Mane

Julia Seated  (2012)
oil on canvas

This was the last painting from Gil's workshop. Julia's a great model - she has a strong, pronounced nose and a wild mane of curly red hair with a few platinum blond streaks. She's just such an interesting looking woman, and friendly too.

Familiarity

Angela by the Window (2012)
oil on canvas

This was a painting I did while doing a workshop at the Art Academy of Cincinnati last winter with Gil Borne, a wonderful painter who I've known many years. Angela is a model I've painted many times in figure painting classes at the Art Academy. She's a middle aged woman, but there's something really innocent and childlike about her. She was sitting by the window, and the light had her face mostly in shadow. She was wearing this sweater with all these crazy colors.

Structure

Plaza at Mt Echo Park (2012)
oil on canvas

I rarely attempt to paint architecture - I usually prefer painting organic things like people and plants. But this scene was just so compelling - the plaza at Mt. Echo park, a brick and concrete structure with trees protruding through the ground and all kinds of flowers surrounding. Once again, I went back and redid a lot after taking it home. It took a while for me to feel like the structure had the sense of weight and stability it needed.

Sunlight

Sunlight on the Ohio River (2012)
oil on canvas

This was a painting I started with my painting club last fall. We were at Otto Armleder Park, and the Ohio River was low enough so we could go down to the bank and paint. After the session, I went back and redid a lot later, because I didn't think my first draft really captured the colors and the way the river appeared. The water was really dark and muddy, and the foliage behind the river seemed almost purple. But the sun was hitting the river in certain spots, creating this dazzling brightness here and there.

Vibrant

Mt. Echo (Park Entrance) 2011
oil on canvas

Mt. Echo is really a beautiful park; very well maintained, with beautiful landscaping, and a gorgeous view of the downtown Cincinnati skyline. I painting this on a foggy morning, with the cityscape in the background obscured by the fog, but the entrance landscaping and flowers vibrant and bright and popping out all over the place.

The Gaslight District

Pond at Burnet Woods 2011
oil on canvas

The Gaslight District is one of my favorite areas of Cincinnati, so when my painting club wanted to go to Burnet Woods Park to paint, I was all for it. The final painting is really rather abstract, again with more of a focus on texture and color and energy.

Persistence

Christopher on the Papasan 2011
oil on canvas

I had started this painting in December, and didn't get very far. When I picked it up again in June, it took several sessions to finish it. Sometimes paintings just spring to life fairly quickly, and sometimes they require a lot of persistence. Chris loves comic books, and is wearing a tee shirt with the Flash emblem on it.