Chelsea Building, New York City

"Chelsea Fire Escapes"  Acrylic 14x14"  Click for Info

Lately I am working with old paintings that were started but never finished. In this case I barely got the painting going when apparently life got in the way and it got shuffled to some uncommon place, not to be seen for years. Who knows what reference I was using, a sketch? a photo? whatever, it's gone. It can be freeing to work out of my head when no reference is available, and give myself permission to make fresh decisions about how to make the piece work. I decided to work in a triad color scheme - tried and true red, yellow and blue.

Studio Sunflowers

"Studio Sunflowers"  8x10" Acrylic  $250  Buy it Now

What do sunflowers have to do with making lemonade? Maybe nothing, but while I was painting these from my studio window all I could think of was that I was making lemonade from lemons. The flowers are certainly not in their best form, as you can see in the photo (below). The light and shadow were nothing to speak of either.
So why did I choose to paint them when there were probably better subjects with less challenging issues? Well, for the challenge. When painting plein air sometimes your view and subject matter is simply a painting waiting to happen. Other times there are factors that are not exactly working in your favor. Thats the thing - you never know till you get there. Lately, in preparation for my Tuscany workshop, I've been treating myself to some "worst case scenarios" to see what tricks I can pull out of my hat. Which may be totally overkill... I mean really, a bad view or  uninspiring light in Tuscany? It must be the virgo in me over-preparing as usual. Or maybe it was just another excuse to paint sunflowers.

Soho Watertower

"Soho Watertower"  8x10"  Oil  Click for more info

These watertowers, such a NYC fixture, and quite endearing somehow. They are like little mushrooms sitting atop of buildings everywhere. I heard that no other city has these? How tragic - they're so cute!

"Kick up the Color" Article

A nice article about pushing and swapping out colors was published this week in an artistsnetwork newsletter, accompanying this painting.  I will be focusing on "pushing color" throughout my upcoming workshop in Tuscany. There are few spots left, June 20 is the last day to register!

"Harlem Rooftops"  30x30" Acrylic  More info

Window Shopping in NYC

"Window Shopping"  16x20" Acrylic  Purchase Info

I stuck the little pooch in at the last minute, maybe because my last painting had one... yes, the finishing touch!