I love painting kids at play. Here’s a little girl playing ballerina. She’s got it down.
Ballerina I. Original iPad art. 1:1 aspect ratio. 2017.
Ballerina
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Category Archives: Figurative
Latest Works ~~ Most Special Dad
It’s football season and while watching games with my husband I often doodle on the iPad. I’m making some pictures to sell as prints during an exhibit this January. Here’s one that’s more personal, in honor of my Dad who passed away in August 2016. It includes comments from his last few weeks of life.
R.I.P. Original iPad art. 4×5 aspect ratio. 2017
Excellent Watercolor Workshop – Thanks, Wendy Artin!
This past weekend I spent two grueling days knee-deep in watercolor. Wendy Artin, a fabulous artist and lovely person, was our instructor, at Glen Kessler’s Compass Atelier. Talk about ‘alla prima’ painting! She dives right in – no rough sketch, no gesture drawing, no nothing — just her eye, her paint & her brush to guide her relentlessly down the sheet of paper. Her tonal nudes, in which she paints ONLY the ‘shadow shapes’ yet leaves you believing the whole body, are exquisite. Her colorful fruits & veggies are more fully rendered, but are also beautiful & light.
Here’s one of her nudes:
And one of mine — a half hour pose during the workshop (quite a difference, yes??:
I was VERY happy to be able to switch to vegetables in the afternoons!
‘STOP NOW’ Makes it to the March!
Friends drove down from Long Island to join the Women’s March. The wife wasn’t feeling well and had to stay home, so I stayed to keep her company while my hubby and hers each grabbed a big copy of my ‘Stop Now’ poster and took the Metro down to the March.
It took them more than three hours to get to L’Enfant Plaza, a trip that usually takes about 40 minutes. Getting into and out of the stations meant additional long waits. Once at the site, they found the crowds incredibly well behaved, helpful, determined and upbeat. Many people thanked Pat & Bill for coming and asked to take their picture. Bill summed it up: I’m casting my lot with the women. They’re amazing! You don’t want to mess around with women!
I was bummed out to miss it, but lapped up the television coverage, getting a totally different perspective. Here are a few shots of my hubby’s day on the streets of DC.
Art for the Moment ~~ and Ongoing Display at Steptoe: STOP NOW
On a whim, I doodled on my iPad in response to an open call for poster art for the upcoming Women’s March on Washington. One of its themes — “women’s rights are human rights” — reminded me of the good that women can do for everyone, when they act — and react — for the common good. Here’s what I created.
STOP NOW. Original iPad painting, 2017.
Though mine wasn’t among the five chosen from more than 5,000 entries, I’m satisfied with it nonetheless.
And I’m even prouder that my former law firm, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, is going to print the image six feet tall for display at the DC office where I practiced law for many years. Wow. Thanks go to partner Pantelis Michaelopoulos and his wife Cynthia Quarterman, also a Steptoe alum, who saw my art at last week’s champagne reception and proposed that the firm acquire ‘Stop Now’ for its collection.
Good News Yesterday! Featured by WAMA on Facebook Post!
Last year I created a couple of stylized iPad images for the Walter Anderson Museum’s Christmas card competition. One of them was selected for their artist series.
My sister Susan alerted me that the museum featured my sketch this year in its new Facebook fundraising post for the holidays. Way cool! Here’s what it looks like:
Here’s the complete image — Walter, rowing his decorated skiff away from the Biloxi lighthouse and toward his Horn Island retreat. Followed by an alternate, more colorful, version I did last year as well.
New iPad Images: Buzz Lightyear and Friend
I haven’t done much iPad painting over the last year (carpal tunnel issues), but every now and then I see a subject that’s compelling enough so I can’t resist. These two pieces were inspired by grandson Max’s toys: Buzz Lightyear (perched on Max’s dresser) and a red robot whose name I never got. Do you know who he is??
As with all of my iPad art, fine quality prints are available at reasonable prices.
Buzz Lightyear. iPad.
Red Robot. iPad.
A painting in progress . . .
While I was thinking ‘figurative’ and ‘photo’ for Emily’s painting, I decided to take a stab at a water fountain/statue in the courtyard at Sibley Physicians Building. I take pix of him every time I have an appointment there.
I love the angular chunks of the composition and was debating long and hard whether to add more detail after I did my first fast rough-in. Mistake! I wish I’d left it as is. One of these days I’ll scrub some paint over it lightly and try to return it to a more primitive state. It’s way too detailed and dark for my taste at the moment. 
Time out for a small figurative of a niece
My sister Ceci sent me a darling photo of her daughter Emily, dressed in a black and white motif with a pop of yellow. I had to paint it, of course, trying my best to avoid the pitfalls of painting from photos rather than life. Here it is. And of course I presented it to my sis. 
Two new models — simultaneously
You may recognize these two gentlemen from an earlier post. I was delighted that Danni recruited them to model. They were positioned so I could see each by glancing to the right or the left. Not knowing if I’d have a chance to paint them again, I decided to do both, if possible. I set up two canvases side by side and got to work. At some point I had to pick one to bring to greater finish — the bearded soldier.
