Silver Lake, Ocracoke Island sketch

Silver Lake - Ocracoke Island, watercolor sketch, 7x11, (click to bid)

Without doubt, Ocracoke Island is my favorite destination. It is where I go to recuperate, recharge, become inspired, paint, gather reference material, and just have fun Oh, I forgot, I also go to FISH. Much of the reference material I use during the year comes from my yearly visits to the island.

Most of Ocracoke is undeveloped and part of the pristine Hatteras National Seashore. The small historic village is located at the southernmost end of the island and has a fascinating history attached to it. Ferry's from three locations bring visitors and any supplies to the island throughout the year. In the summer the island is bustling with activity but once the school year begins things are different. The island slows down and almost breaths a sigh of relief as the summer dissolves into fall. Now the fishermen come to the island and the pace is much slower.

Silver Lake is the harbor that the village surrounds and is where this sketch originated. I really love  painting these little watercolor sketches and hope that you will enjoy it also. Thanks so much for your visit!

Samish Bay Study

Samish Bay Study, Watercolor, 7" x 11"   (click to bid)

Samish Bay is a watercolor study I painted from a trip to Washington State when I attended the 2016 National Impressionist Show which I was juried into. During the weekend of the show I would take off between events to paint and photograph areas of the beautiful inlets and sounds of the Washington coast.

I use these studies for studio paintings that I do at a later time. As an artist, studies like these have the ability to take you back to the place and time of your visit. This in turn helps boost your creativity and understanding of the subject you paint. Painting from life, whether outside or in the studio, is always the best way to increase your abilities as an artist. The next best thing for me is painting from a study you created while on location.

I am offering these studies as an inexpensive way to purchase original artwork! Just click on the "click to bid" link under the image and you will be directed to my auction page. The image is 7" x 11" with an additional 1/2" painted border all around for framing purposes. The paper is Canson 140lb French watercolor paper and is acid free.

Thanks so much for dropping by!

Caucus Day Paintings

Below are several small paintings I did last week. There is something that feels very intimate and personal about small works. I think that is a big reason for the popularity of small works shows around the United States each year. Of course, there are other draws such as the opportunity for new collectors to more easily enter the world of art collecting. Or being able to finish off that small nook that needs something special.

For the artist, working small has a way of grounding your work and preparing you for larger paintings. When someone is having trouble with his work I often recommend that they work small for a while to help work out the kinks. Yes, small paintings have many advantages for both the collectors and artists alike.

Calm Water, 8x10, oil

Feeding in the Surf, 9x12, oil

Lazy Days, 9x12, oil

Early Walker, 9x12, oil

The Joy of Flight

Joyous Flight, 18 x 24, oil

Capture the last flowers of summer

“Earth laughs in flowers.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Enchantment of Forsythia, 24 x 24, oil on linen

After the Snow, 16 x 20, oil on linen

Mums and Merlot, 12 x 9, oil 

Winter Blossoms, 11 x 14, oil on linen

Contemplative, 16 x 20, oil on linen

Peonies and Brass, 16 x 20, oil on linen

New Horizons

Taken on the Swan Quarter to Ocracoke Ferry - October 2010

Hello again! OK, so long time, no write. But lets reset and start again. Actually, I was using my blog to sell my small studies on my auction site. I discontinue this activity when some of my galleries expressed a dislike to the activity. I really do not see a problem with it but OK, not a big problem. We will just do something different and be happy doing it. Still mostly art related but no selling on auction sites.

Actually, I do still use my auction site but it is all to announce new paintings and the galleries they are at. Also a few old paintings I think worth remembering.

Ocracoke Island, October 2011

I have a very busy fall this year. Shows, workshops, beach trips and house remodeling are all demanding their rightful place in my schedule...something has to give...I choose the house remodeling but my lovely wife will probably not go for that. You see, we are moving towards a new chapter in our lives. Our children will be leaving over the next many years and we see a move in our future. Probably heading towards the North Carolina coast which is a place where my heart is. I have often told my friends that when it is my time to leave this earth I would appreciate someone taking me to the beach so my last moments are spent looking at the ocean with my family and friends around me. Or maybe just alone.

Thanks for visiting.

Charleston Harbor, May 2014

I continue with the small ballet paintings with the goal of starting a large canvas soon. Lately the subjects for my larger paintings have been concentrated on wildlife paintings because of looming deadlines for Leigh Yawkey Woodson's Birds in Art and the Bennington Center for the Arts' Art of the Animal Kingdom. However, I will soon change focus and hopefully paint a larger ballet painting.

Dance 4, Expression, 6" x 6", oil, (click to bid)

The desire to express one's self is as old as human history. Dance has always been one of the most powerful of those expressive outlets and ballet one of the most beautiful.
One of my goals is to be able to convey emotion on a small canvas. Working on small surfaces is difficult as you have limited space to communicate with. You must strive to make sure each stroke counts and your image is distilled or simplified to the most important details. That is always a challenge for any painter - what to leave in or leave out. It is a continual learning journey. I tried and hopefully captured some of the beauty and our desire to express ourselves.

Thanks for your visit

Carolina Wren

Yesterday, after finishing a larger piece, I painted this study of a Carolina Wren. I have several wrens that hang around my house. One pair has nested on a shelf in my garage. I don't have the heart to take the nest out, especially while it is cold.

Carolina Wren, 5" x 7", oil (click to bid)

I have a seed feeder and a suet feeder right outside of my studio. Also in this area is where I stack my winter wood supply for my wood stove. The wrens really go for the suet and are constantly flitting around the wood pile looking for seed and small, moving, crunchy critters. This is where this scene originated.

Thanks for visiting my blog, I hope you enjoyed it!

Waiting in the Wings

Relaxing (or trying to relax) before her dance. I love the contrast of the discipline and control seen on stage verses the apparent tranquil state of pre-performance. At first glance the dancers can seem to be in a state of nonchalance.

Waiting in the Wings, 6" x 6", oil  (click to bid)

As they are getting ready for the big moment, you would think they are completely relaxed. I am sure that at different times they are relaxed. But look a bit more closely in their eyes and you may see a different story. Having known many dancers, I know that at this time there is much going on. Maybe a time of switching from left to right brain activity as many of us artists do. A time of concentration, contemplation, and a time of handling nerves that have gone awry. And they make it look so easy and beautiful.

Thanks for your visit!

Tufted Titmouse 2

One of my favorite birds that frequent my landscape. This little dude makes an otherwise dreary winter landscape happy and full of life... hmmm... I think I am beginning to sound like Bob Ross...happy little tree/bird? Lets ignore that and proceed... Anyway, a constant visitor to my feeder, I have taken many pictures of this guy and his friends to immortalize on canvas.

Tufted Titmouse 2,  5" x 7", oil on linen board,  (click to bid)

Pictured is the morning after an ice/snow storm that went quickly through our area. Any covering of ice or snow makes these guys especially active at the feeder making short work of that expensive seed! But I will keep filling it anyway as the enjoyment and life the birds give make it so worthwhile to me.

"They shall go flying
With musical speeches

High overhead in the 
tops of the beeches.

In spite of our wisdom
And sensible talking,

We on our feet must go
Plodding and walking."
excerpt from a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson

Thanks so much for your visit!

Dance 2

The magic of the human body moving well. We either do it or wish we could. Dance, football, ice skating, gymnastics, and the list goes on. We all dream of having a body that can accomplish physical feats of strength, agility, and beauty. Few of us ever attain this type of physical excellence. We are either not blessed with a physique that can transform itself this way, or maybe we are not driven to do what it takes.

Dance 2, 6"x 6", oil on linen board, (click to bid)

So when we see someone who does what we only do in our dreams, we dance with them, we run with the football, we are in the Olympic rink in front of thousands doing the triple flippity-flop. And we think, maybe I could, or maybe I could have... The thing is, even if we cannot achieve those dreams, we can celebrate (in a healthy way) those who do. That they can do those things for us...so we can somehow experience what it is to be set free, even if only in our minds and heart.

Thanks so much for your visit - come back!

Chickadee Study 1

I strive to keep up my avian painting skills by painting small works of the many birds that visit me. I always try to capture a sense of mystery in the subject if I can. This can be accomplished several ways. Lighting is key and the way you handle edges and background also are important. 

Chickadee Study 1, 5" x 7", oil on linen board, (click to bid)

This Carolina Chickadee was in the process of feeding heavily before an approaching ice storm. Birds and other animals always know when weather is coming. Part of this is instinct, but I believe that part is also an ability that we humans also have. The problem is we increasingly do not or maybe cannot pay attention to our surroundings. We have let so much compete for our attention that our senses have become dull and raw. You see, we only have capacity to clearly comprehend so much auditory and visual noise in our life. The question becomes how much and which information and stimuli we choose to entertain. For by the act accepting some we immediately decline others. By accepting too much, we tend not to understand any. The choices we make define who we are. What is important to you? Oh heck, I started off talking about painting - how did i get here?

Thanks so much for your visit - come back if you dare! :-)

Dance Study

I have always loved ballet and other types of dance. When I attended The University North Carolina School of the Arts in high school I played in the ballet orchestra during performances of The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and many other classics. Of course, down in the orchestra pit you really cannot see much, but I also managed to experience quite a few practices and performances outside of the pit.

Dance, 6" x 6", oil on linen  (click to bid)

The dancers are really amazing athletes! All of their grace really takes a great deal of strength and agility. Besides the dancers, I have always loved the magic and mystery of the stage lighting. It is instrumental in setting the scene and I love how it falls on the dancers as they move through the atmosphere it creates. My intent with this painting is to study and hopefully reproduce the dancers and their interaction with the lighting. Thanks so much for taking time to visit and I hope you enjoy Dance.

Royal Tern Study

Another of my favorite birds are Terns. This handsome bird is a Royal Tern (Sterna mazima). Terns, unlike gulls, don't often search you out and make a pest of themselves. However, this day was different. He and a couple of his

Royal Tern study, 5" x 7", oil (click to bid)

buddies flew in while fishing and decided to keep me company. Like gulls, they accepted handouts readily but they would not approach as closely as the gulls.

I often find terns in large groups resting and generally hanging out. In fact, they can be found in large, dense colonies when breeding. Usually tending to a single buff, spotted egg in a sand scrape

A photo of a group mainly consisting of terns (Royal, Sandwich, and Forster's). Ocracoke Island, October 2010

on an island or a sheltered peninsula. I have painted several paintings of these birds from photos I have taken at the coast. I especially like to paint the Royal terns because of their red beak which gives a nice spot of color to an otherwise blue background.

Fish for Dinner...again (Royal Tern), 18 x 24, oil on linen, Ralph Grady James

Thanks for your visit - come back again!

Sandpiper study

Sandpiper study, 5 x 7, oil, (click to bid)

As spring progresses I dream more and more of the beach. I can see my wife looking for shells as I dream of the smell of salt, the sound of the waves, and seeing the birds. One of the birds I think about are the multitude of Sandpipers and Sanderlings. They are ever present, working the beach for morsels, chasing the waves and then running as the waves chase them.

That is one of the reasons I paint so many shore birds. It is just a love affair. Something I can't seem to get enough of. As I write this, my iTunes play the sounds of the surf and the life that accompanies that habitat - yeah, those of you who know me knows it plays the same thing every day of the year. Crazy old man... I can't be there now but that's OK. Maybe soon.

Thanks for dropping by.

Sake and Pokeberrys study

Sake and Pokeberrys study, 5 x 7, oil (click to bid)

Pokeberry weed. Pokeberry wine, pokeberry salad, pokeberry for your arthritus, pokeberry ink, pokeberry all over my white t-shirt from running into it when mowing. Even though a weed, I do have a fondness for this plant. I love to see the resident mockingbird in the top of it eating the berries in the summertime. Somehow, the weed also seems to love me as I have it's purple stains on several items of my clothing.

I like to use things like pokeberry weed in my still life paintings. Things like weeds or other common plants seems to me to be a bit unexpected compared to items included in many paintings. That's what I want in my painting, something unexpected, something that makes it real.

Thanks so much for dropping by.

Forsythia and Bowl study

Forsythia and Bowl study, 5 x 7, oil (click to bid)

The forsythia is in full bloom making a bright spot in my otherwise unkempt winter yard. I always know (feel guilty is more like it) that it is time to get out and do some spring yard work when I see that blazing bush.

It is such an intense, bright, yellow color and I purposely tone the chroma down a bit so as not to overpower the painting. I do that (mute my color) quite a bit when painting. It gives a calmness to a painting that I like. Yellow is a happy color - I got the following from a squidoo.com web site: "Yellow shines with optimism, enlightenment, and happiness. Shades of golden yellow carry the promise of a positive future. Yellow will advance from surrounding colors and instill optimism and energy, as well as spark creative thoughts."

How the color yellow affects us mentally and physically
* Mentally stimulating
* Stimulates the nervous system
* Activates memory
* Encourages communication

Sounds like we all need a bit more yellow in our lives.

I love to paint forsythia. It lends itself to a loose style that I like in still life paintings. I plan on doing a large forsythia painting next week after finishing another project I am currently working on. 

Thanks for your visit - I hope you enjoy!

Carolina Wren study

Carolina Wren Study (click to bid)

I love these little birds. They say that they tend to be shy but I have not noticed that. I love to watch them as they hop around, climbing and descending on the vertical side of a tree with ease. Kinda crazy to watch. Something I did not know about them is they do not migrate. Because they are sensitive to cold weather and do not move, their population in the northern extremes of their range decreases significantly after severe cold winters.

That is probably why I always seem to get a pair nesting in my garage. I don't really mind but it drives my dog insane when they are in there. They seem to enjoy driving the dog insane...funny birds!

Thanks for dropping by!

Cardinal study

Cardinal study, 5" x 7", oil (click to bid)

Today I painted a cardinal, a bird I have been avoiding only because it has been painted multi-jillions of times. My rational is I want to try and stay as original in my subject matter as I can... Yeah, I need to get over it...that's not necessarily a great reason. I mean, if it has always been a good subject to paint, and is still a good subject, I don't need to worry about not doing so. It's just me dealing with some of my weirdness! Besides, one of the great things about painting these small studies is you get to experiment with subjects and techniques that you might not otherwise consider.

One of the fatal mistakes beginning painters make is how they deal with color. They tend to paint color very simply and flat. For example they may paint green grass green, and the same green from one side of the canvas to the other side. What you say? The grass is green. But I have rarely seen green grass that did not have a multitude of different green hues in it. And not only that but browns, blues, tans, etc., and maybe one of the most important colors that is often overlooked, a range of beautiful greys. In mixing the red I used on the cardinal, I used many reds and altered them in color temperature,  and also value. But not only that, I also included blues, greens, violet, and burnt umber in the bird. And I would actually consider that my color usage on this subject was fairly simple. Indeed, looking back on how I painted the cardinal, I wish I had pushed the color variation to be more complex. But, once again, that is what studies are for. To teach you how to paint the subject better when you paint that large painting.

So the lesson from this blog? Try to be more complex in your usage of color, and begin to experiment with mixing and using different color greys. You will be amazed at how this can transform your painting!

Hope this helps! Thanks for the visit!

Chickadee study

Chickadee study, 5" x 7", oil (click to bid)

Another one of my favorite song birds. The Carolina Chickadee is one of the most frequent visitors to my feeder. This little bird just seems to be happy all the time. Except when the feeder is empty...and then the fussing begins. This scene has the Chickadee in a dogwood tree eating a seed from my feeder.
Thanks for visiting my blog. Hope your feeder is full and you are happy today!