After the Soiree

After the Soiree        8x16 oil on linen          FOR SEWE

Southeastern Wildlife Exposition is next week! Feb 13-15 in Charleston, SC. 

It has long been one of my very favorite events all year! So for the next few days I will post a few new works painted especially for this show.

Fruity Demo__still life, fruit, grapes, pears

Fruity__a demo___9x12 oil on student canvas___$280
Yesterday, I painted a demo to kick off Gail Smith's workshop in San Antonio. There were 15 or so artists of all ages and they were nice enough to watch me paint this and hear what I had to say about working with a LIMITED PALETTE....This work was created with only Ultramarine Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Cad Yellow Light and white. Painting with a limited color palette helps an artist SEE better, and is a good way to improve QUICKLY!
...Gail is one of my BEST friends, and someone I greatly admire. She is the art department head at San Antonio Christian Schools and her students are some of the most accomplished artists in TEXAS! Each year they CLEAN UP the awards at the prestigious San Antonio Stock Show/Rodeo Youth Art Competitions...and their works sell for MANY thousands of dollars at auction!...some of these kids have their entire college expenses nearly paid in full from their Art contest winnings...I am MOST impressed with how Gail crafts their artistic abilities...she is a fine artist and AMAZING teacher!...

Still Life Demo_14 x 11_CLICK TO BID

"Still Life Demo___14 x 11 oil on student canvas _____click to bid

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140252995234

Our lesson today at the Western Art Academy was all about edges. These young artists are all gifted and KNOW the basics (you ought to see the great compositions !). They have strong drawings and have taken a lot of care to get the big shapes of color into their objects...now they are "sculpting" the objects using more color and controlling the edges...here is the one I did as a demo...it's a good "example" of edges directing the eye through a composition...a nice painting, but not on my usual fine linen, so the auction is ON!!!

If you are in the neighborhood (Kerrville, TX) on next Saturday, August 2, please come to the Western Art Museum for a fantastic exhibit of art by the next generation of superstar painters! They will each have at least two original oil paintings on exhibit at the museum, and will be there to visit with you about their art and future! All the paintings are 18 x 24 or 16 x 20...