This is my birthday celebration outside in downtown Champaign. The people depicted can recognize themselves and I had the forethought to take the picture, so I am not included in the painting. The title is borrowed from a famous Norman Rockwell painting which has always been a favorite of mine. It's worth a Google if you have the time.
This is a representation of a small farm outside of Mahomet. I had a snack while I was painting it. The birds from the Blue Willow bowl made it into the sky. The Goldfish crackers are represented in the pond. I consumed the models before the painting was complete.
I started this painting in the dead of winter with the intent to create something warm and Spring like. A friend bet me I couldn't create a painting with a white background and I proved him wrong in intent, if not execution. The warm palette and the swirling motions inspired the title.
We have a wonderful event in Champaign every Spring which celebrates chamber music in unusual venues called DOCHA. It is free to the public and gives us access to world-class music. Check it out at http://www.docha.org/DoCha/home.html
This is my vision of what a viola would look like if it grew in nature instead of being crafter by hand. The large opening allows it to soak up the music while it is ripening and the stems on the buds become tuning pegs. The branches incorporate into the body of the instrument to create the sounds holes. The top of the bloom closes to form the scroll. Yes, I watched a lot of Disney in my youth.
This is my adaption of a Fauxcasso style image. The collector who purchased this found that his wife hated the painting. Seems she hated the fact that he did not get her input before the purchase - a valuable life lesson for us all.
With a respectful nod to Andy Warhol, I picture this as a quilt that Barbie herself could have created if she liked to sew, or had an Amish background. Drawn from a real model, the pearls are faux.
Created in the Fall this piece represents the seed pods of a mysterious mid-western plant. Using my two favorite colors was an easy choice and yes, I have seen Finding Nemo a number of times.