"Hand Made"

6"x 6"
Oil on Masonite
$80

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

One of my other favorite things to do, especially recently, is to sew. My mom taught me how, and actually gave me her old sewing machine. For me, there is something exciting about wearing something that I have created myself, so that my clothes are even more an expression of who I am. I think it is the same excitement I get from creating a piece of art- that I have created something out of myself, that others can now see.

"After the Storm"

10" x 14"
Oil on Masonite
$150

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

I meant to post this last night. Needless to say, it was a rough day. Hope you enjoy!

"After the Dance"

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
$80

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

My sister made a comment to me the other day that she thinks it's funny that I love certain pairs of my shoes so much that I even make paintings of them. Well, little sis, here is further confirmation of that fact! I also had a great time painting the wool rug that the shoes are sitting on.

"Cover Art"

11" x 14"
Oil on Mat board
$150

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

I have wanted to do this piece for a while. It is an interpretation of a cover of Ladies' Home Journal from 1943. The serial in this edition of the magazine is titled "The Hardest Wife to Be." I just think that it is such a beautiful and interesting image.

"Green Shoes"

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
SOLD


On Monday morning, I woke up a bit tired and cranky...and late. I got dressed pretty quickly, and set one of my favorite pairs of shoes by the door while I ate some breakfast. As I was sitting down with my cereal, I glanced over and my shoes were sitting in a beautiful shaft of morning light. I grabbed the camera and snapped a few pictures, because I knew this was what I had to paint! It is amazing how one simple moment can change the outlook of the whole day.

"Living Room through Glass"

10" x 14"
Oil on Masonite
SOLD

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

I completed this one over the weekend, and it is my 100th daily painting! Thanks to all of you who have regularly checked out my work, given me support, comments, suggestions, and a big thanks to those of you who now have one of these on your wall! My favorite thing about this 100th piece is the slightly distorted living room as seen through the curved glass. Now...on to number 200!

"Sunrise Through Trees"

6"x 6"
Oil on Masonite
SOLD


This is another piece from my friend's pictures of Alaska. I love clouds. They are one of the most amazing creations, which always remind me that there is a God who is so much greater than we are. Doing these pieces makes me want to go out and paint "en plein air", if it weren't for the 101 degree South Carolina heat!

"Case Closed"

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
$80

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

I got the idea to paint this one after I had named the one from two nights ago. I really enjoyed focusing in on the intricacies of the wood grain.

"Beauty on the Horizon"

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
SOLD

Ask and it shall be given to you! A friend send me some photos of his hometown in Alaska, and they were just too beautiful to pass up. A huge thanks to Dustin Wilson for the pictures. If you would like to commission a piece, send me some photos, or just give me a suggestion on what I should paint next, feel free to send me an email or leave me a comment, and you too can see your name in print. I am always up for suggestions.

"Case Open"

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
$80

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

This case was my mother's art box, which she gave to me several years ago. I typically use it to carry around my little paintings to art shows. As I approach my 100th daily painting, I look back at them all and a small part of me thinks I should specialize- focus on a single type of painting, be it still life or figurative work, and a single style. But, the rest of me thinks about all the things I would miss if I were to do that. Beauty and inspiration come from so many sources. I never know from day to day what thing or place or person will strike me, or how I will choose to approach it. I am not saying that I will never focus my work in on a specific genre, and I have great admiration for those artists who do more specialized work. At this point in my painting life though, I plan to stay open to all of God's wonders, no matter what form they may take.

"Big Finish"

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
SOLD


This one was a very quick study. I mainly wanted to get a little color back in, but to maintain the looseness I have achieved in the last few paintings.

"Late Night"- Updated

12" x 18"
Oil on Masonite
$150

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

I didn't do much more to this one, but added just enough detail for me to feel like it was completed. I called this one "Late Night" because I imagine that this club is closing down, and most everyone has gone home for the night except for these two men in the background, engaged in conversation, and these two people who simply cannot stop dancing while there is still music playing.

"Late Night"

12" x 18"
Oil on Masonite

I took a risk last night and did an even larger piece. As this one is so much bigger than usual, I have given myself permission to work on it a bit more tonight. It occurred to me that the act of painting is much like dancing. Creating a piece like this one, I really focus on the movement of the brush across the surface, and how I move the paint around to create the image. Both take coordination and skill, plus a good bit of fun. And for me, both involve playing great music to set the mood!

Hello all. I spent last night catching up with some friends who I hadn't seen in a while, so no painting. However, I thought I would share a thought with you. I was drinking a bottle of tea several days ago, and it was one of those brands that puts quotes under the lid. This specific bottle had a quote from Van Gogh, which said "If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." Besides being slightly surprised to find this quote on a bottle of tea, I thought it was such a beautiful and inspiring idea. There is nothing harder for me personally than to make myself paint when I don't feel "good enough", or when I'm not "up to it." Even though painting is the thing I love to do the most, there are days when it is an incredible struggle. But, it is often on those days when I don't feel inspired, but am able to overcome it that I feel the most satisfaction in my work. Often it is not inspiration that brings about good work, but the work itself that brings about inspiration.

"Swing Out"

10" x 14"
Oil on Masonite

This piece is a companion piece to the one I posted last night. The perspective on this one is a bit unusual, but I love how the arms of the couple in front keep you from going very deep into the background. You can see that there is a lot of activity behind them, but you can't quite tell what it all is. Again, this one is not currently for sale, as I hope to submit it for an upcoming show.

"In Flight"

10" x 14"
Oil on Masonite

Once again, here is one of my favorite subjects- swing dancing. This piece is larger than my typical daily paintings, but I still completed it in one day. The added space in the same amount of time forces me to loosen up, and gives the piece a more impressionistic feel. This piece is not currently for sale because I will be submitting it for an upcoming Upstate Visual Arts show. More details on that to come.

"Crowd"

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
$80

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

I don't have much to say about this one. I wanted to do another piece with fruit, but I wanted it to have a greater variety of colors than the previous ones. This one was also done earlier in the day than the others, so the light is much more bright and sunny.

"Pair"

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
SOLD


My painting professor in college used to tell us to just "shut up and paint" if he thought we were thinking to much about our pieces rather than actually working on them. I think with these daily paintings, this is exactly what I am doing- painting first and thinking about it later. I guess my typical view has been that I should paint something because it is beautiful or meaningful. However, recently I believe that something can have beauty and meaning because it has been painted. Doing a painting a day forces me to paint something first and then figure out why. This also lets me paint more freely and not worry if it is "good enough" or "meaningful enough." The result is that these pieces, no matter how simple the subject, reveal more about who I truly am.

"Reflected"

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
$80

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

Good Morning friends! Sorry I didn't post this last night, but I fell asleep and didn't remember until this morning that I hadn't done it. Good thing it is Friday! I had thought about calling this one something like Alone, or Fallen, but the bright colors and the shape created by the reflection seemed to contradict those darker titles. I will post another piece tonight.

"Trio"

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
$80

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

I really enjoy painting these pieces of fruit. They have allowed me to loosen up a bit in my technique, and focus more on the color and brushstrokes than on faithfully rendering the form of the object.

"Forbidden Fruit"

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
SOLD


I realized the other day how infrequently I pray for God to show me the subject of my next daily painting. I often pray for the process of creating the piece, and thank Him for the ability to paint, but I rarely ask for a subject to paint. Sunday night, though, I prayed specifically that God would show me what I should paint the next day. About mid-morning on Monday, one of my co-workers came into my office and said I needed to take a picture of another co-worker's large, and beautiful pear. And, there was my answer. It is not an amazing or deeply meaningful piece of art- simply a pear sitting on a desk- but I had such joy in creating it, and such freedom from searching around for something I deemed "worthy" to paint. It just goes to show that I need to have faith that God will provide for the small decisions, as well as the large.

"Natural Wonder"

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
$80

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

I don't do many landscapes, but I just love the beauty of this scene. This is from a picture I took at a family reunion up at Lake James, NC. Our whole family piled on to my aunt and uncle's houseboat and rode out on the lake to see the sunset. It takes my breath away to see the beauty of God's handiwork. My own piece is but a shadow of that wonder.

"Shall We Dance"

6" x 6"
Pencil on Masonite
$80

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

This piece is from one of my favorite pictures of me and my dad. We are dancing at my friend's wedding. I think I prefer doing portraits of the people I love the most, because then I am able to capture a bit of their personality along with their likeness.

"In the Sun"

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
SOLD

This is one of my sister's puppies lying on the stairs in the sun. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said that this is this dog's favorite pastime!

"Open Book"

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
$80

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

I have started doing a book club with some friends of mine on Monday nights, so that was the inspiration for this piece. This is also in great anticipation of "Harry Potter" coming out on Saturday!

Self Portrait Saturday

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
SOLD

As you can tell from the lack of posts last week, I didn't get much painting in. Part of that was because it was a very busy week, but I was also having some problems with motivation. To help get myself out of that, I decided on Saturday to paint something completely different than my typical daily painting. A self portrait is something I haven't done for a while, but I also approached this one with a little more of a free, expressionistic style. I believe it served its purpose. Now, back to work...

More Progress

This has been a crazy week for my daily paintings, but I have made a bit of progress on this larger one. I am really working on getting the singer to jump forward. You can always tell what I am the most concerned about because I leave it for last...

"Perk Up"

6" x 6"
Pencil on Masonite
$80

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

This is an antique coffee pot from my collection. A conversation with some friends this evening has really gotten me thinking about the purpose of pieces like this one. I don't think anyone would argue that this piece is particularly thought provoking, meaningful, or "spiritual" in any sense. Often times, because of this I am tempted to dismiss these pieces as mere exercises, with no real purpose. However, if I devote myself fully to Christ and to the work that he has given me to do, then whatever I create, no matter how trivial it may seem, will be a reflection of Him. It is a thought I need to constantly remind myself of as I am dashing off a quick painting between work and all the other things I am committed to.

"Reflections"

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
SOLD


This is the same subject as a couple of days ago, just a different angle. The thing I like about painting reflections is that they border on the abstract. This piece is completely identifiable as a coffee press, but the color and the randomness of the reflections almost become something else. There is so much color in this object, even though most people would describe it as being "silver."

Progress

My dad's suggestion for a title - "In the Mood"

"Fresh"

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
SOLD

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

I love holidays. They give me so much more time to paint! I'm really happy with this one. Hope you enjoy it, and happy 4th.

The piece I intended to post tonight was actually started last Thursday. It was another one of my 40's magazine covers, but after wiping the face out three times, I have currently abandoned it. Instead, here is a larger work in progress, currently untitled. If you have any suggestions, let me know.

"Grouping"

6" x 6"
Oil on Masonite
$80

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

I had my family staying with me this weekend, and all the mugs sitting around gave me the inspiration for this one. I like how the light shining up through the wicker table reflects off the side of the ceramics.