A few months ago we took the kids to a local farm
my heart melted when i saw a group of piglets feeding at the trough
as they walked around their yard
i noticed the sun to be at a perfect place to shine through their ears
…making a brilliant orange
the pigs were quite skittish
but they did allow me to get some photos
this is a little color study for a larger painting

you can order it here

i’m very honored to have been given a spot on the cover!

each artist has a full page feature in the book
here is a preview of my page

International Artist magazine
december 2008

“there is a gentleness in your light” won me a 
finalist spot in the international figurative competition featured in this month’s International Artist magazine
each artist wrote about their inspiration, design strategy, and process
here is the text for my feature

MY INSPIRATION:

My dependence on the visual world began when I lost much of my hearing through spinal meningitis at 2 years of age. This loss was a blessing in disguise as I learned to depend on body language and reading lips to communicate. So, from my youngest days, I became sensitive to the people around me and the unspoken language revealed through compositions of the human body.
I am moved to portray the human figure in two aspects: body and soul. The image of a young female figure reaches into a part of my past that contains an infinite collection of ideas and images for inspiration. I believe that every moment in life has potential as a great work of art. This keeps me in a constant state of awareness about the world; taking in the imagery, colors, and patterns that to my eye are compositions of settings and people.

MY DESIGN STRATEGY:

I saw this young woman and was instantly drawn into the saturated orange color of her sunglasses and how they harmonized with her blonde hair. As I looked into her eyes through her glasses I was struck by the way the midday sun was shining through, I could almost taste an orange sucker that I may have gotten as a child. As the surface of the candy became smooth as glass, I would then hold it up to the sun and look at the color sparkling within, creating the most brilliant orange. In this painting my purpose was to convey that same transparent saturated color by flooding the figure with direct warm sun. I always have my camera ready to capture the moment when the complexity within contemplation surfaces and moves me to a familiar place or a vivid memory.

MY WORKING PROCESS:

Photography is an essential part of my creative process. It allows me to capture a brush of emotion that will pass over the figure in a split second of time. Working from photographs, I start with a very light pencil line drawing on a kaolin clay surface. After the line drawing is established I start laying in some general value with watercolor. The pencil lines lift and blend almost instantly as the first layers of water are applied. I build my color using size 1, .2, and .3 round brushes.  These small detail brushes allow me to build many layers of pigment to create depth. I use tiny controlled strokes of overlapping colors while letting the white clay surface show through as the light. Raw sienna and cadmium yellow gave this painting the warm sun glow, and thalo yellow green mixed with cerulean blue brought life to the reflective light.

there are two group shows opening this weekend

friday -     Linda Ross Gallery
                 opening 6-8 pm  (i will be at the opening)

saturday- Wally Workman Gallery
                 opening 6-8 pm

both galleries decided to use my pieces for the cards (pictured above)
I hope to see some you at the opening in Memphis on friday.

here is the tryptich that i’ve been working on
it will be in a group show opening this friday at L Ross Gallery
each figure is on a 12″ x 12″ panel

“veiled #1″
12″ x 12″ fresco

“hidden”
12″ x 12″  fresco

“veiled #2″
12″ x 12″  fresco

i painted this piece for a food themed show
that will open in Austin, Texas in a few weeks
this image struck me early on as the one i should paint for this show
and for days i tried thinking of different foods or utensils
that i could incorperate
every idea seemed really contrived
i like how she seems to be holding something in front of her heart
so i eventually just had peace with putting the “food” in the title

in this second study of “in this moment”
i found some more answers to color combinations for layering
…all for a 30″ x 30″ painting of this figure/sock combination