Overcoming Hurdles

This was a piece that did NOT come together easily. It was pretty much a struggle from start to finish. But I also think it is exactly those struggles that make me like it that much more now. If we never encounter obstacles in our path, we will never grow stronger, am I right?

Katrina and Kyle are friends of my sister, and they were married this past weekend. Congrats guys, and enjoy!


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Portrait of a Life

22"x 24"
Oil on Canvas

This is the full painting that you only saw a fragment of on Friday. It is of my great-grandparents, and my guess is that it is their wedding portrait. I love the details of his uniform and her dress. I think the background is a painted backdrop, which makes me think the photo was taken in a studio.

I have had in my head for a while to paint a very formal portrait, but to do it in an unusual color. My original idea was to paint it all in shades of red, but the only red I had was a fairly obnoxious fusha. But, by mixing it with a bit of black I got this beautiful shade of purple.


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Baby Sam

I have been working on several commissions over the past few months that I haven't been able to share for fear of ruining the surprise. But, a few of them have now been shared with loved ones, so I can now share them with you. I did this piece of baby Sam for some friends of my sister. I like painting babies, but I usually find them a bit harder than painting grown ups, because babies don't have quite as many distinguishing features to their faces. It is amazing how much easier a little bit of age makes capturing a likeness! Happily, though, this painting of baby Sam was quite easy and a lot of fun!

Malie and Macie

This is a commission I did recently for a friend of my sister. It is of her two daughters, and I heard that she really loved it. I think it turned out so cute!

Luca

I keep saying that I don't draw often, but the number of drawings I have been doing recently belies that fact! This is a drawing I did recently of a friend's adorable little boy.

I was really excited about the painting I did today. It ended up being really simple and beautiful. But, I ended up at the studio without my camera. So, instead, here is a really sweet commission I did recently for a couple of my sister's friends. Congratulations Leah and Aaron! Hope you enjoy it!

I Can Be Anything

I created this piece for the "I Can Be Anything" exhibit at the new Children's Museum of the Upstate. The exhibit features portraits by local artists of famous South Carolinians. I got to paint musician Edwin McCain. This piece came together a lot easier than I expected, and I think the likeness is pretty good. So, Edwin if you are seeing this, I hope you are satisfied.

Precious

This piece is from one of my favorite photos I took after my nephew was born just over 4 years ago. I have always wanted to paint it. Now that we are expecting my second nephew to arrive, it seemed like a good time!

Congratulations Jameson and Brian!

Part of my marathon weekend was spent celebrating Jameson and Brian's wedding. Even though I had to duck out of the reception early, I am sure they saw this on the gift table, not wrapped and with no card. Hopefully they figured out who it was from. Congrats guys!

I will post a couple behind the scenes pictures from my vintage photo shoot tomorrow!

Contratulations Kathy and Pepper!

While I am packing up the studio and everything is in disarray, I thought I would post this piece I did for my cousin's wedding this weekend. I wish I could be there, but California is a long way away. Hope you guys have a blast!

I've been working on a couple of commissions this week, so I thought I would share one that I finished recently. This is my best friend from elementary school's two kids. This, as well as many other commissioned pieces can be seen in my website's commission gallery.

Congratulations Mel and Brannon!

I know they haven't seen this yet, but Mel and Brannon, I hope you had a wonderful wedding. Congrats!

Plus, my anniversary show, Two:Another Year of Painting, opens this Friday, February 20, from 6-9pm at the Art & Light Gallery in West Greenville. The show is going to be a lot of fun, with music provided by singer/songwriter Stephanie Fagan, a dessert reception, plus lots of great deals on art. And, if that's not enough I will be raffling off an original piece at the end of the night, and giving you a sneak peek at my newest series of paintings. Just email me for more details. Hope to see you there!

Congratulations Rusty and Charlotte!

I spent part of this weekend celebrating these friends' wedding. This was such a fun portrait to do. Congratulations guys, and I hope you are having a great time in California!

"Ready and Waiting"

16"x 20"
Oil on Canvas
$245

To purchase, email me with the title in the subject line.

This piece is from a picture of my aunt, possibly ready to go to church. I was originally going to put more detail into the background, but I ended up liking the large simple shapes compared with the more detailed figure.

Congratulations Spence and Ashley!

This is a commission piece I finished recently. Happy Anniversary Amy and Trey!

I spent this weekend celebrating my cousin's wedding. This piece was part of their wedding present. Congratulations Chad and Nicki!

"Lined Up in Our Finest"

11"x 14"
Oil on Mat Board
$150

To purchase, email me with the title in the subject line.

My favorite part of this piece was the different expressions on the faces. Everyone has a different attitude towards being photographed with their siblings, I guess!

"She Understood Her Best"

11 1/2"x 14 1/2"
Oil on Mat board
$150

To purchase, email me with the title in the subject line.

This piece came out of the way I typically start a painting. When I first start a piece, I use a very thin wash to lay in the entire painting. I rub out areas and make adjustments until I am happy with the layout. This process usually gives me a lot of "shadow" in the background which I then cover over with thicker layers of paint. In this piece, though, I really liked the shadows, so I left the background as a thin wash, and just added in thicker detail in the figures. I like the resulting juxtaposition of the figures against the almost dreamlike background.

If you missed the show this past weekend, those pieces have now been posted to my website gallery.

18"x 24"
Oil on Canvas

I have had so much fun creating paintings from family photographs that I decided to do this portrait of my grandparents. I love the challenge of painting in the sepia tones, plus my grandmother had fantastic hair! If you would like to commission me to do a painting from your family photographs, just email me and I will be happy to discuss size and price options.