#53 Scarlet's little brother Eli

This little guy is brilliant. It is amazing to me what potential a child has when he/she has great parents who love and care about them. I hope to one day be a parent and when that day comes, I will aspire to be like this guy's folks.

#52 Ruby and her "Cupcake"

Oil on canvas, 24"x 24". While I was painting this, the morning building maintenance man came in at about 4:30 in the morning and said, "Hmmm... I bet you bring a lot of joy to a lot of people doing this stuff." He has dropped in from time to time over the years as I have painted here at USU and I have enjoyed his comments and occasional teasing. This weeks comment really opened my eyes to what a painting can mean to someone. When I dropped the painting off three days later, Ruby's mother said, "I don't think you realize how much joy you have added to our family." Funny how things work sometimes. Lesson from painting # 52: So much joy can come from art.

Little Sketch

Here is another little sketch(8"x 8") done in oil. After spending some time with Dave Dornan this summer, I was led to re-evaluate my approach to painting. I have been enjoying some chaos to order. These small pieces allow me to try new things without having to spend too much time on them. This little sketch was done in 3 sessions of 30 minutes. After they are done, if enjoyable, I will make a larger version of them.

Red Rum

Oil on panel, 8"x 12".

# 51

This is one of the funniest guys I have ever met twice in one day. We met a few years ago and were introduced to each other two separate times on the same day. Josh Caldwell(click on his name to the right) is an amazingly creative photographer and I did this painting as a trade. Hopefully he will be back in Utah for some more art rendezvous. Oil on canvas, 24"x 24".

Small Oil Sketch

I have been doing some small oil sketches on canvas and wood panels. This one is 8"x 12". I am spending small amounts of time, while trying new methods and techniques. This one is inspired by a movie that really forced me to think.

#49 & #50

My sister was recently married. I did these two head portraits for their wedding gift. A tinge of Norman Rockwell. It was fun to hit #50 and reflect back on all the head sketches I have done.

My sister Anna is one of the kindest, sweetest and coolest people I know, I was thrilled to see her find someone who matched those attributes. Peter is the type of person one would want to marry his sister. Such a fun day with a lot of amazing people. Congrats guys!!!

Helper Workshop: June 1-6

Next month Matt Larson and I will be teaching a workshop in Helper Utah. We will be focusing on painting and drawing the head. We will be working from a live model and focusing on the various forms of portraiture.

The are a couple of spots still open if you are interested email me or contact Marilou through the website
http://www.helperworkshops.com/

# 48

If it is an artist's job to search for beauty, then painting these eyes should be the prerequisite.

This is the painting at the show we put together for our students. 

Charles Morey Portrait for the Pioneer Theater

Here is a commission that I just finished for the Pioneer Theater. The painting is of the theater's Artistic Director Charles Morey. He has worked there for 30 years and helped to make the theater up there something special. This was an amazing project and I learned so much painting this painting. Go up there and check out a play and stop by and check out the painting. It is oil on canvas, 40"x 50" and was beautifully framed by Travis Tanner.

http://www.saltlakemagazine.com/galleries/pioneer-theatre-bravo-awards-2012/