Beaux Arts 8x10 Acrylic

A close friend recently told me that she thinks several of my paintings look 'unfinished.' It's good to have someone around you who tells you the truth and not just what they think we want to hear. It causes one to dig deeper, to evaluate more, to look at work more objectively and not just settle. This painting was first posted on May 10th of this year. I always thought I let it go to soon. It needed punching up, so I punched it. I may be doing this with a few other paintings as well.

Daily Painters Studio Tour

The view from my studio window of the house across the street.

This is where I do much of my work. Sometimes an easel is set up for larger work, but for smaller paintings I set the canvas board right on my lap. I need a paint box with a lid so I can close it quickly when Charity or Hope the cats walk in. Rockwell and Remington are great inspirations as I work. Today, many of the Daily Painters are posting pictures of their studios. Please visit the Daily Painters site to see where and how artists set up a working space.

Stretch Revisited 9x12 Acrylic

Business Card 8x10 Acrylic

More Drawings by Kate Skaloud

When I look at these drawings, I am reminded of drawings I did long ago, before so many influences from so many sources tossed me back and forth. Influences both in art and in life. When I made drawings similar to these, I know I was speaking with my own voice. Seeing Kates' work helps clarify my thoughts as to why I became an artist in the first place. Simple and complex at the same time. Innocent and honest. A combination of gentleness and strength.

Figure Study 8x10 Acrylic

Out To Sea 8x10 Acrylic

Beachsitter 2 Acrylic 5.5x7

SOLD

I really am seeking more energy and expression in my work. Balance between too much detail and too little detail is the most beautiful combination. Fresh eyes are always necessary every day. When one just goes through the motions, it is best to step back and then start again fresh.

Ziegfeld Girl No. 7 Acrylic 8x10

Fly Away 11x14 Acrylic

I like to just sit down and go where the brush takes me. No model or reference material. Just painting for fun with imagined images. It's more like painting an idea than anything else. Maybe it's a sketch for a larger painting. Maybe it is what it is.

Kate Skaloud's Work

I've never done this before, but I was so taken by these drawings by artist Kate Skaloud, that I wanted to provide a place where they can be seen. Kate recently took up drawing and painting again after a 24 year absence. She is largely self-taught. I am most envious of this fact. Pierre Bonnard strongly felt that art should not be taught, that each person should be given the freedom to develop his or her talent without the undo influence of a teacher trying to reproduce a carbon copy of himself. I am not the purist that Bonnard was on this subject, but I agree with him to a degree. Artists should be taught how to see more than how to draw or paint. If I had to do it over again, I would seek out a few artists I admire who offer workshops (such as Daniel Greene) rather than seeking a B.A. Degree. Here, Kate's work displays a clarity of vision and delicacy of line that I hope continues to blossom through the best teacher, which is time spent at the easel. Kate lives with her husband in Galva, Illinois.

Ingrid - Figure Study 5x7 Acrylic

Freedom 5x7 Acrylic

SOLD

Street Vendor 5x7 Acrylic

Tana 2 Acrylic 11x14

A 30 minute pose from life drawing this afternoon. Tana has the bliuest eyes I have ever seen on a human being. I love these quick sessions. Very spontaneous.

Cellular 7x8 Acrylic

A Day At The Races 7x9 Acrylic

SOLD

On Memorial Day, there are bicyle races through the streets in the District in Rock Island. I love the movement and the color. 

Memorial 18x24 Oil

I painted this when Tonya and Hallie were little. It is appropriate to post on Memorial Day weekend. Tonya and Hallie's father, Ray, passed away at age 52. They lost their father, their mother lost her husband, and I lost my best friend. I've not met anyone as kind and generous as he, and not likely to again. This is in memory of Ray. We will all be reunited again. And this is in memory to all who have selflessly given their lives. Freedom is not free. Not for sale.

Woman At Concert 5x7 Acrylic

Pictures At An Exhibition 5x7 Acrylic

River Walkers 11x14 Acrylic

Sold

Spectator 4.25x8 Watercolor

I have this love/hate relationship with watercolor. I love it because it is a fast medium with a mind of it's own. I hate it because it a fast medium with a mind of its own.

Beaux Arts 8x10 Acrylic

I took a picture at the Beaux Arts Fair when it was at the old gallery up on the hill. Now they hold it in downtown Davenport. 

Life is not measured 3x5 Acrylic

SOLD

This is a departure for me, but I have been doing calligraphy for years. I love to paint and I love to read. So why not combine words and paint. This piece is spoken for already!

Flower Pots 16x20 Oil

I just cut loose and went to work with a palette knife. I didn't even touch a brush on this one. I was surprised at how quickly this was painted. 

Rolling Thunder 24x30 Oil

This is not one of my usual daily paintings. It's been an unusual week, so I thought it was a good time to post one I painted when Tonya and Hallie were little. I painted this back before I became allergic to oil paint. That really sent me reeling looking for a medium I could work with. I asked Tonya and Hallie to sit in this chair and look scared because of a thunderstorm. They were pretty good actors. Not for sale.

Tonya 9x12 Pastel

This was a 30 minute sketch of Tonya from a photo I took with a specific painting in mind. Not For Sale.

Ballerina 8x10 Watercolor

Bike Race 15x22 Watercolor

I painted this a few years ago and forgot about it. I found it behind my studio door in between a bunch of watercolor paper. This is a composite of several photographs taken of people at a bike race.

Stretch 9x12 Acrylic

Katherine is a ballet dancer and teacher. She was kind enough to let me come to her studio and take pictures during her workout. 

Red Dress 4x6.5 Acrylic

This was at an art festival. A little girl in a plaid red dress being directed by her mother. Available on etsy. 

St. Patrick's Day 5x7 Acrylic

St. Patrick's Day. And as usual I'm walking around with a camera. There are great scenes everywhere that go unnoticed when we are not really looking. 

Flowered Dress 7x7 Acrylic

This is Trish.  People in my life end up in my paintings.  I haven't seen her for a few years.

Craft Fair 7.5x7.5 Acrylic

Hallie And Zane 7x8 Acrylic

SOLD

Zane has 2 speeds, sleep and go. Did this sketch from a photo I took earlier this week.

Snow Day 11x14 Acrylic

SOLD

Sometimes I am driving along, often past a place I have driven past a number of times, when suddenly a new perspective allows me to see something special. Maybe it's just one of those moments when we are more in tune with our surroundings. I am always thankful to God for these moments. I wish I could live in this state of mind all the time. 

People Containers 4x6 Acrylic

People come in all shapes and sizes. We walk around in these containers, but the real us is locked up inside here where we can't see it. Then, when we're done here, we will go on and be given a new heavenly container to operate in. Hopefully one where hair will grow where I want it to and not where I don't want it to. 

Baby Buggy 5x7 Watercolor

How do you drive a baby buggy? Tickle her feet.

Another opportune moment as I was walking through a park.

Red Umbrella 11x14 Acrylic

Sold

Another concert in the park. I seem to find a lot of subject matter at these events. But it's a good place for a people painter. Some people actually go to listen to the music. I go to watch people.

Hallie 9x12 Oil

This is a painting I did of Hallie when she was little. She hated posing back then. But she was a good sport and didn't complain. Not for sale.

Wooded Path 11x14 Acrylic

SOLD

Half mile or so from my home, there's a footbridge that crosses an arm of the Mississippi River onto an island that once held many factories during WWII. All that is left of these buildings are a few foundations covered by undergrowth. Many paths like this one wind around the narrow island.

Taking A Break 9x12 Acrylic

Ballet dancers don't sit around like ordinary humans. They sit in ways that stretch and bend the body that would require medical attention for the rest of us. Katherine is the same model as in 'Ballet Teacher.'

Thayer's Angel 6x7 Charcoal

One of my favorite paintings is 'Angel' by Abbott Henderson Thayer. He used his daughter as a model. He hung some feathery wings up on a wall and had her stand in front of them. I have always been mesmerized by her portrait. I'm paying a poor homage to this work.

Blue Balloon 9x12 Acrylic

Early one Sunday morning at a marathon race, activities and people were everywhere, but all this little boy was concentrating on was his balloon.

Downtown Shoppers 11x14 Acrylic

This is just up the street from where 'Lunch In The District' was located. You can see some umbrellas in the distance. 

Red Beret 5x7 Acrylic

This young lady was leaning against a tree at an art festival. I took her picture, then asked if I may do a painting of her. She said sure, but her eyes said ' I've got mace and I'm not afraid to use it.' That's OK, it must be strange to approached in this manner.