Step 2: Apply the orbital sander

Afternoon, 28 x 42, oil

Afternoon, 28 x 42, oil

I started this awhile ago and the paint was pretty dry, so I thought I'd rough it up a little with the orbital sander before getting back into it. Again, I start most of these on site, and this is an example of that. More to come on this one.

Noodle, finished

Noodle, 40 x 40, oil

Noodle, 40 x 40, oil

Since the last version, the sand has been layered, and a little damp at the water's edge. Many adjustments have been made to figures: colors, highlights, shadows, consistencies. Two figures (heads) have been added to the top left, and a signature at the bottom right.

Noodle, version 8

Noodle, version 5, 40 x 40, oil

Noodle, version 5, 40 x 40, oil

I've added a new "figure", the pink ball. It adds a focal point and plays with the more subtle yellow ball (in my head anyway). The other major progression here is the water which has been completely layered again with lighter values and toned down color, except for the waves. There is a new wave too. (Note, this photo's a little dark at the top - just a snapshot.) Next I'll be layering the sand and continuing to revise colors in the figures.

good harbor moon sketches

Good Harbor Moon sketches, pen on paper, 3 @ 3.5"x5.5"

Good Harbor Moon sketches, pen on paper, 3 @ 3.5"x5.5"

I found these sketches in the studio the other day, from six years ago. Forgot I had done them. Can you find the painting they were for? Haven't seen a moon like it since. That's a bit of Salt Island on the left. How is a painting built? Sometimes it creeps up on you, and you turn around and snatch it.

prints available (painting is sold)

winter beach, in progress

A blog hiatus for the holidays. I finished a portrait, but I can't show it to you before the unveiling. Meanwhile, a bright January afternoon on Good Harbor Beach, low tide, low sun, polished sand, dogs in and out of the water like summer, the harsh light breaking apart the wet shoreline. Johnny Cash echoes from San Quentin while I contemplate progress.

rock and water

Rock and Water, oil on linen

Rock and Water, oil on linen

It was a Rockwell Kent day on Lower Saranac Lake with Sarah and Hannah, clouds billowing up and up in the mountains all around us, yet nothing but sun on Martin island in the lake. The rocks were hot, the water cooling.

Painting on Martin

Painting on Martin

kim and bruce

Kim and Bruce, oil on linen, 16x16

Kim and Bruce, oil on linen, 16x16

Another visit to camp on Saranac Lake gave me the fleeting chance to capture my brother & his wife, Bruce and Kim, hanging out at the swim hole. This is a two hour sketch en plein air.