Happy 21st Birthday Bailey

Welcome to the adult world.

Painting Horses

I am not a "horse guy", I didn't grow up around horses and can count on one hand how many times I have ridden one, but lately I have enjoyed painting them. The smooth surface texture fits my current painting style and the techniques I use to depict a horse match those I use to render a flower or cloud. The nostalgic element attached to a horse also jives with the inherent mood in most of my work. Featured in this post are 2 of the latest.

Above: SEAFOAM 17x15 (23x21 Fr) oil on panel 2008
Below: no title yet, 17x20 oil on panel 2008

Summer:Blackberries

Despite the cosmopolitan trappings, Atlanta has never given up it's rural roots. If you walk the older neighborhoods in town you can still see glimpses of this past. Keeping chickens has become popular with young urban professionals these days, but long before this puzzling trend you could still find homes in my neighborhood with full gardens, and barn yard animals. Around the block from my house there was an old guy who had chickens and a goat, he grew corn, tomatoes, beans, blueberries, apples and blackberries. All that remains now are his blackberries, which run the length of the property on the street-side. You are allowed to pick whatever you can reach from the sidewalk and for the next month the labors of the past will provide refreshment after a jog.

Above: BLACKBERRIES, 18x20 Fr, oil on panel, 2007

4th of July

Growing up in a state where fireworks were legal made the 4TH of July one of my favorite holidays. My Dad always bought a huge supply from the local Jaycees and we would light them up after a day of barbecuing. Dangerous but thrilling, burnt fingers and ringing ears were a given. Now I leave it to the pros.
Above: downtown Atlanta 2008

Maddi's latest cupcake creations, yum.