Sunday, January 31, 2010

Casbah White House



I decided to paint this building because I saw it on my honeymoon. I guess I was reminiscing about the fun times I had while visiting Morocco.  I saw this house in Tangier, within the walls of the Casbah.  I loved how it looked with its off white color against the pale blue sky.  This was especially fun to paint because it is a larger size of 11 x 14 inches. This one sold before I even posted it in my store. The early bird catches the worm...

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Snow Covered Sunset



I saw this on my way home and was amazed by how blue everything seemed. I mentioned before how farming made modern civilization possible. Just a few days ago i heard a radio story that made a similar claim. Men that knew how to farm 10,000 years ago made better mates than those hunter/gatherer slackers. The farmer's children would have more to eat, and therefore would be more likely to survive.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Trapped Brass Pig


I came up with the idea of painting a pig in a vase while waiting for a software installation to finish. I had limited time to set up since the sunlight only comes into the living room a certain way between 10 and 10:30 in the morning. The pig I originally wanted to use didn't look very good either so I chose this brass pig that was on a shelf nearby. I used a piece of MDF board for this piece because I've heard good things about it. I'm not sure I'm sold on it just yet, maybe a couple more tries will do the trick.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Walther Farm No. 2


As the snow lets up a little more color is able to peek through. The red of the barn is more apparent and the golden wheat stands proud in the distance. The hard work that goes into this farm provides not only food but beautiful scenes like this snow covered wheat field. This is painting number 4 in my agriculture series of paintings.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Walther Farm No. 1



I drive past this farm in Bear, DE every night on my way home from work. You can find anything from Angus beef to squirrel feed to scarecrows. It's a vibrant and welcome contrast to the shopping center immediately behind it. The Dunkin' Donuts from last month's paintings are right across the street and offers a stark contrast to the busy suburban life surrounding this small family farm. The fascinating thing about snow is it's ability to allow only the most vibrant colors show when heavily muted.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

BARC Swine Unit No. 2


These are the pig houses (swine houses?) at the BARC site in Beltsville. They look like they're constructed pretty solidly and remind me of the story of the three little pigs. I seriously doubt these would be blown down easily. It's easy to forget that this is within a few miles of Washington, DC. I've been using larger brushes than in some of my previous small paintings. After the painting of Baltimore I realized I was grabbing the small brushes not just for the detail but for the bulk of the painting so I'm trying to break myself of that habit.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

BARC Swine Unit No. 1

Contact Me If Interested In Purchasing This Piece

I was amazed at how warm this cold winter's day looked. This week's painting is of the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center's Swine Unit. I drive past it every day to and from work and it always fascinates me. Early in the morning the pigs get fed so they all huddle around to eat. I'm amazed each time I see them as to their large size. Living and working in such a technology driven society can make you forget that our real success depends on farming. Without agriculture most of the last 5,000 years would have come out very differently. This is painting number 1 in my agriculture series of paintings and number 11 in my series of small weekly paintings.