Summer Mural Installation

The mural I have been working on all summer was installed on Tuesday. I spent yesterday, touching up the seams and adding a few things. The installer, Stefan Alexander did a beautiful job putting it up. It is not an easy task handling all that canvas in a small space and hanging it without a crease or a wrinkle. I painted the hinges in the little door in the wall to disguise it. And I painted the doorknob, adding a few ladybugs. I also added some vines and olive branches wound into the shape of an infinity sign, among the doves above the window. And I put a big rabbit right in the foreground. He will be a guardian to Nicole when she plays in her room. Here are some details:

Summer Mural

This summer I am working on a mural for a private home in Washington DC. The subject of the mural is a tree house, a mystical garden and portraits of the clients' three children.(and their dog Sophie) It is a great project and challenging in certain ways. There is a window and radiator in the wall which I am working into the composition. Changes are being made along the way to accommodate the interests of the children. Today I added a mare and her foal in the field behind the tree house. The progression of the images in this post are the thumb nail sketch above, then the color gouache study below and the third image is the mural about half way finished. The mural is painted in Golden Matte Fluid acrylics on primed flame retardant muslin.

Young Girl and Two Dogs in Summer

I finished this painting the other day. The catalyst for it was a photo I took of my daughter when she was about 13. I have had it on my drawing table in my studio since then (eight years) and I have always wanted to incorporate it into a painting. The setting is Andy's Way and it is late in the day- my favorite place and time. The dog running through the water is Rembrandt, who discovered that he loves water last summer. I guess he has some lab in him deep down in his gene pool. The Springer was inspired by my friend's dog, named McDuff.
The painting is 18" x 24" oil on panel.

Portrait of a Relationship

This is the narrative portrait that I finished recently. It was commissioned by a woman for the man she was about to marry, as a wedding gift. It was presented to him on the nineteenth and they were married on the 26th! It was a great project because the client completely understood the concept of a narrative portrait and had so many ideas to bring to the painting. The picture tells the story of their first "meaningful" date as well as the story of the proposal. Elements in the painting tell of her interests and his interests and how they are bringing those things and melding them into their relationship. Their dog, who is a big part of the picture (real and metaphorically) is the narrator of the painting and makes eye contact with the viewer. The client didn't want to be very "big" in the painting but rather wanted to be secondary to the story the painting is telling. Thus they are the couple standing in the middle distance, on the bank of the Chesapeake. Other elements of the painting emphasize the concept of a twosome- two sailboats, two trees, two towers on the bridge, etc. Here are four images from the first thumbnail studies, to the composition on graph paper, to the grisaille with partial imprimatura, and the finished painting below. It is oil on panel, 24" x 36".

Children's Book Conference Notes

I attended the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators this weekend. It was fantastic and very inspiring. I knew when I went that I would either decide to give up writing and illustrating children's books or I would be completely absorbed in the whole process again. Well the latter is what happened. The speakers at the conference were great. I really enjoyed Jules Feiffer, illustrator of The Phantom Tollbooth. His drawings are absolutely amazing....oh the line!! I also loved the stories that Lois Lowry told about the inspiration for her books. I still feel like my ideas and goals for my books are way left of center, and definitely not mass market, but I will keep going anyway. I am also fascinated by the idea of designing children books apps and I intend to figure out a way to do that with Mr. Hubbard's Heart. Above is a sketch and a finished image for "Crazy Canes" by JH Diehl.

Looking Out Andy's Way

Looking Out, Andy's Way oil on panel 18" x 24"
This is another painting inspired by Block Island and the human- dog relationship. In this painting, three boys and two dogs make up a pack, sitting by the water towards the end of the day, just watching the tide come in.

Clamming at Andy's Way

I am currently working on a group of paintings inspired by Block Island, which is one of my favorite places on earth. Andy's Way is a beach on the sound side of the island where people go clamming at low tide. This painting is oil on panel 24' x 36". I am interested in looking at how a single or small group of figures relates to the landscape and in most of these paintings I am also focusing on the canine and human relationship-a favorite subject of mine.