Pivotal Pieces

These are paintings that represent a leap forward in my painting. They aren't necessarily my best, but are pieces that made me feel I could continue to make progress and maybe produce some good work. Every painting becomes a learning experience that you carry into the next painting. Of course progress isn't linear, progress slows or reverses. There is a big psychological element to painting.

Igreja de Nossa Senhora das Mercês e da Misericórdia - 2000

It's hard to believe this was completed in November of 2000. I took my first trip to Brazil in 1999 and this was based upon a photo I took in Ouro Preto. If you have time, Google Ouro Preto. It's this amazing colonial town full of baroque churches and buildings from the 17 hundreds.

bowlerama - 2018

This is based upon a bowling alley in Killeen, Texas where I lived from 1974 to 1980. It was completed in 2018 and was a pivotal piece because it started me painting again after a very long break. I gave it to my sister who took some of her high school physical education (PE) classes at Bowlerama.

Goodwill - 2018

I visited Tucson, Arizona with Carmen, my wife, and she said she used to shop here when she first came to the US. I am also a big Goodwill shopper so thought this would make a great gift for her. It was a big step because it's a large painting, 24 x 36 inches, and gave me a great deal of confidence around my painting. It was also my first effort to understand color theory and use the color wheel. A shadow on a green surface isn't gray it's red added to the green.

OLE - 2018

My wife's manager saw the Goodwill painting and asked if I could do a painting of a place from her childhood. Her family used to go to Costa Brava in Spain. This was the first painting I ever sold. It was a tremendous boost to my confidence. I remember painting the shadow below the two wagon wheels a dozen times. I was also afraid of the bushes-- but ended up painting them in two minutes.

rimrock - 2019

This was also a commission for a friend, and was perhaps the biggest leap forward. It's 36 x 48 inches which is a lot of area to deal with on a canvas. I don't remember how long it took, but it must have been 200+ hours. As I was painting it was like doing a dozen small paintings: the signs, the Rainier banner, the window, the steak image, the wall, etc.

john singer sargent - master copy - 2022

This was one of the first portraits that left me feeling that maybe I could do portraits. I used the Zorn Palette which only allows yellow ochre, ivory black, vermilion, and white. The limited palette reduces the confusion caused by too many options. Since this first portrait, I have done a dozen more and find them to be the most exciting and unforgiving thing to paint. Every human is an expert on faces.