I gave my sister Alexis and her husband Craig a drawing in pencil and charcoal of their daughter Bree for Christmas 2003.
A freind of mine was recovering from work was recovering from a serious illness and was hospitalized for a long time, so I drew pictures in pencil and charcoal of her children to cheer her up. click on the images below to see larger versions.
I enjoy painting even though it can be very frustrating and difficult.
It gives me a chance to exercise some parts of my brain that don’t get
much of a workout in my professional pursuits. My skill level never got
as high as I wanted, but that’s more lack of time and patience than ability
(or so I tell myself). So I enjoy it, but I never said I was good and you
can quote me on that.
Years ago, I was wandering through Balboa Park in San Diego and went through some art galleries there. I was seriously considering buying one of the paintings I saw there. The careful shopper that I am, I decided to take a close look at the painting. I decided not only that it wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but that it was pretty simple and I thought "I can do that". It took a long time, but ultimately I vindicated my arrogance.
I didn’t take up painting right away though. I just filed that idea away with "things I intend to do some day". Eventually decided to take up the hobby. I took lessons at a local community college in oil and watercolor painting.
I know being an artist is it's own reward since it is a pure expression of who and what you are and it is cheapened by material concerns. My reaction is that artist is a profession like any other. It's not fair that the value of an artist's work is measured in how much some people will pay for it, but that seems to be the way it is. I'm a painter but I hesitate to call myself an artist because I've never sold anything. In fact, I've spent a lot of money with no return on my investment! I can call myself an engineer or teacher or author without hesitation because I've done these things professionally, but not artist.
"Little Girl in a Straw Hat" is oil on canvas, 24X30". It is loosely based on a painting by Mary Cassatt (1845-1926). I like the impressionist style because a painting doesn’t take months to complete and I can be a little sloppy and it works! To see the whole painting, click on the image or here . (107k) To see a close-up of the face, click here . (117k)
"Frigate Bird" is a watercolor,15X20". I’m proud of this painting because I completed it in less than 20 minutes. To see the painting, click on the image or here . (108k)
"Snow" is a watercolor, 30X20". This is probably my best watercolor. It is loosely based on a picture from a book about places in New Mexico, which is where I grew up, so I feel a little nostalgic about this painting. To see the painting, click here . (152k)
No, I'm not an X-Files fan, but my niece Rachel is. This painting was
her Christmas present 1997. To see the painting, click here
. (160k)
