This scene contained all of the elements that I find important when considering a subject matter for painting. The low light created long shadows, carving out distinct forms of the trees and vegetation. The shape of the creek curved and drew my eye to a distinct focal point while the angle of the tree-line resulted in an interesting interplay of darks and lights stretching to the horizon.
Oil on panel: 12"x 16"
Framed size: 18"x 22"
Framed price: $1,500
Over a late afternoon sky, I watched a distant flock of birds traveling east, then disappear behind a tree line of early autumn colors.
Oil on canvas: 30" x 40"
Framed size: 40" x 50"
Framed price: $7,500
In this mixed media piece, I applied white pastel low in the background sky to indicate a strong, late winter-day light source. During summer months, the silhouetted shapes between sky and branches would be lost to a cluster of full-leaf foreground trees.
Charcoal & pastel on paper: 14" x 10 ½"
Framed size: 27" x 23 ½"
Framed price: $750
On South Carolina's barrier islands, a downed palm lays witness to the constant erosion that our evolving coastline endures.
Oil on panel: 36"x 48"
Framed size: 46"x 58"
Framed price: $8,000
In upper South Carolina, a golden pathway opened wide to reveal a shallow mountain stream.
Oil on canvas: 7 1/8" x 16"
Framed size: 12 1/8" x 21"
Framed price: $985
In upper South Carolina, near Georgia, flows the mighty Chattooga River. When water levels are down, however, the newly exposed bedrock becomes a prominent feature of the river.
Charcoal & pastel on paper: 10 ½" x 13 ½"
Framed size: 17 ½" x 20 ½"
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The setting for this small painting,the Savannah Wildlife Refuge, is one of the most pristine examples of a lowcountry wetlands conservation area.
Oil on panel: 7½" x 9"
Framed size: 12" x 13½"
Framed price: $700
Pale pinks and yellows stretched over the morning sky, while a covey of birds dotted the horizon.
Oil on canvas: 10" x 16"
Framed size: 16" x 22"
Framed price: $1,250
Obviously the egret is the main focal point in this image, yet I didn't want him to completely dominate the drawing and become a more typical "wildlife portrait". With that in mind, I further developed the background trees, rocks and reflections, integrating all the elements together to create a complete picture of interest.
Charcoal on paper: 22" x 18"
Framed size: 33" x 26 ¼"
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This pastoral scene was rendered from an area I traveled through in eastern Tennessee. The natural placement of buildings and trees on this farm seemed to strike a compositional balance for me as I changed little completing the final drawing.
Charcoal on gessoed board: 6 ½" x 13"
Framed size: 9" x 15 ½"
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In the morning hours, I found this composition of trees, creek and grasses appealing but lacking in strong directional light. When I returned later in the afternoon, the light had shifted to the left and behind the trees, defining the shapes more strongly while extending the shadows.
Oil on canvas: 10" x 18"
Framed size: 16 ½" x 24 ½"
Framed price: $1,425
Crisscrossing boulders till I could walk no further, I paused at this spot where the dappled light filtered down through the leaves, shimmering on the churning waters and wet river rock.
Charcoal & pastel on paper: 12" x 10"
Framed size: 21" x 18"
Framed price: $700
The creek’s divide formed a triangle of orange, mirror-imaging the slow moving fragments of yellow clouds from above.
Pastel on paper: 6" x 12"
Framed size: 11" x 17"
Framed price: $750
Beside a valley stream stood these gleaming aspen trees, contrasting brilliantly against a blue/ violet mountain backdrop.
Oil on panel: 9" x 16"
Framed size: 14"x 21"
Framed price: $1,200
I spotted this fisherman years ago while I was exploring along the Saluda River. I positioned him as a focal point in the middle ground, allowing him to provide some scale to the overall composition.
Charcoal on paper: 12" x 9 ½"
Framed size: 20" x 18"
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A blazing sky filled with color heightened the enormity of the landscape in front of me.
Oil on panel: 10¼" x 12"
Framed size: 15¾"x 17½"
Framed price: $1,100
I always enjoy watching billowy clouds moving rapidly overhead in an open coastal area. I attempted to add more movement and interest to the composition by including a small flock of birds flying above the horizon.
Charcoal & pastel on paper: 13 ½" x 9 ½"
Framed size: 19 ½" x 15 ½"
Framed price: $650
I applied shadow areas of deep greens against broken strokes of pink and red to complete a study in complementary colors. I placed the twin tree shapes in the left-center of the composition for balance.
Pastel on paper: 8" x 11"
Framed size: 16¾" x 19¾"
Framed price: $1,075
Blue skies give way to milky yellows and warm golds, heavy with moisture from the thick, summer air.
Oil on panel: 8" x 10"
Framed size: 12¾" x 14¾"
Framed price: $850
When the winter season arrives on the southeastern coast, the atmosphere thins and colors radiate at days end. Here, a gleaming sun drops behind the horizon, rimming with light the broken mass of cumulus clouds.
Oil on canvas: 16" x 20"
Framed size: 23 ½" x 27 ½"
Framed price: $2,500
Some of the most magnificent vistas in the Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto (ACE) Basin area can be found along Hwy.174, traveling toward Edisto Beach.
Oil on canvas: 12" x 24"
Framed size: 19 5/8" x 31 5/8"
Framed price: $2,600
As the tides lower, the unique forms of immerging mudflats and clumps of marsh grass begin to take shape.
Oil on canvas: 12" x 21"
Framed size: 17 3/8" x 26 3/8"
Framed price: $2,500
In this painting, I wanted to capture that one moment after a coastal storm when the sun penetrates the breaking clouds and illuminates a section of land below.
Oil on canvas: 24"x 20"
Framed size: 31½" x 27½"
Framed price: $3,250
This vantage point on this quiet creek captured my interest by both the way the sun radiated through the afternoon trees and how the down tree limbs divided the picture plane at the bottom, while at the same time, nearly connecting the two sides of the riverbank.
Charcoal & pastel on paper: 10 ½" x 13 ½"
Framed size: 18" x 21"
Framed price: $725
Interrupted by a meandering creek, this open area of spartina grass and vegetation was found on the way to Folly Beach, near downtown Charleston.
Oil on canvas: 10" x 8"
Framed size: 16" x 14"
Framed price: $850
One of my favorite places to explore on the South Carolina coast is Hunting Island, one of the barrier islands sheltering Beaufort from the ocean. This area looks to me like northern Florida and many people often mistake my depictions of Hunting Island for the more tropical Florida landscape.
Charcoal & pastel on paper: 13 ½" x 16 ½"
Framed size: 21 ½" x 24 ½"
Framed price: $1,250
A sunlit beach path guided me straight to this cluster of cabbage palms, where branches fluttered in the strong ocean breeze.
Oil on canvas: 26" x 37"
Framed size: 34" x 45"
Framed price: $6,500
This is a spot on the Saluda where I like to visit throughout the year. The visual is obviously quite different from summer to fall considering the tremendous color change that takes place. The fluctuating water levels creates enormous compositional changes. When the river recedes, the exposed rocks in the riverbed add interest by further connecting the land to the water.
Oil on panel: 20"x 16"
Framed size: 26"x 22"
Framed price: $2,500
In this composition, I used strong directionals to draw the viewer down the beach, while the cloud shapes moving across the sky carried the eye toward the setting sun behind the trees.
Oil on canvas: 9" x 12"
Framed size: 17" x 20"
Framed price: $1,000
While I was studying the various palms lining a creek, I noticed an interesting opening which revealed distant grasses and trees. Later, when I painted this scene in the studio, I carefully adjusted the composition by pointing the cluster of palm branches toward the tree line, which served as a focal point in the painting.
Oil on canvas: 10 ½" x 18"
Framed size: 17 ½" x 25"
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A mass of white encased the bent reflected image of the lone palm while the remaining clouds mirrored their soft shapes further away in the shallow water.
Charcoal & pastel on paper: 10" x 14"
Framed size: 16" x 20"
Framed price: $675
I have visited this spot on Hilton Head Island numerous times and marvel how different the scene unfolds depending on the time of day and the resulting angle of light working its way through the trees.
Oil on canvas: 10"x 8"
Framed size: 15¼"x 13¼"
Framed price: $850
Looking east, down river, I found this afternoon view at the water's edge where canoes and kayaks often put in.
Charcoal & pastel on paper: 13 ½" x 10 ½"
Framed size: 23 ¼" x 19 3/4"
Framed price: $700
Bands of golden orange, purple and blue draped the sky, while the receding tide revealed its sweeping shoreline below.
Oil on canvas: 12"x 9"
Framed size: 18½" x 15½"
Framed price: $1,000
Our South Carolina coast readily offers abundant horizontal views, however, here the rising cloud formation took center stage.
Oil on canvas: 14"x 11"
Framed size: 19¼" x 16¼"
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I originally had planned this painting to be a much more panoramic and wide format view, but during closer inspection I found a "painting within a painting." In this vertical image, I juxtaposed the upright tree shapes against the horizontal groupings of boulders and downed tree limbs. The border edge of leaves that frames the right and upper left corner adds a window of contrast and depth to the view.
Oil on panel: 22" x 18"
Framed size: 30¼" x 26¼"
Framed price: $3,000
In this scene, I was drawn to the unusual and distinctively shaped tree limbs that protrude over the river. I increased their contrast against the background trees and reflections by placing some white pastel in the lower sky and water areas.
Charcoal & pastel on paper: 10" x 15"
Framed size: 16" x 20 ½"
Framed price: $700
I've painted this spot on the Saluda River before in full fall color. Returning again in late winter, I discovered it was an ideal subject for a "bare bones" drawing with its tall, twisted branches and giant clusters of rock scattered to the horizon.
Charcoal & pastel on paper: 10 ½" x 13 ½"
Framed size: 16 ½" x 19 ½"
Framed price: $700
This study on paper was done from the same beach house on Sullivan's Island that I had painted several years before in watercolor. This is how the property looked prior to being damaged from Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Today it has been renovated and enlarged, losing much of its original character and charm seen here.
Charcoal & pastel on paper: 8" x 11"
Framed size: 16 ¼" x 19 ¼"
Framed price: $500
Golds turned to pinks while blues and lavenders intermingled till the last light faded from the sky.
Oil on panel: 12" x 16"
Framed size: 18" x 22"
Framed price: $1,500
When I first considered painting this scene, I was unsure whether or not to include the broken limb in the water. However, the more I studied it, the more I felt that the limb was actually critical to its success as a finished painting. The subtle, twisted shapes rising in and out of the water add some movement and interest to the large body of water, while providing some scale when viewing the overall composition.
Oil on panel: 16"x 12"
Framed size: 22"x 18"
Framed price: $1,500
August was the first time I visited Saluda Shoals Park. I walked the nature trail till I came upon this wide expanse of the Saluda River. My initial thought was to paint this view the way I saw it then, in the lush, rich greens of summer. However, when I returned two months later, I realized that the variation of color from the early fall foliage served as a more appealing backdrop for this painting.
Oil on panel: 12"x 16"
Framed size: 18"x 22"
Framed price: $1,500
I originally painted this scene as a demonstration for an oil painting class. As I neared completion, I realized something was missing and saw the potential for adding several birds somewhere in the background. However, I eventually realized that a single bird placed strategically in the composition might be a stronger solution.
Oil on panel: 10" x 17 ½"
Framed size: 14" x 21 ½"
Framed price: $1,400
I was intrigued with the graceful flow and the overall shapes of these coastal trees.I mimicked their sweeping shapes by playfully adding a small flock of birds sweeping across the distant background.
Charcoal & pastel on paper: 9 ½" x 21 ½"
Framed size: 19 ½" x 31 ½"
Framed price: $1,150
Because this little bend in the river contained so many trees and boulders repeating similar shapes, I decided to mass in and darken many of the shadow areas to help strengthen and simplify the scene. I also added a touch of pale ochre pastel in the sky and water to warm the drawing slightly, except where I deliberately left out color behind the trees on the left. There, I wanted to leave pure white gesso to suggest a subtle light source in the lower sky.
Charcoal & pastel on gessoed board: 6 ½" x 12 ½"
Framed size: 14 ½" x 20 ½"
SOLD
