The Guardian

The Guardian

Today is Memorial Day in the U.S.   It's a day to remember military women and men who died while serving in the Armed Forces.  This drawing is a 12 x 12 inch done with bone black dry pigment mixed with water and dry charcoal on watercolor paper.  

The Tire Swing

Tire Swing

Simple symbolism of youth.   A tire swing hung from a strong limb of an Oak tree.  Everyone has pleasant memories of hanging out by a tire swing, getting pushed by parents and our friends - higher and higher!  This was painted with oil colors on a 16 x 12 inch linen panel with thick impasto brush strokes in an impressionism mood.

Bridge at Milton

Bridges.  There are many ways to guide the viewer to focus on the subject of a painting - color, position, line, depth, etc.  Bridges in art can help facilitate geometric perspective in a composition.  The eye focuses in a somewhat narrow area at any one time.  Lines are drawn to lead the viewers attention to conquer this dilemma;  in this case a bridge can be the lines to lead the attention to the subject.  There are a many examples of this - many bridges in paintings.  A couple more famous pieces include Alfred Sisley's (1872) Bridge at Villeneuve-la-Garenne and Claude Monet's  Bridge at Argenteuil (1874).  

Bridge at Milton (above) is 20 x 16 inches, oil on linen.

Shrimp Boats

I painted 2 shrimp boats with oil on a 24 x 12 inch wooden panel leaving the natural wood grain serve as the background.  The natural grain allows for imaginary water and sky.  I'll probably eventually add nets hanging from the vertical poles, but for now,  set it aside and add a few more details later.

Fishing Without Bait

Fishing Without Bait

Charcoal and watercolor on 10 x 10 inch paper on panel (Aqua-Fuse from Signature Canvas).  Child wearing a hat while fishing without bait with toy fishing pole as parents and two ducks watch nearby.  Sign reads, "No Fishing."

Peacock

Peacock

Toward the end of the Summer, a peahen strolled across the front porch.  A few days later, a peacock showed up.  [The male is called a peacock and the female is called a peahen.] They never left.  These magnificent birds come and go, sometimes spending the day roaming the yard or just sitting in the gazebo.  Some days they are not around at all.  There's a lot of symbolism associated with peacocks reviewed at this blog.  I did a couple paintings of the peacock.  I left the background unpainted leaving the Claessens linen exposed on the one above and painted the peacock with oil [canvas panel 20 x 16 inches].

Winter Scene

A painting to match the approaching season. Under a Winter sky, a horse-drawn sledge returns home through the snow accompanied by a Golden Retriever. Distant leafless trees surround the home.  16 x 12 in oil on linen.