2 paintings in progress

Here are the two studio commissions I'm working on. The first is a horse portrait, 16x20 inches. Displayed here is the under painting done mostly in burnt siena, raw umber, and white.



The second, a landscape, 24x48 inches. I've started to lay in some color washes on top of the under painting. I'm keeping the values slightly lighter for now and plan to add much more contrast as more layers are added.

Why dirt on paper?

Many moons ago, a beautiful, soulful woman taught me how to draw in the small private room of a Montreal youth hostel.

"This is hard . . . how do I know what to do? It's so intimidating," I complained.

"Nonsense!" She said. "It's just dirt on paper . . . nothing more . . . dirt on paper."

And that was enough. We spent the next two days in the room together sipping tea and drawing.

We continue our journey together through life and art, joined now by a pair of kids and two furry, canine companions.

Welcome to Dirt on Paper.