Floyd and Delta Dawn

As a kid the Fourth-of-July was always a favorite, family, fireworks all the usual fun. But for the past twenty or so years the Fourth-of-July meant driving up to the Black Hills of South Dakota to visit my ex-wifes family. I loved those visits and miss them very much but the person I'll miss the most is Floyd Tetrault. Sitting out on the front porch on a hot afternoon just shootin' the breeze with Floyd talking about life, politics, bucking horses, fishing, it was all good. Floyd passed away recently and I miss him, a good cowboy and a great friend. Vaya con Dios.

Work in Progress

This piece is pretty obvious. This was one of those things when you set your coffee cup down and Boom! there's a painting. I don't have a lot to say about this piece but I do like all the blue.

Happy Spring!

Here's a little watercolor to celebrate the beginning of Spring!
Spring has sprung, the grass has riz.
I wonder where the froggies is.

Just joined !

"Denver"

Every so often people ask me if I have a favorite painting and my usual response is " they're all my favorites" or "it's too hard to decide". This little painting is one of my favorites, it shows an unusual view of Denver, not the typical tourist view. No mountains, no drama, just the plains and the sky.

"Venice Beach,CA"

This piece is a favorite. To me Venice Beach means a lot of things, some of them not so great. It is a beautiful, interesting slice of life in Southern California but is also a pretty rough area with a dangerous side.
This scene alludes to the sun and surf element of SoCal but illustrates the fact that even in paradise people have to make a living.

These two pieces were done for an oil company in downtown Denver. They are Acrylic on canvas and both measure five feet by nine feet
I must admit, I viewed these oil rigs in a fairly negative light. These rigs are often seen as blights on the landscape and noted for their harsh impact on the environment. From the beginning, I wanted to offer a positive view of the subject but not do a mere "puff" piece.

After a great deal of research I was a little surprised to find out that these structures often created biomes that had a very high concentration of sea-life. Under these artificial environments exist rich, very diverse communities of ocean dwellers.
The surface piece was inspired by a photo the client had that showed a large group of sea-lions resting on an oil drum used as a marker. I simplified the view showing three sea-lions and painting the barrel in a plain manner. The rest followed fairly easily. The landscape is a loose interpretation of the Santa Barbara coast.
The underwater scene was a little more difficult. I took liberties with the scale of the structure and the animals, to portray this scene accurately the vertical legs of the rig would of been much bigger. This painting is successful because the viewer understands the environment but the focus is on the animals. The movement through this painting is good and avoids the "aquarium" effect.