NYC Biker

"City Biker"  16x20" Acrylic  

Ray's Pizza Route

"Ray's Pizza Route"  16x20" Acrylic  Purchase Info

It's memorial day. 80 degrees, not a cloud in the sky. I catch a scent of barbecues, and hear the faint sound of oldies playing on a radio... all this from my open studio window. Here I am, painting away. This is my idea of a holiday. I gave up pretending to be like everyone else a long time ago. That being said, I do have other ideas - but this one ranks way up there.

Rooftop View of Chrysler Building

"Rooftop Party"  Acrylic on Panel  8x8" (sold)

Sometimes painting can start to seem too left-brained and serious ... when that happens I like to pull out the stops and just play with color, shapes and textures. This was one of those anything goes paintings. If it looks like I had fun ... I did!

A looser approach to painting Tuscany

"Tuscan Church"  6x6"  Acrylic on Canvas  SOLD

I created this painting in a non-traditional manner, using stamps, cardboard and other items to apply the paint for unusual mark-making.  When it comes to interpreting subject matter in a looser fashion, the paint can be applied in so many different ways that can be unpredictable - in a good way. I've had several people inquire about my upcoming Tuscany workshop and ask if it is acrylics-only. The workshop is not media specific - oils, pastel, mixed media, watercolor - all are welcome. The fundamentals are the same, regardless of media. I will encourage an open minded approach to color - use it intuitively (with some regard to color basics). The workshop is in the lovely Cortona with ancient buildings, rolling hills and breathtaking vistas. Curious about the workshop and the itinerary? Click here. Curious about Cortona? Watch some eye-opening videos on youtube...

Cortona: Island in the Sky
Cortona & Terre delle Leopoldine Part 1
Painting en Plein Air in Italy
Painting the Tuscan Landscape
Cortona: Island in the Sky
Steam to Marradi Part 1

Latte Break at the Met

"Latte Break at the Met"  8x10"  Oil  (Sold)

Wednesday was sparkling spring day, and I met my buddy Lois at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to take in a few exhibits. I caught this gal taking a lunch break and silently thanked her for posing for my next painting.

Ivory Teapot

"Ivory Teapot"  Acrylic  8x8"  SOLD

Acrylics have a bad rap for not lending themselves to soft edges. Not true. Here I was messing around with OPEN Gels and paints. Luscious and painterly edges that fade and feather beautifully.

Delivery Dude

"Delivery Dude"  16x20"  Oil  Purchase Info

These guys are everywhere. Really hard workers, their goal is to deliver fast, and if it's food, it must stay HOT. I heard an amazing podcast on NPR that really touched my heart. It's a great listen - I promise, called "Be cool to the Pizza Dude".  My take is be cool to any of these dudes - pizza or whatever.

Text Stop

"Text Stop"  16x20"  Oil on Canvas  SOLD

Last week I was in New Orleans for new product training, sponsored by Golden Paints. We worked with the luscious Williamsburg Paints and QOR Watercolors.  Both products have an amazing pigment load and were a dream to work with.  The above painting was done with Williamsburg Paints. It was really fun working in oils again!

I have several workshops coming up... 

• Paint Fast, Loose and Bold in St. Michaels Md, June 3,4,5  2014. For information contact Valerie Sunderland, valeriesunderland@gmail.com
• Paint Fast, Loose and Bold in Syracuse, NY, June 21,22,23  2014. For information contact Linda Cohen, lpaints311@gmail.com
• Let's Paint the colors of Tuscany in Cortona, Italy, September 24 - Oct. 1 2014. For more info, including the full week's itinerary click here. 

Painting Fast Loose and Bold - now on dvd's

Click to see sample previews of each video

I'm happy to announce that my 3 videos about painting fast, loose and bold are available for purchase at the North Light Shop. They were released in February 2014. In the videos I cover my methods and processes for painting with big brushes, thick paint and in a speedy manner.
Each dvd covers a different lesson:

• Value Techniques - how to design and create value plans (using black, white and grey) as the springboard for an interesting composition. Any good painting rests on a solid value structure. 
• Brushwork Techniques - learn exercises that lead to lively, gestural application of the paint for a bold, contemporary look. I demo brushwork methods in several small paintings.
• Color Techniques - how to use various harmonic schemes based on color combinations derived from the color wheel. I demo 4 paintings using various color schemes

In a soon to-be-posted blog post, I will answer some common questions that I have received from many people such as "How do you keep your acrylics wet and juicy for so long?"  And "what is that container you keep your paints in?" Stay tuned for answers to those questions and others.