This guy

I saw this painting in Southwestern art tonight and thought it was wonderful. I just had to share. This Joseph Todorovitch is pretty good. http://www.southwestart.com/wp-content/uploads/Joseph-Todorovitch-Fleet-oil-20-x-38..jpg

So much grass, but I'm getting it.

I always kind of struggle with fields and pastures, but I like them. Had to try some new methods while listening to St. Matthews Passion by Bach, but I reached a breakthrough. It's way better than it was, but I not near done yet. This is a good size too, 2 x 4 feet.

New Post

I haven't had a chance to post this week. Here is the drawing and the beginning of the painting. I meant this to be a horizontal piece making the landscape bigger. My drawing however was WAY bigger than I meant it to be. I didn't' feel like going to Kinko's and making it smaller, they are not always fun to deal with, so I decided to go with the big drawing instead. I think it will work though, I plan to make it my best. Stay tuned.......

Mercer County Reflection

Here's the finished product. I named it Mercer County Reflection. Reflection for the water and it was in Mercer county where I took the reference photo, there at Shakertown. I thought about just Reflection, it sounds more emotional, but I w

anted to keep the Kentucky aspect involved. It's a small piece, about 10 inches wide, but I kind of like working small now, I get done a lot faster. But, I'm about to do a 2 x 4 foot one, so we'll see how long it takes me to do that.

New Painting

I started working on the new painting last night after posting the new finished one. I drew everything out on this round piece of wood, and after a few hours of painting while watching WKRP in Cincinnati, I had a lot done. You can see in the second picture Julie on the little couch and the starving cat we took in on the floor. Julie may or may not be in my lap as I paint, but she's never far away

As Mountians Whisper

Here is a pic of the finished painting, As Mountains Whisper. I consider myself a Kentucky Painter, but I do sometimes paint the Tennessee Smokies. So that's my guilty admission. Actually, I did live for a few years in Memphis Tennessee as a kid, so I do consider myself, at least, part Tennessean. Even though the Smokey Mountains are in the other side of the state, I feel oddly at home in Tennessee, When you lose a parent like I lost my Father in 2010, you look for things from your childhood, when both your parents were young and healthy. I hate death and aging and all that mess. Anyway, this is a small painting that I will probably take to Frankfort sometime this week. I'll let you know more as things happen with that. And I've already drew two pictures from the photo shoot the other day. It went really well. I'm learning how to take better pictures for painting, and used that knowledge well, my wife Malissa came along and helped and did a great job, and the model, Britney, she's just great, I could never say enough good things about her. I'm really wanting to get to a new level in my paintings and I hope you being seeing those real soon.

Modeling

I usually don't show the actual photos from the modeling sessions I base my paintings on. I feel the models may not like their photos everywhere on the inter-webs. I had to show this one though and I asked permission before I did it. Today I did a modeling shoot at Shakertown with Britney, one of my favorite models, and (favorite friends too, she's great!), and while she was posing two deer were running on the hillside behind her. She's giving me a funny look because I was grunting and ohhing and ahhing because I was hoping the camera would quit processing and I could get another pic of these deer behind her. But they ran into the trees at the left before the camera was ready for another pic, stupid technology. Anyway, I thought this was really neat and just thought I'd share. It may also be important to note that it's deer hunting season here in Kentucky, but these guys are safe, there is no hunting on Shakertown property. They do allow a limited quail hunt, but these guys are deer. They could run off the property and get shot on someone's farm, but these guys were right in the middle of the property and very safe.

My Spirit Guide and Teacher

I was watching Kentucky Life on the teli tonight and saw my late friend, mentor and spirit guide , the great Ross Zirkle. He was an artist and lived everything he preached, and I would give about anything to have recorded just one of those sermons. I thought how much I miss this guy. He was an old hippie, lived in the woods for a time, studied fencing, been all over the country, and was about as spiritual than anyone I've ever met. When people saw my space art in the beginning of my art making, they thought Scifi. He saw right through that and understood I was dealing with Nature, God, The Spirits, all things mysterious. Not Scifi. I was really happy about that.  He had such a huge impact on everyone he met, and he met a lot of people too. Just as his career was on an up swing at UK, Pancreatic cancer stole him from us and it hurt a lot of people. I sometimes wonder now how he would feel about some of my choices with my art career, both failures and successes. Wish he was here to tell me. But if anyone was the type to come back as a Hawk, dodge lightning, and touch the Moon, I know it's him. Oh, and you can see some of the art he did before passing on here http://www.ravenwolfgallery.com/RossZirkle/WaterlessGallery/pages/ChannelsII15x11wl.htm

Biking

I took this picture of ours bikes while we were biking in the woods at Shakertown Sunday. I was also out looking for places to photograph and paint later, but this is a great place to bike. Just don't get hit by a deer!

The Smokies

This is what I have done so far on this one. This is based on a picture of Malissa standing on a mountain top past Gatlinburg Tennessee, on the way to Cherokee. I haven't done fog in a while, so this is a nice little exercise in atmosphere. I try to keep bouncing around on subjects, even though it all is the woman in the woods theme, I try something a little different on everyone, or try something I've done before but not too often. Practice makes perfect, they say. Perfect seems kind of high to reach for, I'll settle for nice.

Haunted Art Show

Along with the Crow's Landing painting I just finished, I also put Raven's Home and My Old Kentucky Home into the "Haunted" Art Exhibit in Harrodsburg. I just took them tonight and the Show is tomorrow. If anyone is out and aboot in Harrodsburg tomorrow night, stop by downtown, it's a small downtown so I'm sure you will see us. I added Raven's Home because it fits the Fall season and I added My Old Kentucky Home because the house looks a little creepy. I also think it's one of my more interesting skies. I'm not sure what  kind of crowd might come out, the arts council there is kind of new from what I understand and I think this is the first "Haunted" show ever. Maybe I can be on the ground floor of something good here. We shall see. Here is all the webs info I can find on the Haunted show. http://www.artscouncilofmercer.com/

New painting

Here is work on the new painting. If you can't see it, the drawing is part of the album too. This was based on a pic of Malissa standing on the big Mountain outside of Gatlinburg Tennessee on the way to Cherokee North Carolina. The fog was thick, but I made it a little crazier in this piece. I thought this might work as a Halloween piece, but not the one that will go to the show in Harrodsburg. I'll talk more about that one tomorrow or Friday. I plan on this one to go to Broadway Clay on Frankfort next week. It's time I switch that art out. I've sold three pieces there so I have to keep it together there in our State Capital. They guy that runs it, a guy named Les, is a real cool guy. He's got real long white hair and a beard, and he is always covered with clay when I stop in. He covered with clay because he makes bowls and such on that spinning table thing.  Hopefully I'll get this one done fast so it can enjoy the Hallowed season! BOOOOOOO! Ok, that wasn't scary at all.

Remember this one?

This is a bad picture of this painting, but still. I'm re-doing it a little for that Haunted Show in Harrodsburg. It's looking better already, but I don't have a pic of the improvements yet. If you remember I did thios one last year about this time, but was never quit happy with it. I'm taking care of that now, I'll post some pics of the improvements in a day or two. Everyone have fun!