Blog Posts

The Christmas Mushroom Series

12/31/2020

Last year I was asked to illustrate the Christmas Mushroom for a gift. In order to create a final piece, I needed to illustrate several potential paintings.
Below demonstrates how I worked on more then one illustration before deciding on the triple mushroom piece in watercolor on Bristol 400.
Finally, I began to work on a mini acrylic painting which is unfinished.
Happy New Year!!

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Skywalk Arts Festival 2020

10/6/2020

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Skywalk Arts Festival 2020, hosted by the HBHV.
This year I displayed two tables. One table consisted of my mother's fine art prints on canvas and paper along with my mini prints on canvas and mini acrylics on canvas.
The other table I displayed six gold leaf framed Plein Air paintings representing my original work.
You may purchase these paintings and prints along with other work on my website located at: https://www.stilegalleryshop.com

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From Sketchbook to Finished Paintings - Along the Beach

4/29/2020

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In this video, I share a little insight into how I might begin the painting process for a particular body of work such as in my acrylic shell compositions. I show how I spend time seeking objects of interest along the beach front for sketchbook material, watercolor and acrylic. Many of these studies are then used as reference material for larger scale paintings done in the studio.

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April Showers Bring Cherry Blossom Petals

4/21/2020

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Tulip Madness!

4/20/2020

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Each day a new tulip would open up in the garden with striking colors that I couldn't help but to pick up my sketch book and pencils and head outdoors for a quick drawing study. Recently I have been exploring using colored pencils which has never been one of my favorite mediums as I prefer to use a painting medium.
One stormy afternoon, a stunning flower bouquet was placed on the dining room table along with a homemade banana bread. What an inspiration to sit down and enjoy a tasty slice of cake, hot tea and a beautiful subject matter to draw and paint on a rainy day!

Below a mix of garden photographs, photo enhancements, pencil studies, watercolor and acrylic paintings.

Springtime Tulip Garden Acrylic on canvas

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A Time to Stay Busy in Springtime Color

4/6/2020

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As a botanical illustrator, there is no better time to be outdoors capturing the many flowering plants in bloom during springtime. The weather can be pretty unpredictable making it difficult to work on site which is why taking so many reference photographs or by working quickly on a pencil sketch helps me to have reference material. Each day a new color appears on the many lawns and gardens of neighborhood properties as I head outdoors to take my afternoon walk. The crocuses, forsythia and daffodils were the first to appear from the long winter landscape, bobbing their bright yellow arms and heads against the chilly breeze. In the past few weeks that followed, soft pastel colors began to emerge on trees and shrubs in striking contrast to the bright blue sky. I put a selection of these photographs below.

While the country has shut down due to covid-19, it has given the air a chance to become clear again after being blanketed in haze from pollution for so long. This spring, these waving arms of blooming trees has now had the opportunity to display an array of stunning color against the backdrop of a brilliant bright blue sky.

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Pre-Springtime Tulip Studies

3/1/2020

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I love to watch how an upright bouquet of flowers begins to wilt and bend, dropping it's petals or curling in shape, all in creating new compositional challenges to enhance a sketch.

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Watercolor Study by the River

2/19/2020

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My first adventure down on a riverbank early in the spring of 2019.

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Sketch Time!

1/30/2020

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While walking along the beach, I like to keep an eye out for interesting objects to sketch for possible reference in larger paintings in the studio. On this day, I picked up two feathers on the sand that were from sea birds and a couple of shells to sketch in pencil and color pencil.