Thursday, February 28, 2008

Icon Boards


This is a photo of the kind of boards I'm using for
my attempt at painting icons. I've been using the most authentic materials I can find - natural pigments ground into egg yolk - rabbit skin glue - chalk gesso - beech wood panels etc. It's very time consuming but can also be rewarding. I'll try to post the progress I'm making painting icons.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

New Exhibition at Exploration Place

Well, I've got a new exhibition going at Exploration Place here in Wichita. It starts Friday, Feb 29th and runs for two months. Some old paintings and some new. The exhibition was a last minute thing so I don't know how much publicity it will generate. In the past Exploration Place has been very good about promoting exhibits. Anyway, I would rather have my work out in the public rather than sitting in my studio on the shelf. Hope people stop by to take a look. It is a free exhibit open to the public for two months.

Let me know if you go my to see it.....

Tuesday, February 26, 2008


Exhibition at KU. Here is a photo of part of an exhibition of my work hosted by the KU School of Medicine here in Wichita. This exhibit has run for two months and will end Feb 29th. I highly recommend KU as a venue for artists to exhibit. Anita Peeters does a good job of promoting the exhibitions and is very helpful with the installation and opening reception. It is a first class place.
Cold again today. Even the beagles don't want to go outside. They prefer to stay indoors and watch the squirrels through the sliding glass doors.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Max Phillippi Portrait of a Dog



This is a small painting I did for fun a few months ago. "Max Phillippi" is a portrait of the neighbors dog I did as a birthday present for Dan Phillippi. Dogs present some unusual problems when painting their portraits. You really have to work from a good photo and try to make them seem animated. While this was a fun portrait to work on, I don't think I would like to paint animal portraits exclusively. But it was fun.

Better weather today. I think I will take the Beagles for a walk later. Perhaps by the river.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

tete-a-tete

Here is a small painting I finished a few months ago. I call it tete-a-tete. Two amish women in a conversation. Lots of color and light etc. Let me know what you think.

Today it's still cold with snow on the ground. The weathermen called for sunny weather with 55 degs temps but I guess they missed it again. Surely the snow will stop when spring comes, which is only a few days away.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Marlene en Quince


This is a portrait (oil on PVC) of Marlene, a waitress in a local Mexican restaurant, who just turned fifteen and was celebrating Quince. Lots of blues and good flesh tones I think. I enjoy painting portraits and they do keep me from refinancing the mortgage. I would like to have more commissions though. Any ideas out there?? Perhaps I should consolodate my loans and only paint portraits for a living. Let me know what you think....

Friday, February 22, 2008

Red Boots


Red Boots - Oil on PVC Panel
Red Boots has already been sold although it is currently on exhibition at KU. I liked working on this painting and it is one of my favorites. Three figures and some mystery about the small girl behind the two bigger girls. Is she being left behind by her older sisters?? Perhaps....
Let me know what you think....
More cold weather today... Really getting tired of this winter stuff....


Thursday, February 21, 2008


Missy the Modern Woman (oil on PVC panel) is a painting I finished about three years ago. It has been shown in a couple of exhibitions in Kansas and continues to be one of my favorite paintings. Missy is a model I used from an agency in Wichita which worked really well. I currently looking for a female model with lots of tattoos. I want to do a painting of a "punk madonna."

Today is freezing ( 20 deg) outside and I have a head cold so I probably won't be going to the studio today to work. Just stay home and take care of the beagles and do the laundry. Let me know what you think of Missy the Modern Woman !!!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Here is a painting I did last summer of the river behind my studio. I've always been impressed by Monet and have tried to develop my own "impressionist" style. Well... I have to take the dogs outside for a bit. Let me know what you think of this painting.....

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

This is a painting of Lorraine Sewing. Oil on PVC Panel with lots of color. She is a check-out clerk at Food for Less in Wichita but I used her to model for this painting because she had strong latina features and good skin color. (note: all my work is for sale. If you are interested let me know)


This is God's Girl - oil on PVC Panel. It is part of a series of paintings I did about two years ago of Amish women working. The Amish, it turns out, don't like to have their image photographed or painted. They are not superstitious, they just don't want to be singled out as someone "special." So it hasn't been easy painting their portraits.
Let me now what you think of my work.







My First Post

This is it. My first Blog. I hope to post a diary of sorts about my daily struggle to create paintings and other artworks. Maybe this will help the world understand the creative process that shapes me as an artist. Constructive criticism is appreciated - even desired.

Well, today is Tuesday and I'm working with egg tempera on gesso wood panel. I usually paint with oils on PVC panels so this is something different. I had done a couple of Icons earlier and now want to try impressionist work using egg tempera on wood panel. It's a major departure from oils and egg tempera is sometimes difficult to work with. Very time consuming (and egg consuming as well). I'll post some photos of some of my work as I go along.