The latest novel is inspiration for art. Novels offer lots of potential ideas for art. However, I have only once before written about a novel I was reading for this blog. Of course, some novels have such an impact on … Read More
Unwanted attention: working within a time limit. Unwanted attention is a charcoal sketch worked within a time limit. Well, that was the goal. But like so many other works of art, I get carried away with the fine tuning in … Read More
Slumming is the thing to do in Victorian England. A weak milky sun rises this morning over the slum tenements in the factory district. Slowly, the city wakens. The blackened buildings are still damp to the touch as the … Read More
Grasping a moment in time. My nonna had us in her grasp even when we were in plain sight. See how she is clawing at my brother’s shirt? There is no way we were going to get away from … Read More
Victorian Era gentleman. What makes him a respectable gentleman? At first glance, he has kind, smiling eyes. His hair is neatly coiffed and his beard clean and trimmed. Check! Fortunately, as a boy, when he showed promise in arithmetic … Read More
What are you thinking? This is the question I always have in mind when I look at old photographs, especially these days as I examine family albums for material for my art. This commissioned portrait was painted in May 2016, … Read More
An Edwardian beauty finds a cause. This Edwardian beauty is more than just a lovely face. In her hurry to leave home this morning, Emma forgot that she was meeting her friends for dinner at the Amba Charing Cross Hotel. … Read More
Out of the shadows a face emerges When I paint, I often wonder who will appear from the shadows and move into the light. Sometimes, the portrait causes me no end of grief; I might work on it for hours, … Read More
Many Goodbyes from Paris, 1928. Still humming Let’s Misbehave, Mona watches as another celebrity friend waves goodbye from the last car of the Blue train leaving Gare du Nord on its Paris-Marseille run. Draped in her warm evening coat, … Read More
Miss Macpherson, Proprietor of Haberdashery and local Apothecary Eugenia MacPherson is quite proud to be the first female proprietor of a general store in the entire state of Illinois. (Miss Eugenia. Acrylics in Strathmore Mixed Media Visual Journal. … Read More
Expressive monochromatic sketches yield quick results. Sketches that are expressive and monochromatic…those were key words that attracted my attention in a recent email sent to me from Ivy Newport. Newport, an Oregon artist, posted a free tutorial on her website to advertise … Read More
Pining for love is passé…or is it? Pining means to be languishing for an unattainable or lost love. The word pining, describes young Violet. She is in a love fog, the kind that seeps into the brain and clouds any … Read More