I've always admired the New York artist, Burt Silverman, who wrote a book entitled, "Breaking the Rules of Watercolor." In it, he demonstrates how you can use oil painting techniques in watercolor. To achieve form and dimension in the figures and their clothing, I applied flat color to an area, let it dry and then removed, or "lifted out" areas of paint that I wanted to be highlighted.
Watercolor on board: 15½"x 14"
Private Collection
My nephew Chase was one year old and I wanted to surprise my sister with a portrait for Christmas. On Thanksgiving day, I was outside watching him crawling around in the backyard examining leaves. When he slowly turned his head toward the sun, the light rimmed his head and I knew I had the image I wanted to paint.
Watercolor and pastel on board
Private Collection
This portrait was completed of a neighbor's three-year-old daughter. We had spent the afternoon at a local playground, determined to do the portrait in an outdoor setting. However, when I walked into the playroom of her home later and saw her in her stocking feet, rocking with her teddy bear, I knew I had found all the elements needed to complete the painting.
Pastel on paper: 36"x 24"
Private Collection
This painting was a watercolor commission done for a magazine story about a young woman's summer job at a farm picking strawberries.
Watercolor on paper: 24"x 18"
Private Collection
Traveling around mid-day in the Amish country near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, I came across these children on their way home from school. I had heard that the some Amish are a little superstitious about having their picture taken, but they agreed to pose for me. I do believe the two boys in the back were just a little apprehensive.
Watercolor on board: 18"x 23"
Framed size: 30"x 36"
Framed price: $3,000
This commission was done for a couple who had lost their young adult son to illness. I borrowed a favorite shirt of his and used it in the piece to try and enhance the portrait in a more personalized way.
Pastel on paper: 24"x 18"
SOLD
Sometimes telling a story is best accomplished by grouping visual elements together in a montage fashion. Since this painting reflected imagery of a bi-gone era, I attempted rendering the captain and crew very lightly in pencil first, then selectively applied color washes, which were reinforced with pastel on top.
Watercolor and pastel on board: 18½"x 10½"
Private Collection
Working from a faded old photograph, I was drawn to the ghost-like quality of this group of Apache Indians in the desert. I started with a sepia toned drawing, then completed the painting with a soft blending of pastel color on top, trying to capture a "lost and found" effect with the figures.
Pastel on sepia-toned drawing: 18"x 24"
Private Collection
This painting was originally commissioned by the Southern Partisan magazine. I began by pouring over Civil War books and located a good black and white photo of Jackson to start working from, then enlisted the aid of a Confederate re-enactor. Using him as my model out in the woods, I lined him up in the right body positioning to match the head reference and took numerous photographs. His clothing, however, was that of a lieutenant's, so I had to do more research in order to alter several details and accurately paint the uniform of a Confederate General.
500 S&N Limited Edition
Image size: 25½"x 15&
S&N/ SOLD OUT
Signed Artist Proofs/ $100
In portraiture, sometimes the true character and essence of an individual is best captured through a quick sketch or pre-study. This small watercolor was such a study for a much larger commissioned piece of Mark Twain. The final painting included a riverboat and other elements that told a more complete story, but I've always thought this small piece captured a more soulful portrayal of the author.
Watercolor on paper: 11" x 9½"
SOLD
I love the Old West and whenever I see the sepia-tinted images of Indians from that period, I'm always reminded of the pride and sadness in their faces. To add interest to this composition, I incorporated the tepee shapes into the background and applied color to his clothing as I imagined it would be.
Oil on paper: 30"x 22"
SOLD
I was commissioned to render a likeness of Woodrow Wilson as part of an advertising campaign for the YMCA in Columbia, South Carolina. Our 28th President was the founder of that institution and also made Columbia his boyhood home.
Watercolor and pastel on board: 16"x 10"
SOLD
Printed on the inside cover of an architectural firm's annual report, I was given the assignment to portray their CEO in a dynamic fashion. Since only a head shot of the client was supplied, I decided to go a step further and use myself as a model, striking a confident pose with blueprints in hand.
Graphite and oil wash on board: 13"x 7½"
SOLD
This Santa Claus portrait was originally done for a Christmas party invitation. Originally done in black and white, I later added the red suit, green mat and gold frame when I decided to market them for sale. Old Saint Nick makes a framed, free-standing Christmas decoration for a mantle or tabletop, or simply "hung on the wall by the stockings with care."
Christmas mini-print:
Framed size: 10"x 8"
Framed price: $30
I was approached by this bluegrass band, called Tiller's Ferry, to conceptualize a design for their first album cover. Photographs of the band were taken, then sepia-tinted and mounted to the painting surface. I then applied thin washes of oil color, overlapping each band member's instrument they played with their photo likeness.
Oil on board: 24"x 22"
SOLD
This woman posed by her basket of cotton, in the mill where she labored. The portrait began with a pencil drawing that I printed, then later individually hand colored the entire image, altering the colors of her jacket and skirt throughout the edition.
Hand-colored print: 10"x 7½"
Private Collection
I was hired by a friend who wanted to surprise her parents for their 35th wedding anniversary by having a portrait made showing how they looked when they were courting in the early 1950's. I was given individual photographs of the couple together, her car that they drove during that time, and shots of the lake that they frequented. Using this reference, I was directed to complete a finished painting giving the appearance of the hand-colored look of that era.
Pastel on paper: 13"x 11½"
SOLD
