

A New Addition!

2011-01-29T18:05:00.000-05:00

On January 8, 2011 my wife and I welcomed our daughter, Lauren Elizabeth Parker, into the world. Her official stats were 7lbs. 5oz. and 20 inches long. In my opinion she couldn't be more perfect. I apologize for the bragging.

Needless to say the activity in the studio has been a little slow recently. Much like the activity of this blog. But I'm hoping to get back into the studio a little more now that things are starting to settle down around here.

I've been commissioned to paint a still life that I'm really excited about. If it turns out at all like the setup it should be pretty nice. I'm also about to start another wave painting, which will be the first of a series of larger ocean paintings. I'll start posting some updates soon on both projects.

Shorebreak Study

2010-12-28T01:53:00.008-05:00

Shorebreak Study - SOLD
6"x6" Oil on canvas panel

I spent most of the evening putting on the final touches, and reworking the foreground a bit from what I had previously. To me it was a little one dimensional and flat. So I added some subtle chop that recedes into the face of the wave. Hopefully this adds a little more visual interest and helps lead your eye back into the focal point of the wave.

With that, I'm calling this one completed. This was a lot of fun to paint, and I'm looking forward to painting more of these. The next one I do is going to be a good bit larger. Somewhere around 10" x 20". I'm ready to take a break from the 6" x 6" for a while.

( This photo is a bit off from the original painting. I'll replace the photo once I get a better shot. )

Shorebreak Study

2010-12-24T02:02:00.000-05:00

Shorebreak Study - SOLD
6"x6" Oil on canvas panel
Work in progress

A little more progress. Spent today adding ripples to the foreground water. The end is in sight.

Shorebreak Study

2010-12-22T00:37:00.000-05:00

Shorebreak Study - SOLD
6"x6" Oil on canvas panel
Work in progress

With the Owen portrait now done, I put some good time into the wave painting tonight. Mostly working in the splashes on the left side of the wave face. I also added a little bit more detail into the lip of the wave. Just a few more sessions and this one should be done.

Owen Sketch

2010-12-20T15:28:00.001-05:00

Here is the completed portrait. It was fun to work on, but I'm glad it's done so I can get back to painting.

Owen Sketch

2010-12-16T21:09:00.000-05:00

Here is the portrait that I mentioned in the previous post. I'm getting really close to finishing this up. I hope to have it done tomorrow. Then it's back to the shorebreak study, which I was fortunate enough to have sold this week. So I want get back to it and ship it out as soon as I can.

Shorebreak Study

2010-12-05T22:30:00.001-05:00

Shorebreak Study - SOLD
6"x6" Oil on canvas panel
Work in progress

Starting to work on the face of the wave. Still have a good bit to go, and with the holidays, my progress has been slow. This painting is also sharing easel time with two other pieces. Both are commissions. One is a portrait sketch and the other is a still life. I'll be sure to post of some in progress pics once I have some decent photos.

Shorebreak Study

2010-11-19T02:32:00.000-05:00

Shorebreak Study
6"x6" Oil on canvas panel
Work in progress

Getting close to finishing the wave, but I think I'll move on to the foreground before I do to much more to it. There is a good bit of splash that needs to be painted in under the lip of the wave on the left hand side that will help balance the picture out.

Shorebreak Study - (Close Call)

2010-11-15T03:14:00.004-05:00

Shorebreak Study
6"x6" Oil on canvas panel
Work in progress

I had a huge close call tonight. I was applying a few final touches to the painting when all of a sudden, the painting slips from the easel, bounces off the easel tray, and lands onto my painting palette. Luckily, facing right side up. The backside of the painting was covered in wet paint, but none got on to the front. Phew!

Shorebreak Study

2010-11-10T15:14:00.001-05:00

Shorebreak Study
6"x6" Oil on canvas panel
Work in progress

Made a little more progress last night. Started adding a few details to the wave and indicating some of the splashes. I still have a few more hours of work on this section before moving on to the foreground water.

Shorebreak Study

2010-11-05T02:32:00.000-04:00

Shorebreak Study
6"x6" Oil on canvas panel
Work in progress

The image for this painting came from a recent trip to Hilton Head Island, SC. Hurricane Igor was brewing in the Atlantic, which had the surf kicked up quite a bit. I snapped a ton of photographs, and hope to start a series of larger paintings from the better ones.

This particular painting is a trial run to get used to painting the ocean. I was a little intimidated by the amount of detail in the water and especially the splashes. So I wanted to make sure I could convincingly paint it before moving to a larger panel.

At this point, there is still a long way. The breaking wave and foreground is still underpainting, and the top part will need at least one or two more layers before it's done.

Glass Jar with Rag

2010-09-30T00:14:00.005-04:00

Glass Jar with Rag
6"x6" Oil on Canvas Panel
SOLD

The final brush stroke was laid down a few days ago but it took me until today to get a decent photo. I have to say that I am really happy with how this one turned out. A few early mistakes with my color mixes required some extra time adjusting the initial layers. All total I put 38 hours into this piece. Most of which was spent on the rag.

Recently, I have been experimenting with new mediums, and for this piece I decided to give M. Graham Walnut Alkyd Medium a try. Glad I did, because it is exactly what I have been looking for. Up until this point I have tried Liquin, Galkyd, Neo Megilp and even a more traditional stand oil recipe. All which have had qualities I liked. Liquin is actually my typical go to medium, but might soon be taking a back seat to the walnut alkyd medium. What I really like about the M. Graham's is that it doesn't contain any solvents so the odor is pretty much non existent. My son Taylor will occasionally play in my studio while I paint, so I want to keep the environment as non-toxic as possible. Also, the walnut alkyd medium has a slightly slower drying rate so it stays open through out the entire painting session, but is dry within a day and a half. The main issue that I have had with Galkyd and Neo Megilp is that they start to tack up within a few hours of painting, preventing me from painting into what should be wet layers. I've read on Gamblin's site that you can add a little poppy oil to the Galkyd to slow down the drying time, but haven't had a chance to experiment. Finally, I really enjoy the lower viscosity of the M. Graham's. It allows me to more easily paint complex passages without a lot of drag on the brush. At this point it is to early to say whether or not I will switch to solely using the walnut alkyds, but I am definitely leaning in that direction.

In Progress - Glass Jar with Rag

2010-09-16T23:09:00.001-04:00