Snipe : 2026-06

Snipe

23 June 2026

Acrylic on canvas

20 x 16 in (50.8 x 40.6 cm)

FOR SALE

This is somewhat of a follow on to Hideout, and there was a call for art titled "Flowing & Flying: Waterbirds & Waterscapes" for which I thought this could be a contender. I like how the bird turned out, but I think I could have stayed with thinner foliage (like in the third shot of the gif below). I do think the addition of some blooms was a nice touch. Birds are fun to paint since you can kind of make them up. This "snipe" is made up - kind of like a snipe hunt, but on that note, snipes are real. He looks elusive.

A gif showing the progress. It covers about a day and a half.

FRAME PICS TO FOLLOW

This is the frame currently holding Snipe - I made it with Radiata or Monterey pine.

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Monster Bob : 2026-06

Monster Bob

22 June 2026

Acrylic on hardboard

18 x 14 in (45.7 x 35.6 cm)

Donated to Manitou Springs Elementary and the Manitou Monster Project

This is the third monster I've done for the Manitou Springs Elementary school and the Manitou Monster Project in conjunction with Manitou Art Center. The first was Monster in 2023 and Mud Monster in 2025 - they skipped 2024. You can read more about the project in the Monster post. when we're given the monster, they original art work is accompanied with some details about the monster. This year's questions/answers were; My monster likes: Red, My monster feels: soft and My monster eats: bananas. This year, it was also named, Monster's Name: Bob. If I remember correctly, they previous monsters weren't named. I appreciated the name. I went with a lot of red - because Bob likes red. Added a few more bananas but tried to keep Bob as close to Bob as possible. Since he feels soft, I fluffed up his body a little bit. At 18x14, this is the largest Monster I've painted.

Above left, the original Monster Bob (artist unknown) and a gif showing some of the steps.

I had a frame which is neutral enough to not distract from the painting.

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Hideout : 2026-06

Hideout

18 June 2026

Acrylic on canvas

20 x 16 in (50.8 x 40.6 cm)

FOR SALE

I don't have any progress shots, but this sat at least a month with the predominant green stripes. I'd recently seen one of many forests by Max Ernst. He's made several - dozens across four decades. I saw The Forest (1923) in Philly and more recently Age of Forests (1926) in Buffalo. I think that was in the back of my mind when I laid down the green. Along the way, I saw a little bird emerge and realized he was using the things in front (they can be whatever you see) to hide behind. So, that was the end of the painting. It kind of manifested itself thought several layers. Hideout has no 'secret' meaning, it just seemed appropriate, and I do like one-word titles.

This is the frame currently holding Hideout - I made it with Radiata or Monterey pine.

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Ritorno :

Ritorno

16 June 2026

Acrylic on canvas

20 x 24 in (50.8 x 60.9 cm)

FOR SALE

This was another painting for the MANY HAPPY RETURNS theme in the local airport. You can read more about it in Dodecaluna. This one zooms in on Pikes Peak and brings in bolder strokes. It was fun to paint with the looser strokes and less detail. The sky took some extra work as I used a blue that doesn't cover very well, but I think that complimented the overall relaxed feel. The most part that took the most attention was the jet and the contrails. I think the addition of the aircraft ties in nicely to many happy returns.

I painted this rather quickly and only took a couple shots. It was a paint-over of Sabre Two.

I liked the original clouds, but they were a bit too spiney/wing-like.

This is the frame currently holding Ritorno. It was the same frame holding Sabre Two,

but the green is so much better with this painting. Remember, most frames can be removed.

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Dodecaluna : 2026-06

Dodecaluna

15 June 2026

Acrylic on canvas

20 x 16 in (50.8 x 40.6 cm)

FOR SALE

I love the sky and love the moon, but this added Pikes Peak as a contender to be displayed in the COS airport. The title is "MANY HAPPY RETURNS - A Birthday Exhibition for Colorado and America". I originally painted a jet landing but reread the description. It read, "Written by Catherine Lee Bates in 1893, America the Beautiful is a poem inspired by the American landscape, and the towering mountain we navigate east vs west by everyday here in Colorado Springs: Pikes Peak. The poem was later paired with the hymn Materna by Samuel A. Ward, becoming the song we know today, a celebration of America's Mountain, the spirit of unity, our rich and diverse history, and the beauty of this land. They wanted artists' interpretations of that. As the mountain helps people return home, we are also in the era of retuning to the moon. I thought a rather fitting combination. The title is a subtle nod to those who've stood on the moon...the twelve. It's for those that get the connection, but if you're reading this, you have a handy hint.

This is the frame currently holding Dodecaluna, made from Radiata or Monterey pine.

It has a light bevel and is lined with black.

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Cantando : 2026-06

Cantando

10 June 2026

Acrylic on hardboard

21 x 26.5 in (53.3 cm x 67.3 cm)

FOR SALE

I painted this for a call for art the original idea was to use Winogrona, but I didn't like it very much. Nor did I think it conveyed the idea of a chorus group very well. I was going to paint over Winogrona, but I had enough hardboard left over so I spared it - for now. I like how it turned out and think it's a better representation of the targeted organization. The only think I would change is the sun or cloud in the left corner. I might've stretched it further across the sky to make it more mysterious. "Cantando" is the present participle in Spanish for singing or the Italian musical term meaning "in a singing, songlike style". I thought the title worked well in both cases.

This is the frame currently holding Cantando. It's nice an simple and I think the

gold makes a nice compliment to the colors of the painting.

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Vaquera : 2026-06

Vaquera

04 June 2026

Acrylic on hardboard

46 x 32 inches (116.8 x 81.3 cm)

FOR SALE

There was an art project/call for art titled Stronger Together and I painted Vaquera as one of the entries. Cottonwood Center for the Arts (CCA) in partnership with the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region (COPPR) established the call to mark the 20th anniversary of COPPR (underwritten by Herman Tiemens). The project was designed to foster a deeper connection between local creative organizations and local creatives, to benefit our community at large. I'd say which organization this is for, but I'd rather not presume it'll be selected. I wanted to try pink for the clouds which I thought worked better than I imagined. It helped me be a little looser with the sky and foreground which I also thought worked well. The woman, or the vaquera (female cowboy or cowgirl) is corralling the clouds with her magnificent ribbon. Maybe to move them somewhere needed or to bring clearer skies...maybe both at the same time. 

On the left is a gif showing some along-the-way shots...about 3-4 days with painting. 

On the right is the frame currently holding Vaquera. I think it's a great match

but it's known people don't like my frames. It originally held Fifty Pound.

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Matron : 2026-05

Matron

30 May 2026

Acrylic on canvas

20 x 16 in (50.8 x 40.6 cm)

FOR SALE

This was the last painting I made for the call for art at Bosque (more at Beseech). I think buffaloes / bison are pretty cool animals. I also wanted to use another black canvas. A black background is tricky... you have to envision where the shadows/black will be and leave those areas alone. Of course, you can paint black over it, but it's a cooler effect if you can leave it raw. The same holds true for a white canvas - assuming you can well-plan any areas of highlights. I'm still working on doing anything well. When painting faces - whether human or animal - it is amazing how subtle changes can change everything. A bison herd is led by a matriarch, typically the oldest and most experienced female cow. That's a good word, but I thought matriarch might be a word I want to reserve (I do what I can to avoid repeating titles). Matron is a synonym for matriarch and is often used for women running a household.

This the frame currently holding Matron. Hand made from Radiata or Monterey pine.

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Beseech : 2026-05

Beseech

29 May 2026

Acrylic on canvas

16 x 20 in (40.6 x 50.8 cm)

FOR SALE

I wanted to make another set of clouds with a palette knife and there was a deadline approaching for an art call. This call was for the Bosque Art Classic at the Bosque Arts Center. I was invited last year so I wanted to submit again. This depicts someone with their horse but we're not sure what is happening. Is the horse tired or sick? Has it passed? Does the rider just need it to go a bit further? In any case, the companion is beseeching the horse to go on.

On the left is the canvas before I started - it was being used as a brush cleaner.

On the right is the frame currently holding Beseech, made from Radiata or Monterey pine.

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