25th Annual Bosque Art Classic

Wings Like a Dove, 9 x 12. oil on board.

Of the 705 entries, 143 pieces of art were selected for the 25th Annual Bosque Art Classic. I am pleased to announce that all four of my entered paintings were among those selected.

This international juried art show and sale, held each year in September, will take place September 11 - 26 at the Bosque Arts Center in Clifton TX.

Mine is a Long and Sad Tale

Those words were spoken by the Mouse in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 1865. This book has never been out of print since that time.

Mine is a Long and Sad Tale is oil on canvas, 12 x 16.

I created this painting for Steve Worthington's Mouse Project.  Steve has asked several artists to create a painting featuring one of his bronze mice. The images will then be compiled in a book and the proceeds from the book will be donated to animal shelters.

As many of you know I'm a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland. I've collected over 300 copies of this book, many with different illustrators. Yes, those are copies of the book in the painting (well, actually on of them is Through the Looking Glass). Since the book was written during the Victorian  Era I wanted to give the painting a Victorian feel.

You can see the Mouse has arrived after someone has extinguished the oil lamp and put her glasses down after spending an evening reading. The reader has stopped on the page featuring the Long and Sad tale which is written to resemble the shape of a tail.

One Eyed Jack

One Eyed Jack, 8 x 10, oil on board

I did a similar painting to this last year and I enjoyed painting it so I decided to revisit the subject. These are some vintage toys from my collection. Wooden Blocks, spinning tops, playing cards, chess, and marbles are all toys or games that have been played with by many generations of children.

Mouse Project

I'm almost finished with my Mouse Project painting. I just need to darken the background objects so the foreground pops out more.

In the mean time heres more details of the painting "Mine is a Long and Sad Tale"

Strawberries on Wood

Strawberries on Wood, 12 x 9, oil on board

This is a small experimental piece that I just finished. I wanted to paint an uncomplicated piece as a change of pace.

Painting Strawberries

                                                  This is my model, NOT my painting

I can't resist painting strawberries this time of year. The problem is they look so innocent but are really a devil to paint! I like to put in all the detail so painting  all the dents, the bumps and the seeds, each with it's own shadow and highlight can really be a lot more work than I first image. 

I hope to finish and post my newest painting in a few days

Steve Worthington Bronze Mice contest

I'm still working on my Mouse Project painting.

In the mean time the creator of these bronze mice is having a contest and will give away 2 mice. check out the details on Steve's blog