Van Wickle Gates in the Fall

Here is a watercolor I painted in December '09 of the Van Wickle Gates from Brown University in Rhode Island. This was a commissioned painting from someone who saw the first "Gates" painting I posted here on my blog on 2/22/09. To make this one unique, I drew out parts of the painting with ink, and changed the season and color palette. This time I painted the bricks in front with a kind of plaid coloring to remind one of chilly Fall air and the east coast woolens.

I love the challenge of painting commissions. Matching a person's idea of what they'd like to receive with my interpreting it into a painting for them is like puzzle work to me, only easier since I get to make it up. Hopefully the finished product is better than what we both expected. In this case I know we were both happy with the result.

Chickens and Checks

Now this was fun to do. I thought I'd take a break from painting larger paintings and create these little 5x7's. My friends and I brainstormed about what to make from these and I can't wait to do it!

Jonathan's Paintings: Landscape with Gates from Frank Clarke's DVD

Here's a special treat for you. My son, Jonathan, is painting now and here's a landscape he did from the Simply Painting instructional DVD taught by the Irish artist, Frank Clarke. This DVD is called, Introduction to Acrylics, Landscapes. Frank is light-hearted and a great teacher. I'm looking forward to showing you more paintings from Jonathan in the future.

Sunflower Farm in Gilroy, CA

This farm was across the street from the seed flower farm in Gilroy. So much yellow, orange and green in one place. I painted it on a full sheet of watercolor paper and had it professionally matted and framed for my gallery show.