Bostonian

An empty pair of men's shoes was a natural choice for me this Thanksgiving week since they had such powerful meaning for me. Dad's shoes after coming home from a tough day at work. The empty shoes of a fallen hero. A grandfather's shoes near the door after coming to visit (with presents!)  I could go on and on but ultimately it's the viewer who decides for themselves the meaning behind a visual impression. That can sometimes be the most beautiful part of a painting, how it makes you feel.

Pole Dance

My home office overlooks an old school that is used for some sort of adult education program. I've never really looked what the programs are but the sunlight at the end of the day really livens up the field behind the building. These utility poles get washed in a brilliant orange and the back of the shopping center behind it have these mottled streaks of blue and yellow as shadows dance on it.

Get In Line

We often have shoes in the hallway before the door and so when I was thinking about painting a row of shoes it was natural to position them in the hall. I was surprised by how green the shadows were when I really started looking at them. I have a tendency to correct incandescent lighting so it was a challenge to keep it as true to the color I was seeing as possible.

This is available for sale from the Rehoboth Art League Docents. All of the proceeds for this piece will go to maintain the buildings on the Art League's property.

Splenda Pig

I had the day off today and decided to use the time to get some more work in. I took the opportunity to finish a painting that is not part of this month's theme, shoes, and paint this small creamer filled with Splenda packets. We have a large collection of pig creamers and this one is definitely my favorite. This is painting three in my small painting project.

Busy Weekend

 On top of the paintings I've been working on, I've still got the calendar that I'm building taking up most of the dining room. Seeing as though Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up I'm under some pressure to finish up and clean out the room. I finished lettering the months, applying Danish oil to the wood, and (mostly) screwing it together. The picture is what it looks like so far with the holiday tiles in the rails.

Pedro

I committed myself to one painting per week, but there's nothing wrong with finishing two. Pedro, our Chihuahua, has one of the most expressive faces I've ever seen on a dog and I tried to capture that. This is actually the second painting I've finished of him, the first was for our perpetual calendar (below.)

Shoe Boxes

I kept this Nike box on purpose to do something with because I loved the orange color. After last week I was so happy with the tablecloth I had used with the red shoes I reused it this week. I thought painting a couple of boxes would make this go by quickly but I quickly realized that the number of shadows and light sources made this much more fun and complicated to paint.

Hot Shoes

This painting is 5 x 5 oil on canvas. Please call me, email me, or click here if you'd like to buy this piece.

The Final Two

I haven't added the names yet but I completed the final two months for the calendar, March & August. August turned out pretty well since it was a last minute decision. I originally thought about painting a tree going through the stages of the seasons for January, March, August, and October but I scrapped that idea with the candy corn. That forced me to rethink the other months. My wife suggested a sprinkler this afternoon when I was stumped and it was just the thing.

August - The Lawn

March - Clover