CLWAC Medal of Honor

I am honored to announce that my colored pencil drawing, Spring has received the Medal of Honor for Pastel/Graphics/Mixed Media at the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club 118th Annual Open Juried Exhibition. View the exhibition online here: http://www.clwac.org/

Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition

I am thrilled to announce that my oil portrait, Sophia, has received 10th Merit in the Commissioned category of the Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition! The complete list of winners will be posted to the Portrait Society of America website by December 15th.

AAPL Award

I'm thrilled to announce that my colored pencil drawing, On a Crisp Day, has received a Blick Art Materials Award at The American Artists Professional League 86th Grand National Exhibit. See all of the award winners here: http://www.americanartistsprofessionalleague.org/online_86_winners.htm#gallery

New Oil Painting

Pictured above is my latest oil painting, Story Time, oil on Gessobord, 20" x 16". I enjoyed using a more vibrant palette than usual for this piece, and may try a similar approach again in the near future.

Whistler House Museum of Art Members Exhibit

I just found out that my oil painting, Sophia, has been accepted into this year's Whistler House Museum of Art Annual Juried Members Exhibit. The show will include a variety of works by artist members of the Whistler House Museum of Art and Lowell Art Association, and runs from November 19th through January 17th with a reception on November 22nd from 2-4pm. For more information, see http://www.whistlerhouse.org/.

BoldBrush Painting Competition Award

I just found out that my colored pencil drawing, Brian, has been award 3rd Place in the September BoldBrush Painting Competition! See all of the award winners here: http://faso.com/boldbrush/winners/148

AAPL 86th Grand National

I'm excited to announce that my colored pencil drawing On a Crisp Day has been accepted into the American Artists Professional League 86th Grand National Exhibition! See all of the accepted artwork here: http://www.americanartistsprofessionalleague.org/online_86_accepted.htm#gallery

New Colored Pencil Piece

Above is my latest colored pencil piece, Brian, 20x16, colored pencil on sanded paper.

CPSA Award

I am so thrilled to announce that my colored pencil portrait, Elise has won an Award for Outstanding Recognition at the 22nd Annual CPSA International Exhibition! I just returned from the exhibition in Ormond Beach, FL, and I was really blown away by the artwork on display. The show continues through August 25th at the Ormond Memorial Art Museum & Gardens.

Sophia (Oil Portrait)

My newest portrait, Sophia, 12x16, oil on panel.

New Small Painting

Above is my latest painting - a quick piece - 16x12, oil on panel. I kept most of it loose, with the face more resolved.

CLWAC Award

I am excited to announce that my colored pencil piece Quiet Moment shown above has won Second Place for Graphics or Mixed Media at this year's Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club Member's Show!

Two New Pieces

Above are scanned images of my two most recent pieces: "Winter's End", oil on linen mounted on panel, 16x12, and "Matthew", colored pencil on sanded paper, 14x11.

On the Easel - "Winter's End"

My latest oil painting is about finished - I really tried to stand back and paint this from a distance to get the shapes, values, and colors correct. Winter's End, 16x12, oil on board.

Spring Colored Pencil Piece

A while back I completed several seasons-themed pieces, including Winter Blues, but I never did a spring themed piece until now. Here is my latest piece, Spring, 12x16, colored pencil on sanded paper.

Kennedy Colored Pencil Portrait

Pictured above is my latest colored pencil portrait, Kennedy. This piece is 14x11, colored pencil on sanded paper.

"Director's Choice" in FA Fine Art Portrait Show

I am so honored that my piece Next has been amongst those portraits selected for "Director's Choice" at the Francesca Anderson Fine Art 29th Annual Portrait Show! See all of the selected portraits here: http://www.portraitsnorth.com/current_show.html

Looser Oil Painting

I just started working on a new oil painting, and this is only a few hours work. It's very rough, but I am trying to focus more on getting the overall values and shapes right, and worrying about details later. This is 16x12 oil on board.

Two Portrait Exhibitions

I am very excited to have my work included in two different portrait exhibitions in the month of April!

The first, the Francesca Anderson Fine Art | Portraits North 29th Annual Portrait Show, is in Lexington MA and runs now through April 26th. The work by about 40 portrait artists are included in this show as samples to help clients select a portrait artist. My colored pencil drawing Next and pastel portrait Sophia are on display. For more information, please see http://www.portraitsnorth.com/current_show.html

The second show called "Celebrating the Portrait as Art" takes place at Haynes Galleries in Nashville, TN from April 18 through May 24. My oil portrait Ethan and colored pencil drawing A Second Cup will be on display. For more information, please see http://haynesgalleries.com/hgSite/pages/newsAndEvents/newsAndEvents-PortraitAsArtNash.html

Snapshot of Newest CP Drawing

Pictured here is a small drawing I have been working on, 14x11, colored pencil on sanded paper. I am holding the paper down because it is a little curled, and also to show scale.

New Work

I just completed two new pieces. The first, shown above, On a Crisp Day, is 14x11, colored pencil on sanded paper. I haven't worked in colored pencil in a while, and I enjoyed using the medium to create interesting textures in this piece.

The second piece, another self portrait, appropriately called Another, is 24x18, oil on panel.

SP Work in Progress

Here is a snapshot of a self portrait I'm finishing right now. It's oil on linen mounted on panel.

Small Colored Pencil Piece WIP

In between working on a larger oil painting, I have started a smaller (11x14) colored pencil piece, work in progress shown below. The pencil at the bottom is shown for scale.

I really enjoy going back and forth between oil and colored pencil because I find that I apply things I've learned from one to the other. I will post a photo of the oil painting soon.

Greenhouse Gallery Salon International

I am thrilled to announce that my painting Danny has been accepted into the Greenhouse Gallery of Fine Art Salon International 2014 exhibition! The exhibition takes place April 5-25 at the Greenhouse Gallery of Fine Art in San Antonio, and will include original oil, acrylic, watercolor, and pastel paintings. The juror is world-renowned master painter and teacher, David A. Leffel. For more information, see http://si.greenhousegallery.com/.

Boy In Blue

Here is my latest painting, "Boy in Blue", 20" x 16", oil on Art Boards oil primed linen art panel. I had fun with this painting, and look forward to exploring a looser style in the future.

Trying to Loosen Up...

I've been working on a new painting for a few days now, with the goal of using looser strokes to capture the important information of the subject while keeping the final result "painterly". I actually find that working in this way forces me to step back and squint a bit more, which is helpful to me because I can sometimes get stuck in the weeds and lose sight of the big picture.

I think I am going to take a little break before making the finishing touches. Overall a good learning experience!