2007: The Year of the Ham Sandwich

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Would you like that on rye? This was a fun and fast watercolor. I started by going to a local deli and ordering a sandwich to paint. A few strange looks as I gave them the exact kind of sandwich I wanted. I took it home, photographed it and ate it.

I like this composition a lot and the contrast of the dark blue to the far right and the white bread makes the sandwich stand out.

I added the mat under the plate and the tooth picks to the top of the sandwich.

Favorite parts you ask? Well, I'd say the crust on the half on the right and the pickle. Or did you mean my favorite part to eat? My friend Detra at the deli did a great job and made a delicious sandwich! I hope the painting is as good.

SOME DAYS ARE ROCKS

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Some days are diamonds and some days are rocks. This was a rock. I think the overall composition is good and I liked the photograph; but the execution of the painting was off. I'm not sure where to start in critiquing this painting. I like the train and especially the undercarriage. I couldn't clearly see from the photo what the train wheels and other features below the paint line were. So I basically made a bunch of swipes of black and gray paint while leaving a bit of white. I like the effect.

The trees and the tree shadows are another matter. The shadow for the tree on the left is too short. The shadow on the tree on the right doesn't accurately mimic the tree it is attached to. The leaves on the ground are a bit too evenly spaced and the grass they are one is too light and too even.

The building in the background looks better after I darkened the windows considerably. But as an overall painting, I don't care for this one. And I was on a kind of roll with about 4 in a row that I really liked. Back to the drawing board.

HARLEY II

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This is my second painting of a Harley-Davidson Motorcycle. This was difficult to see everything in the picture. There were motorcycles behind this one and I needed to differentiate between the parts of this motorcycle and those motorcycles behind it. Not being a motorcycle rider, I had to simplify some things to make the painting read correctly.

I like the down-tube on the left, the highlights on the fender and the large headlight.

Again I wasn't sure what to do with the background but put a photo of the unfinished painting into PhotoShop and messed around for a while. I figured I needed to use a color that was in the painting so I went with the orange in the turn signals.

I may try one more Harley. The photo I'm considering is almost all black, white and gray chrome so I'll need to find some color somewhere.