Besties

9”x 14”

acrylic on hardboard

This is a painting from a very long ago birthday party.  Three little girls pose for a group picture, each in a different mindset. 

Dottie

9”x 14”

acrylic on hardboard

This is Zora in the last of the black and white dotted dress paintings.  I finally really do have this one out of my system.  I was attracted to the light on the surface of the dress.  I love the way the light falling across her arms and hands create the visual effect of gloves.

Something to Reflect On

11”x 11”

acrylic on hardboard

In this painting, I was playing around with light reflecting threw and on objects.  Those that have followed my work for a while are familiar with the figure and the black and red polka dot dress she is wearing.         

After SundayService

11”x 14”

acrylic on hardboard

This is a painting about what happens after Sunday service is over and members are released.  Upon exiting the church doors, they spend another twenty to thirty minutes talking, joking, and laughing with one another outside.  My father reveled in it, and still does.  On the other hand, my siblings and myself were always ready to go.  We would sit in the car wondering when we would actually leave, while my parents butterflied threw the crowd of members exchanging niceties. In all fairness, we were Southern Baptist, which meant we had already sat in church for at least four hours straight that morning.  Patience is not part of the teenage condition.

The Haircut

11”x 14”

acrylic on hardboard

My son hates getting his hair cut.  Even to this day I have to trick him into the car, usually mentioning someplace he wants to go, leaving out where our first stop would be (to get a haircut).  He refers to it as, “The dreaded left.” This is because we turn left into the parking lot.  The only thing he hates more is going to my father’s barber.  This is in a traditional barber shop in an older part of town.  This barber has cut three generations of my families hair.  You won’t find a television blasting sports news there, and instead of waiting minutes, its usually an hour or longer to get the full barber experience.  This is a painting of my son’s first traditional barbershop experience.  Years later, his expression is still the same.  Maybe one day I’ll paint his younger brother’s first time there, he cried the entire time his hair was being cut.

"A New Year"

11”x 14”

acrylic on hardboard

This is a painting of the year we brought in the new year with fireworks.  I completed this painting on this New Years night.  I found this appropriate because it is a painting of a New Year from about five years ago.  I hadn’t realized it until I finished.  Maybe it was my subconscious in control of my actions.  That year we were visiting an old friend from high school.  Our visit ended with fireworks.  This was great because, I hadn’t played with fireworks since I was a kid.  We’ve always lived in the city limits so, our kids had never really played with fireworks, so it was really a treat for them.  I thought about painting shoes on the little girl, I mean only a kid would wear flip flops with a sweater right?