Maestro!

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DETROIT WHOLE FOODS MURAL! Earlier this week I was notified that my design won the Whole Foods Detroit Mural competition. There were close to 100 designs submitted, so this was quite an honor to be selected as one of the four finalists. The murals will appear on the exterior of the building on the north side of Mac just east of Woodward in downtown Detroit. My design is based on health, vitality and community--a true reflection of what is currently happening in Detroit. The city is in the middle of a revitalization and it's exciting to see. I was there during Noel Night this December and was amazed at the crowds, the activity and excitement. It felt young and fresh and I wanted to be a part of it. I am truly honored to have been chosen and look forward to starting this project. Completion will be in early spring. I'll post photos of the dedication ceremony when it occurs. 
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Painting Bryce Canyon

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The photo this painting is based on was taken during a semi-cloudy day in Bryce Canyon. Any day there is an extraordinary day. The rock colors are particularly difficult to capture. They change moment by moment as the light moves around them. In this painting I used a series of reds from warm to cool to show the subtle light play. The rocks with the most sun on them are the warmest, including the shadows. That is the most difficult concept to understand. The shadows are actually much warmer than normal. I believe this is due to the bounced light from the red rocks themselves. It's not apparent in the photo, as the camera tends to interpret shadow as a cool tone, but since I was there, I remember the colors vividly. Using watercolors to depict reds can be challenging. The color rarely dries with the intensity that you intended, and placing a second coat on the painting often takes away the freshness. I found myself using colors directly out of the tubes for this painting. Colors li...
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Grey Gray Grey….The Last Day of 2011

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On days like today, it's challenging to be a pleinair painter unless you like to work in charcoal. That's why I'm staying indoors for the 10th day in a row and working on paintings in my studio. Although some artists would tell you that you should be able to find beauty in anything, including a grey landscape, I disagree. It's the reason I don't put parking meters or power lines into my city scapes or landscapes. An artist is not a camera, and we can choose to edit. I choose to ignore the ugliness that city engineers and thoughtless planners construct to blight our landscapes…and I paint around them. I also choose to ignore the grey days and choose instead to focus on making my day brighter. Many years ago I lived in Arizona where the sun shines 340 days out of the year. I never understood what a gift it is to see a sunrise or sunset until I move back here to the midwest. Thankfully, I've taken about 2000 photographs of the southwest and it's at times like...
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