I have been drawn to portraits for years, so it was only natural for me to explore portraiture once I started drawing and painting.  Painting portraits of living people can be tricky, though.  Winston Churchill famously burned a commissioned oil portrait capturing his appearance in his retirement years because he hated it.  It was a good likeness, but he was wounded by how the artist viewed and portrayed him, to the point that he threw a high-quality piece of original art by a celebrated artist into a bonfire.  I like painting and drawing people, but I’ll likely do it for my own enjoyment and not on commission.  Instead, I explored the world of pet portraits about three years ago.  I can still capture faces, personality, and expression the way I see it, without wounding someone’s vanity!  Now that I have quite a few pet portraits under my belt, I’ve learned

Late last summer, I received a message from some Instagram friends I met through the Lucketts Fall & Spring Markets.  “Would you like to sell some of your original oil paintings in our space?”  I had considered getting a booth to sell some original oil paintings in antique frames, but I would get overwhelmed at all of the logistics and set the thought aside.  Maybe I will one day, but this offer gave me an opportunity to test the waters without having to fill a booth myself and be present all three days.  So, I said yes and partnered with Tim & Jodie of The Past Restored.  (You can see the finished paintings in THIS post.) I was able to finish four paintings in antique frames, and here is how they looked in their booth last fall. I actually didn’t get to see my paintings in the space in person

My next original art sale is scheduled and happening this Friday, March 28, 2025, at 1:00 pm Eastern.  In this original art sale, I have pieces ranging from 5 x 7 ($75) up to 12 x 16 ($500.)  Animals, landscapes, seascapes, still life, and a couple of master studies are all included in this collection.   I’ve also included vintage frames on a couple of pieces.  There are two pieces I painted in acrylics for a painting workshop I taught at our church.  I was planning on painting over them in oils, but I sort of loved the looseness of them.  I found myself wanting to leave them as is, so I followed that instinct. As usual, this post is a preview of all of the available works including sizes and pricing, so you have a few days to think about a potential purchase.  Let me know if you have

I filmed this oil painting tutorial over a year ago and, for some reason, never edited it!  I think it felt a little overwhelming at the time and abandoning it seemed to be easier than getting it ready to post.  I’ve had more requests for painting tutorials and paint-a-long videos, so I decided to finally dust this off and post it.  In most cases, the painting videos I make have been and will continue to be tutorials with instruction and commentary included.  When I filmed this, I just had my music on and was intending to record and add the commentary.  I didn’t do that at the time, so I don’t recall exactly what colors I was mixing over a year later!  So, this oil painting video has some commentary at the beginning and is then just classical music.  You can paint along with me or just watch how I

If you’re just joining us for the #indexcardartproject of 2025, you can catch up in these posts… Details & Materials for the Project Inspiration and References Oil Painting Tutorial | Card “C” In this post, I’m sharing another oil painting video tutorial.  Instead of using an Edward Seago painting as a reference, we’ll be painting from one of my own reference photos.  It’s available for free on Artist Reference Photos (and all of the photos are royalty-free if you want to sell the work.) My recommended beginner palette –  Ultramarine Blue (Gamblin) – $13.42 Burnt Sienna (WN) – $14.00 Yellow Ochre Light (WN) – $13.50 Cadmium Yellow Medium (Gamblin) – $28.00 Flake White Replacement (Gamblin) – $9.75 Other supplies –  Gray Paper Palette Liquitex Professional White Gesso A mix of flat synthetic and hog’s bristle brushes.  I get most of my brushes from Rosemary & Co. but brushes are very