Gracie

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"Gracie," oil on canvas.

This is my first painting of the new year, however I started the painting in 2011.  Gracie has been sitting behind my easel all this time, and has suffered a few minor spills of painting medium, coffee, and a tiny splatter of gesso.  She is painted on some of the remainder pre-gessoed canvas I bought several years ago at Plaza Art Supply in Bethesda, Maryland.  I have a whole lot of that canvas around, and as I have mentioned before, it gets taped to masonite before I start painting.  Not very elegant, but it is fast when I just want to start a piece just to paint something.

The palette for this piece consists of the following colors: Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna, Flake White, a very small touch of Zinc White, Ultramarine Blue, and Indian Red.

Self Portrait in Red Sweatshirt

I started this painting on Christmas Eve, and finished it last night.  When working on quickie personal projects like this, I duct tape pre gessoed canvas to a masonite drawing board, and stretch it later.  I have a bunch of canvas that I use just for this.  I keep about 4 different types of canvas in the studio all the time.  The finer work goes on a fairly heavy Belgian linen, and the big stuff goes on heavy canvas.  I have another linen that is almost like silk.

The palette for this piece is limited; Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna, Indian Red, Mars Black, Zinc White, and just a touch of Cerulean Blue.

Here is a brief plug.  My daughter got me really hooked on Spotify.  I have been rediscovering loads of music, and I spend more time at the easel.  Look out Sirius, you might get replaced.

Christmas 2am Self Portrait

I started this on Christmas Eve just before midnight, and stopped around 2am on Christmas morning.  My daughter Alice cooked the best Christmas Eve dinner I have ever had.  The house smelled wonderful when I arrived home after a long and snowy drive home from West Virginia.  After dinner we played board games, baked pies, and listened to Christmas music.  It is hard to believe the year is almost over.

Eumelia nearly completed

"Eumelia" oil on linen, 26" x 16.  I may do a little more work to this painting, but for now I am going to let it dry for a week or two.

Antietam II

Oil on birch panel 18 x 24, in progress.
This is a painting I started over the summer, and has been worked on in between several other projects.  The plan is to have it completed by the end of the year.

Scratching The Brain

An old drawing and painting from a few years ago.  This was a piece that sat in my head for over a year.  I think about it now with winter on the way, and all of the other old places that I see everyday in West Virginia.  It is time to find another lost dream.

Eumelia

A close up of a work in progress.