The Naked Silo

Twinkle, Twinkle 17" x 14", oil on Bristol board, 2020 I've painted my friend, Ashley, more than any other model I've used and this particular pose had been sort of "on deck" for about two decades, making many appearances in my sketchbook in various compositions with various items joining her, but only appearing in one other painting until now. Pencil sketch from 1999. In many sketches over the years, I've put all kinds of stuff on and around Ashley, and I gave her a full-colour sunflower "tattoo" when I used her in this painting from my Sunflowers series (about a year or so before I started painting in oils as well as watercolours): Corona Solis (papa) 15" x 22", watercolour, 2000 I've been revisiting much of my voluminous photo reference that I've been shooting since the early 1990s (on film until around 2012, then digital ever since), and this pose came up yet again and, as accompaniment, I final

Songbird 17" x 14", oil on Bristol board, 2020 There's not much to say about this painting, seeing as it's a variation of Downcast (bot painted concurrently (it was a bit of a challenge keeping the two separate as far as the video files go)) with the addition of an empty word balloon (which was painted in a few graceful strokes, I must say –visible in the video below). Here is a time lapse video of this painting's creation:

Downcast 17" x 14", oil on Bristol board, 2020 Here's a time lapse video of this painting's creation: I've used this same photo reference of Aisha in a couple of previous paintings, beginning here: Tides 22" x 22", watercolour, 2000 ...and that watercolour painting (but smaller and in black and white) makes an appearance in the upper left corner of this oil painting: AW-026 36" x 24", oil on canvas, 2002

Krista Akimbo 17" x 14", oil on Bristol board, 2020 I tried some extensive palette knife painting on this one to give it a bright, reflected-sunlight glow behind the figure. It turned out okay, but made me change my mind about the colour of the sky (which began as a gradient from blue at the top to very light blue at the horizon) – you can see the swerve in the video below. In the end, I like the hazy, summer-day-approaching-sunset look. I scratched out the word balloon and heart with the back end of a paint brush (as I have been doing for my "m2" signature for a few years, now. Here's a time lapse video of this painting's creation:

Into the Woods 14" x 17", oil on Bristol board, 2020 One of the main purposes of this "time lapse video" exercise is to keep me painting regularly and, by doing so, I hope to learn a few things and get better at it. So, watching these videos is a fascinating (for me, anyway) look into my development as a painter as I try new techniques. To save space I've begun experimenting with painting on Bristol board and that means the surface needs to be prepped, and this is how I did that: after I pencilled in the subject/s I covered the paper with clear gesso, then taped the sheet to a hard surface (which produced that uneven border), then covered that with orange acrylic (like I usually do), then paint away. Even after these preparatory steps, the surface isn't what I'm used to working on...it seems more porous...but I've managed to adapt and make it work for me. With this painting, I've used my friend, Kimberley , once again from a recent pho

Carrie Fisher 18" x 14", oil on canvas, 2020 When I embarked on this new project to record myself painting pictures then upload time lapse videos to my YouTube channel , I began my usual practice of rummaging through my sketchbooks and photo reference for material. I kept coming across pictures of Carrie Fisher and, although I've painted her as part of a group in Visible, Audible Heat , and did a stylized painting of The Princess (for which I used a friend), I thought it'd be fun to paint a picture of what's in my mind's eye when I think of "Princess Leia," that is, Carrie Fisher in her white outfit with these braids she wore in The Empire Strikes Back. Below is the time lapse video of this painting's creation:

No More Butterflies 18" x 14", oil on canvas, 2020 I'm enjoying revisiting older paintings and photo reference for the new paintings (and their time lapse videos) I'm doing this year. I have so many photos of friends and co-workers, as well as shots of locations and objects that have been waiting to be painted (or repainted), that I can pretty much go on indefinitely (especially since I'm regularly shooting new reference!). This former co-worker also appears in "Close" and "The Waitress," both from 1998. Here's a quick sketch of her I did a few years ago in preparation for another project: Below is the time lapse video of this painting's creation:

Tractor 14" x 18", oil on canvas, 2020 This painting revisits local Prince Edward County farmers Ed and Sandy Taylor's tractor which (barely) appears in the portrait I painted of them in 2011 and which I painted by itself in watercolour in 2016. Below is the time lapse video of its creation: