"Nude on Beach" is an oil painting as an adaptation of a mildly famous painting, but I admit I only saw a little image of it in a book and now I can't find it so forget the artist. (sorry artist) It is 36 x 26 inches done on canvas. The original had her holding a shell and the background was somewhat different as were the drapes under her.

At the time I was seeing a lady very much into the mystic so she convinced me putting the blue orb in her hand would be a good idea. When it was done I realized she looked more as if she were practicing for the "Olympic Woman's All Nude Shot Put Team." However, it was still fun to paint and I think it turned out fairly well. I guess it did because almost the day after I signed it a couple came to my studio and bought it even before it was completely dry. Didn't ask but maybe they were part of that same Olympics. It did find a good home and that is what counts. Well, that and the trip to the bank.
 

This is a pen & ink done a while back. I have since made prints of it and hand-colored them. When I find some I'll post a few. I also used this composition for a couple of paintings done as my swirly abstracts.
 

This is another of my pen & ink drawings done for poetry books or other publications. This original is about 11 inches high. These do take a little time but are fun to do. I also enjoy  taking the original, making prints of them and then hand-coloring them each with a little different color scheme.

I think I need a better name for this drawing. I'm not very good at naming my work so please use the comment link below or post something on Twitter if you have a good name for this drawing. Thanks.
 

This is a pastel version of the drawings I have been creating and posting for a while now. It was first done in pencil, rough, then in felt tip, quickly, now it is done with pastel pencils. The two small images are copies from earlier posts. To see them larger as well as comments, go to, ["Lady in Lace" drawings.]

The pastel is about 11 inches high as an image but would be framed somewhat larger with the background. It was done on a gray toned pastel paper. It was done with ONLY pencils. That means no sticks and no smudging of any kind. Each color is created by the cross-hatched overlaying of small lines. I think this gives it a soft but painterly look and feel.

The final image at the bottom is obviously a close up of the face to show some of the line details.

            
 

The photos below represent the next steps in painting the oil with the working title "Nude by Tree" To see the first post with the beginning steps please either scroll down through the blogs or go to, [Beginning "Nude by Tree"]

In the image to the left you will see I did what I call the initial under-painting of the figure. The colors I use for almost all skin tones are combinations of: white, yellow ochre, cadmium red & cerulean blue. The under-painting is done very cold and pale just to establish the basic patterns of light and shadow.

The face is only brought up to the point where I can feel good about the expression but not any real detail. For me, I have to keep the facial expression to my liking before I can feel good about working on the rest of the work. I guess it is as if she were real and as I would with a real woman, I would want to know, by looking at her expression, she was feeling what she should feel as we spent time together. (or something like that)

The hair will eventually be various shades of red but for now it is just roughed in with burnt sienna. The drape is put in very light with, ultramarine blue, yellow ochre and white just to establish the general shadows and flow of the drape.

The image on the right has the background with the tree again very rough just to start to establish the values and make decisions on the warm or cool of the objects.

From the beginning I have not been sure of how warm or cool I wanted the tree or how dark do I want the background. Is the tree darker than the background or the other way around? At this stage I think I have decided but the next stage will force me to finalize this. The colors used at this stage are: burnt sienna, ultramarine blue, yellow ochre and a touch of white here and there for opacity more than value.

  
 

Here is a watercolor, 11 x 5 inches. This was done as a study for a painting I hope to start soon. I am not sure of leaving that much nudity and know I need to adjust some of the figures proportions but the idea is still what I saw in my head. I like the colors but expect the final will be more relaxed with more interesting diversity of color. When a painting is this small it is fine to have a lot of solid colors but, for me, when they are done at perhaps 36 or more inches high the actual paint needs to have more colors going on in each area to maintain the viewer's eye's interest.
 

This is a small pen & ink done some time back as an illustration for a poetry book. (No, not my poetry) This reproduction is about 8 x 10 inches. I have done a few drawings similar to this and will be posting them soon. I'm also going to offer this and others as small prints for $20.00 each. Anyone interested, please use the comment form below or the contact page to ask more questions or purchase until I get all of this actually on the sales side of my site.
 

This is a watercolor nude done with a limited palette, 14 x 24 inches. To see links to other realism paintings of mine or purchase information. [Watercolor Nude Study]

I would like to think I'm a better painter than a poet but I do enjoy writing an occasional sonnet in the Shakespearian form. So here is a sketch for today with an attempt at poetry to match.