Fine Art, Custom Knives & Jewelry, Art Lessons and more!
This is a large studio piece I did from a smaller painting done on location one summer night this past summer. There was this typical red clay road leading through the field towards the sunset. Earlier that day was the tail end of a summer storm so the cloud formation was just absolutely beautiful. At just the right moment I tried to capture the suns light reflecting under the storm clouds. I love this effect. This piece was 48×60 inches. The on location piece was a 16×20 size piece.
This is an example of one of my working knives. It is a typical hunting knife one would use for hundreds of purposes. It is Damascus steel in a random pattern. Double tempered which makes for a very tough blade. That holds an edge for a long time. The handles are made out of mycarta and carved in an armadillo pattern so one can have a good grip without slipping they also have fancy carved pins. Damascus steel is three or four different kinds of steel all folded together so on I microscopic level it cuts like a serrated edge.
Making custom knives has been I love of mine for many years. I look at it as sculpture and another medium to work in. Some of the knives I make are working knives. Like utility, skinners, and hunters…while others are art knives or collector knives. This is an art knife. It’s D2 steel. Double tempered with a 3 1/2 inch blade with Victorian etching on both sides. The handles are exhibition grade mother of pearl. It has a 10 point diamond on either side the diamonds are e vs1 grade and very bright to boot! This also has a custom sheath that comes with it. Price available upon request. I hope you enjoy!
This is a style of portrait that is very tight. Most portrait commissions I do are in this style. However, once in a while a client will say they want a looser artsy style. Honestly, I love both styles for different reasons. When doing a lot of board room portraits in a tight style I have to slip in a few paintings in a different style just to break it up. Sometimes a change in mediums will help. I love water color portraits just as well. Painting any style portrait really brings a huge smile to my face. It’s very enjoyable and something I am always looking forward to doing.
This is a study of an old man done in oils and painted on 12×16 panel. I love to paint in impasto with lots of rich thick paint. Sargent once said the thicker you paint. The more your color flows. I also like the idea of lost and found edges, this engages the viewer more than a photographic image that spells out everything for you. I love paintings that have an abstract quality to them, it’s more difficult to paint in a half abstract half realistic style than one would think. I hope you enjoy and thank you for taking the time to visit my blog!
This is one of the many places I return to paint plein air. I start to paint and hold off until the right moment to capture the sunset at its best moment. I tried to compose this painting with the sun right on the “golden section”. I always try to avoid placing where I want the viewer to look in the middle of the canvas or sectioning up the canvas in “halves”. I do this by trying to think mostly in terms of thirds or odd numbers. Its seems much more interesting when doing so! I hope you enjoy the piece as much as I did creating it!