Art Museum Steps

oil on board
6"x6.5"

sold

Here is a woman sitting on the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps, enjoying the December sun, and the backside of a begging man- two people who are not likely to cross paths again.   Forgive me the melodrama, but I can't help but think of the Longfellow quote:

Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing,
Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness;
So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another,
Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence. 

One more thing.  One of my portraits was nominated for best blog portrait in 2011.

Happy Run

oil on panel
6"x6"

sold

This little girl has just left the art museum and breaks into a happy run at her sudden freedom. 

Thinking About Rothko (day 2)

oil on panel
6"x6"
purchase
I wish I hadn't posted this painting yesterday.  I woke up early this morning and looked at it and thought "Oh no, IT NEEDS SO MUCH WORK!"  See, my blog can feel like a pet that needs to be fed.  I would love to feed it every day, but obviously I get better results when I give it a meal more like twice a week.

Thanks Brian and Nigel for the helpful suggestions about getting rid of the "fishbowl effect".  That aspect looks better here too.  

Thinking About Rothko

oil on panel
6"x6"

This is a modern young woman contemplating some Mark Rothko paintings.  

I'm having trouble getting a good photo, as happens sometimes.  The large paintings in the background are not bowed- the verticals are straight up and down!  Does anyone else have this problem when photographing small paintings, of getting a slight fishbowl effect?

Young Girls in a Museum

oil on panel
7"x7"


The older girl is rapt with attention, while the younger one fidgets (of course).  The photo I took has the one child slightly out of focus, which I thought might make for an interesting painting.

Recumbent Knight

oil on panel
6"x6"

sold

I've been inspired by the painter Karin Jurick to paint scenes of people in museums.  Here is my first attempt, a young girl contemplating weighty matters like time and mortality as well as the mystery of this unknown life, represented by an effigy. 

It's dark and rainy again, so this photo was taken inside.  I think the colors are better than this, but as the rain will continue for a while I'll get a better picture taken in a few days .

Elaina Fine Arts Gallery Holiday Show

I've been busy this past week getting ready for the annual group holiday show at the Elaina Fine Arts Gallery.    This charming and elegant gallery and frame shop is run by three very pleasant and helpful women, making my experience there a complete pleasure. 
On the other hand, I'm champing at the bit to get back to painting.  A few days off and I start to feel that all is definitely not right in my world!