Warm After Blood

Warm After Blood

Acrylic on Board 5.5" x 8"

I found this image of a Cowboy sitting by the fire taking off his gloves.  I imagine he just finished up a dirty deed of some sort...  Exhausted, cold, worn out and alone, he packs in close to warm himself by the fire.  My last Acrylic painting before stepping into oils.

What Big Eyes You Have

"What Big Eyes You Have"

Graphite & Acrylic on Canvas 14"x14"

I have been wanting to get back into the heavier mediums - Acrylic and Oils and this is my first foray back into those mediums in quite some time.  This Acrylic/Graphite painting is of my daughter, Pilar dressed as Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween last year.  My wife made the cape from scratch...it's beautiful and was the perfect fit for Pilar.  Her sheepish grin was easy to capture, but the eyes were very difficult.  There is a lot going on behind them, trust me.  I was going to call this painting "Watch Out Wolf" because I feel sorry for the wolf who crosses paths with this one. 

I plan to venture more and more into the deeper mediums and look forward to making progress and expanding learning more through the process. (Disclaimer....the photo doesn't do the painting justice...I have a terrible camera).  My inspiration for this painting comes partially from an artist I follow, Michael Shapcott Take a look.

Here are a few reference pictures:

Graphite Underdrawing:

And here is my little Pilar holding the (Finished???) painting:

Louboutin Madame Butterfly

Christian Louboutin Madame Butterfly 150 Leopard Pump

Watercolor 9" x 12" Coldpress

An obvious departure from the fishy subjects so commonplace on my blog, this piece was at the request of one of my female fans.  I have a number of ladies who frequent my site and I wanted to impress them with some "couture" to prove that just because I like to fish doesn't mean I don't know fashion.  I thought the animal print would be a fitting theme on my site, as I know there are some hunters who might like it as well. 

The Christian Louboutin shoe is best know for it's signature red-lacquered heel.  Louboutin is a French designer who's goal is to “make a woman look sexy, beautiful, to make her legs look as long as [he] can.” I would say these red souled shoes do the trick.  Louboutin came up with the red soul almost by accident when he applied red nail polish to one of his shoe designs to make it have "more energy".  Little did he know that he would be creating a cultural icon. 

I wonder if my lady would like a pair?  I suppose that is a silly question.  What do you think?

Heineken Green Drake

Welcome to 2011! 

"Heineken Green Drake"

Watercolor on cold press 9" x 12"

(SOLD)

Hopefully the hangovers have subsided. After all of these booze bottle paintings, I was recently asked to create a commission for a client combining my love of painting booze with my love of painting flies. This will be a gift for his father, a big fly fisherman who likes to enjoy a Heineken while on the water. He refers to Heineken as Green Drakes. I can hear him now...pass me another Green Drake!  I thought I would add a little twist to the bottle as well.

I thought it would be interesting to see the progression of this painting from sketch to completed work.  I took a few pictures along the way to show how I came to the final piece.  

1. The Sketch

2.The base layer

3. Taking shape with more details and depth

4.The Basic Bottle has been built before the fly and reflection were added.

5. The label close up

6. Close up of the Green Drake