Dilata

Dilata

19 July 2026

Acrylic on canvas

18 x 24 in (45.7 x 61 cm)

FOR SALE

The figure becomes one with the landscape. I was starting to paint something abstract in vertical orientation vs a horizontal. However, the initial lines I painted and the red/gray areas started to appear as a horizon and somewhat eerie sky respectively. So I turned it on it's side and added the clouds. The clouds are done with loose strokes which was on purpose. I planned the figure to be the same - looser strokes - but it seemed to work out as is. The grass and flowers are a little surreal...the figure seems to be on or in the grass. I liked that question remaining. The question of her condition remains as well. Is she enjoying the day and resting? Is she in need of help? We're not sure.

This is the frame currently holding Dilata. It is made from Nebraska farm wood and taken from Slider. I think the colors match well with the distant terrain. This frame doesn't have 45 degree miters. I wanted to try a simple box. Like almost all of my painting/frame combinations, this can be easily removed and/or changed.

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Vestige : 2026-07

Vestige

08 July 2026

Acrylic on canvas

16 x 20 in (40.6 x 50.8 cm)

The landscape isn't remembered as much as the light.

FOR SALE

I wanted to work on the lighting in a landscape while also keeping the detail to a minimum. I like how this one turned out but I still struggle with getting a super bright glow. But that is the fun of painting... I can just keep trying as long as my hands work. I thank God my hands work. The title is straight forward. Vestige is a trace, mark, or visible sign left behind by something that has disappeared, vanished, or is in the process of fading away. The tagline about really resonates with me. The colors and clouds we get on a daily basis are simple incredible.

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

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Croptop : 2026-07

Croptop

07 July 2026

Acrylic on canvas

20 x 16 in (50.8 x 40.6 cm)

FOR SALE

This was painted with nothing in mind. It started very abstract (a brush cleaning canvas to be honest) as you can see in the gif below. I saw a tower or a thrown of sorts emerge and went with it. I liked it but though a couple of crows enjoying some food on high would add some life. They're happy more crows haven't yet arrived and one of them is even in the feeder. The title comes from some crops being up high - or on top.

A gif moving us along - a couple of days have passed. You get the abstract start and a tower-only view.

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

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Girdle : 2026-07

Girdle

04 July 2026

Acrylic on wood

20 x 14 in (50.8 x 35.6 cm)

FOR SALE

This was the third painting to join Hideout and Snipe for a call for art (mentioned in Snipe). There are entry fees for most exhibitions which generates revenue for the museum and I tend to look at it as paid advertising. Sales would just be butter. I receive plenty of rejections so that's paid non-advertising. Some calls - like this one - will allow up to X number of paintings for a set fee. Typically, you can submit more for a higher price. This call the fee didn't change until four paintings so to take advantage of the fee, I wanted to submit three. This is somewhat of a belted kingfisher so I called him Girdle. Belt felt a little too generic.

A gif showing some of the stages. I liked all the backgrounds but in the end, I thought the gray gave the best contrast to the cattails, the bird and the foliage. The last foliage change was pretty significant. I liked it because it was getting too busy. About two days passed in this gif. The longest part is assembling the surface. Girdle is painted on the remainders of frames. The frames - such as the one holding Snipe - require a rabbet to be cut. If you make two cuts (verses one really wide one) you get little boards which are nice wood (typically radiata or Monterey pine) but a difficult size to use. I simply splice them together and then trim to size - this is about 34 of those 'little boards'.

The frame currently holding Girdle. It's a fabricated woodgrain with a

reddish cherry/walnut appearance. I think the color works well.

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Breach : 2026-07

Breach

02 July 2026

Acrylic on wood

8 x 8 in (20.3 x 20.3 cm)

FOR SALE

This was my first painting of July 2026. It was also intended for "Tiny but Mighty" (see Rabbet for more info). I had a sky which was very difficult to follow and/or discern from anything else but maybe the terrain. I'd also done Sandy and I didn't want to repeat a skyscape/landscape. I also wanted to be more abstract. There is on show in the gif with an exploded shell. I liked it but I don't think it'd be juried into a show. On that note, I should probably stop using that as a litmus test. I can just paint another painting. The biggest thing I struggled with were colors. I think I ended up in the right spot, and losing the halo was also prudent. The title comes from that space of time when it was an artillery shell. Trench immediately came to mine for trench warfare but Breach makes a similar connection and better serves the painting. 

This gif covers about eight days and you can see the grabbling I did with colors.

There is no frame currently holding Breach, but it will likely be a wooden museum wrap.

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Sandy : 2026-06

Sandy

30 June 2026

Acrylic on wood

8 x 8 in (20.3 x 20.3 cm)

FOR SALE

This was another painting for "Tiny but Mighty" (see Rabbet for more info). I didn't really have an idea so I went with what something I love - big skies and dominate clouds. In retrospect, the sunburst versions might have worked - especially the second one - but it didn't grab my attention as much as I though it would when I took a step back. Before painting over the original sky (second and third shots in the gif below), I sanded the painting. I thought it gave a cool texture to the terrain. It also gave this painting its title.

This "stage" gif shows some versions and about five days had passed.

There is no frame currently holding Sandy, but it will likely be a wooden museum wrap.

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Growler : 2026-06

Growler

29 June 2026

Acrylic on canvas

20 x 16 in (50.8 x 40.6 cm)

FOR SALE

I had watched nature show recently about the oceans. I also had a black canvas open so I thought I'd try a moonlit glacier with strong reflections. I have loved Caspar David Friedrich's The Sea of Ice since the first time I've seen it so glaciers are often in my mind. I also love his The Abbey in the Oakwood and Monastery Cemetery in Snow but those are unrelated. Monastery was destroyed but I was fortunate to see The Abbey. As you can see in the gif below, I struggled with the glacier and its colors quite a bit. I love the water and reflections almost from the get-go. Black frames are hard to photograph (as you can also see in the gif). I was going to cover some of the moon with clouds, but the Moon is cool so I left it bare. The title is an actual term. Growlers are small fragments of glacially derived ice that has broken off an iceberg or glacier.

A gif showing the process/stages - about 17 days had passed.

This is the frame currently holding Growler. Made with Radiata or Monterey pine and

added black to the rabbet for a nice transition from canvas to frame.

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Rabbet : 2026-06

Rabbet

24 June 2026

Acrylic on wood

8 x 8 in (20.3 x 20.3 cm)

FOR SALE

This was painted with the intention of submitting it to a call for art in Norfolk titled "Tiny but Mighty". I had some smaller works, but this call's limit is only 8 inches max on any side. I started with an abstract background but then thought a crow perched on what was otherwise just a line would bring the flatness to life. The title is a little involved. When I make frames and cut the recesses to hold the canvas, there are several pieces of small, but good wood remaining. I don't like throwing them away so I spliced them together and made this board. Yes, I'm saving the earth. Those cuts on the frame are often called rabbets. And since it sounds like rabbit, it might make people doubletake.

There is no frame currently holding Rabbet, but it will likely be a wooden museum wrap.

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Snipe : 2026-06

Snipe

23 June 2026

Acrylic on canvas

20 x 16 in (50.8 x 40.6 cm)

FOR SALE

Update 19 JUL 26: Snipe was invited to "Flowing & Flying: Waterbirds & Waterscapes"

at d'Art Center in Norfolk Virginia.

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.

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

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