Venderly Bridge

SOLD
 20x20

oil on canvas

This is the Ron Venderly Family Bridge at Purdue University in Fort Wayne, IN. The impressive footbridge spans the St. Joseph River.  PFW happens to be my alma mater but I'm more sentimental about the river because we like to kayak and this is one of our favorite stretches. I painted this from a photo taken on my phone while paddling under the bridge. The gorgeous cloud filled blue sky was a bonus on this particular day.

Market Day

11x14

oil on canvas

I love our downtown farmer's market on a sunny day. This is maybe the third full painting I've completed from this general location. This year they changed their awnings from a nice, rich red to the tan and black striped numbers depicted here. I loved the bright red against the green trees, but there's enough color to satisfy the chromaphile in me. And the sunflowers are always the star of the show.

Hats off to Degas

12 x 9

oil on canvas panel

This painting is about observation and appreciation of artistry. These two young women are studying Edgar Degas's "The Millinery Shop" which hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago. The subject of Parisian women and their hats was a favorite of the Impressionists. Women wearing hats, women  making hats, women visiting milliners or working in the shops, are all revisited again and again in the works of the most notable artists of that period. Degas completed around two dozen pieces surrounding millinery themes. What was happening in this particular Degas painting is interesting because at first glance it appears a woman of means is in the shop and trying on a finished hat. She is wearing the clothes of the well-to-do customer, an expensive dress and leather gloves. But through an x-ray examination of the painting, it's discovered that Degas repainted the image, obscuring the woman's features and refashioning her to appear more as the hat maker, possibly holding pins in her mouth. I wonder if it began as a commissioned portrait. Whatever the reason, I find it compelling that he changed the story. It's a magnificent painting with a composition and staging that is daring.

Good Listeners

9x12

oil on panel

I don't know if I posted this before. This is a recently re-tweaked painting of a garden outside a favorite local coffee shop. I repaired some things I didn't like about one of the figures among several other do overs. It's a cheerful little thing.

Morning

oil on canvas

20 x 28

Sometimes, nature strikes a pose so amazing that it's almost hard to believe what we are seeing is real. This represents one of those moments, reflected in our pond, as the sun was coming up. At this hour, there is sparse traffic but I included a solitary car, making it's way on the quiet road on the other side of the water. The tight row of fir trees cannot be seen on the horizon because of the taller trees behind them, however, they are lit and reflected by the light in the sky.