He Was at FlightPath Coffee This Morning

I rarely go out painting at early breakfast hours, because there just aren’t a lot of early birds in the summer for me to paint. This morning, I just felt like going out early. It seemed like a good day for FlightPath. When I arrived, there was only one other customer in the back half […]

I Painted Katelyn at the Barking Dog

I just got back from delivering some paintings down to AMSET, the Art Museum of Southeast Texas. It’s located in Beaumont. I had never been to AMSET before – it is a very nice museum. Sarah Hamilton, the curator, was very nice and friendly. She even helped me carry the paintings into the museum. Inside, […]

I Painted Her at Epoch Coffee

The Difference Between Painting and Drawing

People ask me if I sketch in with pencil or charcoal before I begin.   No, I don’t.  So much of painting requires restatement in the process, why start out fumbling from the beginning?  I try to say what I mean from the very beginning. Think about the process of painting as opposed to drawing.  Rendering […]

A Second Smattering on Painting Technique

The Beginning I was painting at Halcyon Coffee here in Austin on Monday.  The barristra was very interested, and asked me if I did an underpainting.  This made me stop and think about the actual process of the oil sketch.  I said, “well, no, not really”. I fumbled around for an explanation since I am […]

I Painted Two Customers at Quack’s Bakery and Coffee

She was just lovely in silver-blue, with sun-glasses on her head. I always call these women the “Horse women” – the Barbara Stanwick, no-nonsense good-looks. They always have those fine-bone structures, but these are rock solid, no-nonsense women. They age beautifully, and can let their hair go silver. The student next to her had great hair. I was afraid that he was going to cut out early, but I got him in the painting, luckily. Behind them you will see the first two type-writer buttons of the Italian restaurant, ASTI.

I Painted This Rocker at Quack’s

This was my first attempt to paint at Quackenbush’s Coffee and Bakery in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Austin.  I loved painting there!  The girls on shift when I arrived were very nice, and unlike a lot of other coffee houses/bakeries in town, the customers are coming and going very quickly, providing the perfect environment […]

I Painted This Portrait Vignette at Epoch Coffee

Surf’s Up and so is the collar!  He was at Epoch Coffee just long enough for me to paint a quick 6×9 portrait vignette.  When I do these quick vignettes, I always try and tone the canvas a bit to keep the painting from looking too flat.

Oil Sketch Pronto-Prontissimo!

When I started college, I wanted to be a fashion illustrator.  I went to a pretty crummy state school my first year, and the only fashion illustration class was in the home ec department.  I couldn’t bring myself to sign up for home ec, so I switched over to architecture.  I flunked out of drafting […]

Painting From Life at a Coffee House

I painted this beautiful man from life at Spider House Coffee here in Austin, TX.  I loved his dreadlocks.  Painting from life is always tricky, because you don’t know how long people will stay, or stay put!   As an artist,  I never rely on photography, but paint the figure “live”. Here is another painting […]