Kure Beach (A View from the Pier)

This is probably the most involved painting I have done up to this point in my career. The subject originated from a trip to the beach we took in early May. The summer tourist season had not yet hit so the beach was not jammed with people. I think in most cases where paintings involve people they are the main focal point, I made an effort in this painting for this not to happen. The sky, the water and the beach each have unique elements - each of the three elements of the painting were done at separate times and in a way I thought of these as three separate paintings. The people and the houses were the last parts of the paintings done. This worked out well; After I had finished the beach I was pleased with the painting, therefore I did make the people and houses deliberately complex that they might take away from the larger composition.

Despite the lengthy amount of time it took me to complete this work, I really enjoyed painting it. The color scheme is one I have rarely used and the painting techniques really allow for this to stand out. Despite the complexity of shapes I feel the painting is quite soothing and accurately displays atmosphere and time of day and year.

Kure Beach (A View from the Pier) - 40x30" Acrylic on Canvas

State of the Art / Art of the State

Last weekend I attended the opening of State of the Art / Art of the State at the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, NC. The show was quite unique: no jurors, no entry fees - just bring one piece of art and it would be on display at the museum for six months. Hundreds of pieces of art were submitted and over 800 people attended the opening - there was little room to even move due to the amount of people that attended. Curators from NYC, San Francisco and London arranged the exhibit - and with the help of the staff and sponsors of the Cameron Art Museum an impressive show was put on.

The quality of artwork at the show is quite impressive. With so many works submitted, I expected to see alot of mediocrity - this certainly is not the case. By the breadth of artists and the quality of art, I conclude the "state of art" in North Carolina is pretty good.

I submitted Looking Glass Falls to the show. This is the painting hung high at the top of the doorway.