More Progress

I've been able to do a lot of work on this today.

The cat box smell got to me so I worked all day yesterday cleaning out some bookshelves to make room for my setup in a spare bedroom. Today I got down to work again and added some more clouds to carry the horizon away and worked on David's face mostly, and a little on Amy. It feels good to be out of the basement and I hope it means I'm going to pick up a little progress. Hope you like it!

Paintings are up!

This is the wonderful Marilyn that runs the Biltmore Emporium. She has a can do attitude and a genuine enthusiasm for doing the job. She has 9 Cocker Spaniels and one of them, Miss Daisy, comes with her to work every day and greets customers from her perch on the counter. Marilyn makes dog clothing and hats and used to be a blackjack dealer in Las Vegas. You need to come by just to meet her and Miss Daisy!




Here's the booth nearly all set up. We've still got to put in a few more lamps but this is pretty much how it's going to look. As I get more paintings done that will be for sale, the walls will fill up. A friend suggested that I have prints made that people could buy without having the investment of their own portrait. Tourists like souvenirs and Asheville is a tourist destination so it's a great idea.

Yippee!

We (the current owner of the lamp company that I have worked for for the last 10 years and I) rented a booth today in a new venue for arts, antiques, etc. We're sharing the space and offering the lamps and my paintings. To begin with, I'll be showing a couple of my already owned paintings in hopes of getting commissions for portraits and as I'm able to paint more, I'll add some pieces that will be for sale. The name of the place is Biltmore Emporium and it's just out of Biltmore Village on Sweeten Creek Road. Wish me luck!

Jordan Siblings

I didn't get much done on this today. Grayed up the sky with a wash and umber washed in the features. I think this one is going to be better than I thought but that's counting your chickens before they're hatched.

Mason, Callen and Tulip

This is a portrait of my dear friends' children and their dog. I had a lot of fun doing this one and learned a lot. It's very big(don't remember the demensions) and the girls are close to life size. Acrylic on canvas.

Made it to the stinky basement

I'm waiting on the background to dry before I begin to block in the faces. The photo I'm using for reference is a not so hot one with a blurred image of the beach house and bushes in the background so I've changed it to look like the beach at low tide and bright midday sun especially appropiate as they're all three squinting. Their father was my brother and passed away in 2000. He'd get a kick out of this.





Proof of the never empty cat boxes.


Attempt to cover up smell.

View From Craggy Pinnacle

This is "View from Craggy Pinnacle"

This was donated to an auction for a local art group.

Cherry Tree

These are two views of the cherry tree in our yard in late winter.They are 24x48 and acrylic. All of my work is acrylic and a little on the large side.

Me and my Sister

Me and my sister, Martha. The necklace she is wearing is not the one that was in the photo I went by. I went shopping and found one that had three crystal hearts and when I gave it to her, she(being a big fan of jewelry) noticed it and I surprised her with the gift of the necklace too. I told her the three crystals were representative of her three beautiful daughters. Tears were had all around.

Eileen

My niece Eileen. She lives at the beach.

Amy and Hunter

My niece Amy and her son Hunter.

Georgie

This is my Mom. This was done from a small black and white school photo when she was 15 or 16, 1924 or 1925.

Beth

My niece Beth. This is one of my favorites.

Introducing My Art

OK. I find myself unemployed, middle-aged and wondering what the heck I'm going to do. I should be in my basement right now painting a portrait for one of my nephews but it's where we keep the cat boxes and it's a little stinky even when it's cleaned up-(there's a constant supply of material if you catch my drift)-and I can't get it off my mind that I need a space to send people to for an idea of the type of painting I do. I would like(I think) to be able to paint on canvas for income but it's scary to think that I might be abe to do it or worse, to fail. Anyway, here's a few things I've done over the past few years.