Cary Farmhouse Series: Seventh Post

This work is probably the most unique approach I took in the Cary farmhouse series I completed during 2008. Instead of interpreting the subject on one canvas, I decided to create a panoramic image presented over four smaller canvases, each measuring 9 x 12 inches in size. This produced a final image that measured 12 x 36 inches in size.

I started by sketching out the subject onto the four canvases using a small paintbrush filled with burnt sienna oil paint. Then, I worked on two canvases at a time placed side by side on my easel. I used the same palette throughout the work and completed the painting in one long marathon session (approximately 6 hours). Once dry, I framed the four canvases within one canvas floater frame as a single work.

This painting was one of 20 displayed in my solo show at the Burke Arts Council in May 2009. It was also one of three paintings that sold during the show's run, and now belongs to a private collector in Black Mountain, NC.

"Farmhouse Panorama." Oil on four 12 x 9-inch stretched canvases (total size 12 x 36 inches). Completed August 2008.

Shadows at Dusk

Since January I have been working on a series of canvases based on buildings in Cumberland, Maryland. I visited that old railroad city the day after Christmas 2008 and compiled a large photographic archive of structures with my digital camera. That archive has been a source for several paintings since then.

This work, entitled "Shadows at Dusk," is based on two houses I saw on Cumberland's Greene Street. While I relied on my digital images to develop the houses, I improvised the lighting, the color palette and the dramatic sky from both memory and imagination. I used a palette dominated by cadmium orange and cerulean blue, and tried to emphasize the feeling of light at dusk as it washes over the brick facades and creates long shadows and dark recessed areas. This painting is the largest work I've completed in two years, and rests upon a canvas that I stretched myself.

"Shadows at Dusk." Oil on stretched canvas, 36 x 48 inches. Completed January 2009.

Cary Farmhouse Series: Sixth Post

This canvas was the sixth completed in my Cary Farmhouse Series from 2008. This work depicts the farmhouse from the southwest, capturing the structure in early morning light. Since I didn't find this perspective as interesting (mainly because the wrap-around porch is not prominently displayed), I tried to emphasize the shadows and lighting effect created by the time of day. This painting was chosen by juror Anna Olivia Sisk for inclusion in the juried exhibition "Landscape and Location" held at the Island Ford Art Gallery in Statesville, NC in Summer 2008.

"Farmhouse in Morning Light." Oil on stretched canvas, 18 x 24 inches. Completed April 2008.