WOW!

Clark's Pond in Walpole, MA 16x20 oil

Driving home when the sun is setting is always a special time. There are days when I just have to pull over. This was one them. The sun coming through the trees and radiating out across the freshly fallen snow prompted me to make a U-turn and savor an impressive sight. I tried to evoke that feeling in this 16x20 painting. The weeds were growing up along the roadside and the bright orange contrasted with the blues of dusk. The stand of trees was vibrant and glowed in the distance.

A Boy and his dog.

When you are feeling down there is nothing like a dog to comfort you. Seeing the boy feeling blue and his dog faithfully by his side brought up so many emotions. I raised Malamutes at one time and this dog reminded me so much of my Kiska that I had for 16 wonderful years. To put the focus on the relationship between the boy and his dog, I eliminated most of the detail in the scene. I left enough to let the viewer know they were on the couch without making it site specific and to focus on the relationship between the two. I made the red-orange  and blue/green combination a central part of the color scheme to reflect in the fur and on the boy's face to draw you right into the scene. I liked that it was more narrative than portrait. I think the owner agrees.