"Altar Boy" oil on canvas 16"x20"

My friend Dottie and I decided to paint this boy from a newspaper clipping that she had cut out years and years ago. . It is a black and white photo. (Colored print in the Times Picayune were rare in those days.) This boy is no doubt married with 10 kids by now. Anyway, she is working on the watercolor version and I am anxious to see her results.

New Orleans French Quarter Festival April 13th and 14th.

It is that time of the year again. I have been accepted into the Pirates Alley Art Show that takes place in conjunction with the New Orleans French Quarter Festival. Please come visit me and view my latest work. My spot is actually on Pirate Alley which is on the left side of the St. Louis Cathedral. There will be different bands and great food throughout the area. Hope you can make it!

"King of the Road" 16" x 20" oil on canvas

 

Never miss a photo opportunity. I was buying some eclairs at this local bakery and this man with his dog entered the shop.The dog was wearing, what looked to me like, swimming goggles. Found out the two are biker buddies and they travel everywhere together on their Harley. This was the first motorcycle that I have painted. Hope there are no missing parts! I think the title of the painting is perfect. The shop was selling king cakes and had that sign on the railing. And his last name was King!

Julie and Manny 16" x 20" oil on canvas

 

These are my fellow classmates. We get together once a week to improve our painting skills with Roy and catch up on the latest gossip, listen to awesome music and basically inspire and encourage one another. This painting is the second in a series of three. I will have painted almost 360 degrees of the room when I am finished the third.
Everything was first sketched in loosely with soft charcoal, followed by yellow ochre to make the lines more permanent so that I could block in the shapes. Same procedure as the smaller paintings.

Roy and John 16" x 20"

 

This is at Roy's studio. He has a life sized poster board of his idol, John Wayne behind him always keeping an eye on what he is painting. It was morning light and I basically painted from life as he painted. I had to take a photo though to do the finishing touches on it when I got home. It took about 3 sittings to complete. The studio facinated me with all the interesting "art" stuff laying around. Imagine that!

Just Country 16" x 20" oil on canvas

 

I took a picture of this little girl at a church festival. Never miss an opportunity for a potential painting. I removed the harness and straps that were connected to the four-pony walker and made it look more like she was a real country girl. I should have left the flip flops off her feet! Anyway I truly enjoyed painting this and it inspired me to get more new reference photos.

Super Trio 12"x 12"

Yes, I did this painting before but it was worth repeating on a slightly larger canvas board. If only you could really see the rich colors that are in the "blacks". I used no black paint, only mixtures of red, yellow and blue in their deepest values.

Renaissance Girls Oil on canvas 12" x 12'

What a great opportunity to get some interesting reference material at Renaissance festivals. I really like this painting because of the loose brushwork.  Working on a bit larger surface 12" x 12" gave me an opportunity to explore the delicate colors of the white horse and the shadowed areas under the girls hat.

Lagniappe

What a special treat to be honored with a third place ribbon for one of my miniatures at the Pirates Alley Art Show!   My friend Jane also took home a ribbon. I call that Lagniappe.
 I think there is no greater joy for an artist than to see people admiring their work, well, and selling it too. Ok playing with grandchildren is up there on the list.
The French Quarter Festival was grand. I came home looking more like a crawfish though- red. I am looking forward to attending it again next year. Thanks to all my friends and family who made the special effort to come and visit me. And to my son who took all those great reference photos.

The Old & the New 6" x 6" oil on gessobord

There were several things that caught my eye when I decided to paint this. I liked the idea of the old and new- horse versus car and old buildings versus new ones in the background. It is one of many interesting attractions in New Orleans.

French Quarter Festival New Orleans, La. April 14th and 15th

Come visit me at the French Quarter Festival. I will be one of many artists at the Pirates Alley Art Show which is going on in conjunction with the festival. You will find me at the corner of Royal Street and Pirates alley, behind the St. Louis Cathedral. I would love to see you! There will also be great food, great bands and a great time. Hope you can make it!  Check out the French Quarter Festival website for a full schedule of the bands and their locations.

New Orleans Neighbors 6" x 6" oil on gessobord

What is the focal point? I want to say it is the dog and the lady leaning over to pet it. The woman to the right was intentially painted softer for de-emphasis and the couple in the back, although they are waving do not take center stage. The canopy and the poles initially caught my attention when I looked at the photo. OK the couple in the back wasn't in the photo but I decided to add them because I liked the connection they bring to the foreground.

Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop 6" x 6" oil on gessobord

After I put in the Lafitte sign on the side of the building, my brush got carried away in other areas. I tried to put it down but it would not cooperate. Maybe some people prefer more calligraphy in a painting. I know I love Tony Couch's watercolors because it. I did not use black, I used indigo for the lettering. I think next time the calligraphy will be softened more in other places with lighter values.

Ursulines Street Corner 6" x 6" oil on gessobord

The real building is painted white. I mixed various light grays of pale pink, blue, yellow. I put blotches of that on first and followed up the next day with a whiter tone to give it more texture. No building is all white, with reflections from the sky, overhangs, sidewalk and other surroundings, it is a much more exciting variety of colors. It was an overcast day so not much in the line of shadows. For the street sign, I covered it with indigo first and then scratched out the name using a pointy tool.

Chess Anyone? 6" x 6" oil on gessobord

 I am told that this fellow was already a master chess player when he was starting LSU. He seemed quite at home in front of the French Market.

What a great profile study!! 

Wolfe's Corner 6" x 6" oil on gessobord

I like how the colors in the focal point, the buggy and mule, are repeated in the blue sky and the red canopy & roofs, and the rust of the building. It pulls it all together. The only thing I wish I would have done was to maybe put some more figures in the distance to give it more life. What do you think?

Court Tavern Po-Boy 6" x 6" oil on gessobord

The things that attracted me to paint this were wrought iron work against the intense background colors of the buildings. It screams New Orleans. By the way, the iron work was predominantly done by using an old credit card. It is a great straight edge for fine areas.

Canal Street Car 6" x 6" oil on gessobord

Does the angle of the side of the streetcar disturb you like it disturbs me? I keep looking at my reference photo with the grid lines and it tells me that it is correct but something seems off. Perhaps the tracks and the curb angle needs tweeking. What do you think?

Lucky Dogs 6" x 6" oil on gessobord

The thing that attracted me to paint this, aside from the fact that it is so New Orleans, were the dynamic angles and repetitive "stripes" on the shirt, railing and steps. The shirt was easier to do once I figured out to put the variations of red on first and wipe out the white lines with a rubber gadget.

Meet Me at St. Louis 6" x 6" oil on gessobord

I moved a few things around from the original photo. More of the cathedral is showing and is not blocked by the large post which I placed behind the mule. It could be argued that the right side is heavier than the left in value, but I rather like the progression from dark foreground value to light background. The points of the cathedral, the post and the ear of the mule has a rhythm all its own.