The Painter - 12 x 12 inches - Oil on canvas - SOLD

You don't realize how large the Parish Center for the Arts (PCA) is until you see someone right against the building to put it all in perspective. Just look how this painter, who is probably 6 feet tall, is dwarfed by these massive windows. The stained glass was a bit of a challenge. I had to tone down the color and subdue the details to help keep the focus on the figure. I also wanted to "suggest" the clapboards but not draw in every detail so you see the occasional horizontal line running across the canvas. I'm always struck by how many decisions it takes to create a painting...sometimes it just hurts my brain.

Below is a photo of the PCA taken several years ago. The painter was working on the left between the two large windows.

Me and My Shadow - 12 x 12 inches - Oil on canvas

As I was walking our dog Cooper, I was inspired by the strong cast shadows and figured it would make an interesting painting. Having my camera handy, I took photos for the rest of our walk (which must have looked pretty strange). Our walk was fairly late in the day so the shadows were actually very long. I had to shorten and modify the shadows to get the look that I wanted. I debated about adding more details to the ground such as the sidewalk, grass, etc. In the end, I really liked the simplicity of just the dog, leash, and shadows.

Think Pink - 12 x 12 inches - Oil on canvas

I was looking for a subject to paint and asked a friend to set up a still life using any combination of objects. She had just purchased some beautiful pink tulips and used them to come up with this arrangement. The cloth, with all of its folds and wrinkles was challenging as I don't have a lot of experience painting fabric. I really like the little ceramic bunny as it catches the strong light from the window.

Bathing Beauties - 12 x 12 inches - Oil on canvas

These ladies were wading in the shallow waters at Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester, MA. This particular scene actually included much more…large rocks, a lighhouse in the distance, boats, etc. I could have "panned" out to include them but really wanted to focus on this trio and the beautiful reflections created in the water in front of them.

SAVE THE DATE! On another note, it's official: The opening reception for my show is the evening of Saturday, October 10th, 2009 at the Parish Center for the Arts in Westford, MA. (www.westford.com/pca). I haven't decided on the exact time but everyone will get an official invitation as the time approaches. All 50 paintings (along with a few other goodies) will go on sale when the show is hung on October 1st.

The Concert - 12 x 12 inches - Oil on canvas

The challenge of this painting was fitting so much stuff onto a small canvas. I wanted to keep the figures in the foreground fairly dark to emphasize the light on the stage. However, I didn't want to go too dark and lose all the details of their clothing, hair, etc. I had to include the theatre lights at the top of the painting to help balance out the composition.

Some paintings are easy to title. For this one, I debated between "Quintet" and "The Concert". I chose the latter since the painting is really about the entire experience of attending a performance and not really focused on the specific entertainment. Any thoughts on a better title?