DOG PORTRAIT PROGRESSION

Painting progression of a dog portrait. The whicker is a very difficult painting process. 

Dog portrait progression

Progress on dog portrait.  The wicker is going to be time consuming, but I enjoy repetitive patterns and get lost in the process. 

"OUT OF THE BOX"

This was a collaboration with four emmy award winning writer Garin Wolf and my model was amazing oil painter and friend Greg Little.  AIDSHELP of Key West has an art auction every year and this years theme was "Out of the Box" so I asked my artists friends to work with me on it and this was the result.  Wolf's poem is below for the piece and is in relief in the painting. 

…and in the hoary morning it dawns like the white stained radiance of a ready towel. that life remains a fight, and the blows that box my ears to the truth (all tied up in a riot of red ribbons) remind me that the rounds of love and longing ring the triangle i really stand in; stay anchored. stay aware. stay alive...

"THESE BEAUTIFUL HANDS"

This is a portrait of my Mom who passed away a couple months ago.  I am so grateful to have been her son and proud of this painting. 

"Key West Feet"

Based on Andrew Wyeth painting Barracoon which he painted with a white woman and an African American woman and I thought it would be interesting with a male. 

"HIDING BEHIND TURTLES"

Watercolor for my show "In my hands" on 300lbs Arches Hot press paper. 

"LOOKING BACK"

Acrylic collage on board using hand stained and torn pages from Ernest Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea. This is my version of the Old man looking back as a young fisherman. 

"BIRD OFF A WIRE"

Watercolor on Aquaboard 

"BIGGER THEN BOTH OF US"

Watercolor 12x12 on Aquaboard varnished. 

"Swimming with Ernest"

This is the first of a series of painting I am working on called the Hemingway series.....basically all underwater acrylic or watercolor paintings where the background sea will be collaged in with text from pages of Hemingway books that will be stained in different hues of blues and hand torn and applied to the painting.  This is the first one and very happy with the results. This one is acrylic. 

"Mango Man"

Started this painting today. it has been a while since I painted mangoes but enjoy their brightness and color combinations and they grow like crazy here in Key West

"A time for African tulips"

These grow in giant trees here in the tropics, and a friend and I picked them on a walk many years ago and I have wanted to paint them ever since. This was painted on a cradled artist panel that I painted with watercolor ground and then sealed it and varnished it....it is 16x20. 

Painting tropical flowers in watercolor class two

Painting tropical flowers in watercolor - This was class two in a four class workshop. The students are doing great. One of them is an eighty year old woman who has retinal degeneration so her eye sight is not very good at all. So rather then focus on color she looks for value and goes with what she feels and I gotta say it was the best painting hands down. She is a true inspiration to me and love having her in my class !

ORCHID -Painting tropical flowers workshop

I think this one is finished.  White flowers are tricky because you have to make the decision at some point do I go with a light or white background and let these pale washes speak for themselves or do I put a dark background which will make the whites pop up...either way works but it completely changes the feel of the painting.  As you can see here I went dark. 

PAINTING TROPICAL FLOWERS-CLASS 1 ORCHIDS

Class one of Painting Tropical Flowers at the Studios of Key West was on Tuesday. We started with orchids.  I chose a white orchid with pinks and reds.  Class went well....it was really about seeing white.  White flowers have blues, violets, greens and yellows in them and training your eye to see that is the trick. 

PAINTING DEMO AT COCCO AND SALEM GALLERY

I will be working on a dog portrait this Saturday from noon to six at Cocco and Salem Gallery on Duval Street which is located 1111 Duval Street in Key West Florida.....in celebration of Gay Pride Week the gallery will be offering pet portraits at a discounted price with $100 of every portrait going to the Florida Keys SPCA.  Please come by and see me create a portrait on site. 

Painting tropical flowers workshop

Painting Tropical Flowers in Watercolor

4 week class with Sean P. Callahan

The Studios of Key West

June11,18,25, and July 2. Tuesdays, 11:30-3:30pm M $100/NM $120; limit 20 (weekly $30/$35)

Each class will be a different flower. Sean will provide a photo for each class to work from. This is a great opportunity to work with an artist that knows his way around watercolor and knows how to teach it in a relaxed and fun setting. It is geared for all levels so whether you have taken classes with Sean before or only dabbled now is your chance to explore the beautiful flowers that our island provides us in watercolor!

Please call 305-296-0458, M-F, 10am-4pm to register.