PUSH! oil on canvas 6x6

    Another loose painting. I suppose for the readers who are unsure as to what I mean by loose when referring to a painting some clarity might be useful. Loose here is referring to a brush-not tightly controlled. Lines are loose, edges are blurred, colors transition loosely and not with abrupt changes. It lends itself to an impressionist feel for although the margins are indistinct the viewer knows the artists intent. The mind is filling in the details from what is seen. Often it may a convey a sense of movement as well-certainly something desired here. The middle figure draws are attention with the largest color mass in the painting-also its warm colors contrast sharply with the cooler colors of the snow, but there is also the reflected color onto the snow from this figure.

Let's Go! Oil on canvas 6x6

      This loose composition done with brush contrasts the snow on the ground and the trees in the background (with the subdued colors) to the bright colors of our youngsters racing in the snow. The young lady on the left is dragging her friend behind on a sled as they race to a target, unseen behind the viewer.

"Kaner" oil on canvas 6x6

  The third pose in the series-the next three posting after this will be same poses but with some slight differences-color of the ice-warmer or cooler, background, size of the child and the number. Here our little 'scoring machine' is posed for action-holding his stick and wearing his Patrick Kane sweater he is seeking to emulate his hero-one can only guess that his mouthpiece is being chewed like his hockey hero. Again the deep red of the Blackhawk sweater, with the tomahawk shoulder patches and the white numbers grab our eyes.

Waiting to Get In 6x6 oil on canvas

   One of a series of 6 paintings-based on several different poses that attempts to capture the joy of children's skating or playing pond hockey-while wearing the garments of their favorite players and team. Here our tyke is waiting for the chance to get back into the game, probably with some older brothers who would prefer he not tag along.

Little Miss Toews oil on canvas 6x6

  In this loose painting our little miss, proudly wearing her Jonathan Toews sweater, takes to the ice. Arms and legs in position she skates across the ice towards something in the distance. The red Blackhawks sweater grabs our attention (even if you are not from Chicago).  This is one of paintings I did-slightly different, with kids skating proudly in their hockey sweaters.

Table Waiting 6x6 oil on deep canvas

  This is from a photo I took outside Washington DC several years ago. The photo was of an outdoor cafe with iron chairs, white tablecloths and the sun hitting the tables and floor. Obviously I have changed the scene, if you will. The chairs are more formal, and the color scheme is with purple, some reds, whites and warm yellow in contrast to the more cool colors. It is done in a very loose impressionist style.

Newberry Library -fall oil on linen 4x6

  A very loose impressionist style painting of the Newberry Library in late October. The underpainting was done in magenta to offer a contrast to the other colors and create an underlying harmony to the color scheme.

Kinzie Street Bridgeoil on canvas 8 x10

This is the third in the river series-you may notice that the limited palette and color scheme are consistent with the 2 previous in the series, the skies are a bit gray, but the bright colors grab the attention from the more muted colors of the sky, buildings and water. The bridge house in the mid foreground grabs our attention with its brighter color and square shape in contrast to the curving lines of the bridge behind.  Both palette knife and brush were utilized.