"Zoe in Blue"

I was incredibly, well, honored to be awarded an honorable mention in the Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists' 2014 Faces of Winter Exhibition for my portrait Zoe in Blue. The 83 paintings (from the 200 submitted) were among the most beautiful contemporary portraits I have ever seen, so I felt quite lucky to be included.

Zoe was a great little model; she and Lucy actually enjoy posing quite a lot. (I'm lucky to have four beautiful girls to paint!)

It's amazing how much you learn with each painting. The excitement you have when you finish one provides a rather helpful springboard into the next painting. I've been sketching and planning and gathering costumes and fabrics, so with any luck I'll post a photo of the new project soon.

"Tea and Telemann"

This still life won the "Diane Aeschliman Award" at the 2013 Madison Art Society juried exhibition.

As I make violins professionally, it was interesting to note that the violin scroll (arguably the most difficult item to "get right" in this painting) was actually the easiest part for me. Just as art students must study anatomy in order to paint the human form well, my precise knowledge of a violin made any mistakes I made while painting it instantly jump out at me.

Tea and Telemann, 2013 (SOLD)

(Telemann, incidentally, is one of my favorite composers of violin music. A CD of his works was often playing in the background while I worked on this.)

"The Bride's Prayer"

This is my first true attempt at portraiture, kindly modeled by my wife Faith. It won the "Patrons of the Madison Art Society" prize at the annual juried exhibition of the Madison Art Society in May, 2012.

I learned a lot with this one, but the beadwork on the dress was particularly fun to paint.

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The Bride's Prayer, 2012