"Let It Go" from Disney's FROZEN by The Piano Guys

This came on Pandora while I was painting. Normally I don't get up to see what is playing. Unless it is an emergency "thumbs down", like if they play the B-52's. That will get me up fast. I have learned not to "thumbs up" a song because it usually changes the playlist so if I like a station, I leave it alone.
I thought this was incredible...it got a "thumbs up" I listened to a few more of their versions of songs on YouTube which were also excellent.
 I thought the set was behind them was spectacular! I assumed that it was fake but then I noticed that they were wearing gloves with the fingers cut off. I thought, the coats could just be costumes but if they are wearing fingerless gloves, it must really be cold. After the song ended there was a link to the video on the making of this:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYQ0sFhmnrA#t=143


In most of the videos he is playing the real thing but in some clips he was playing this weird 'alien from the future looking thing' so I Googled it because it looks so darn cool!
It's called a Yamaha SVC-210 Silent Cello, Pearl White. Personally I prefer to listen to the real thing, same way I prefer a real book to a digital version, but I get what they are doing and why, and they are fun to watch.

Here is a link on Amazon if you want one: Electric Violin Shop

A Recent Portrait Commission

 This is a commission I just finished for a great friend and collector of my work. When you are starting out, if you are lucky, your friends buy your work. As you get older, the people who buy your work become friends. Not everyone who buys a painting becomes a friend. Everyone is different. Some people buy a painting or two and you never hear from them again, others I talk to all of the time, usually through Facebook. It's one of the best aspects of this business is all of the great people I get to meet!
This is number five of six grandchildren I have been commissioned to paint.

 This is a 16 x 20 portrait study. My favorite portraits to paint are two and three day studies. This painting was finished in three days. Actually it was supposed to be a two day portrait, but like I said, she's a good friend...

The drawing was done with a brush, and completed in about an hour and a half, maybe two hours.
Because she was three years old, I had to do this one from a photo, but I still did the drawing freehand with the photo next to me and pretended she was sitting there. She couldn't hold still long enough to take her picture, so painting from life was out the window! I took over four hundred photos, and used a combination of three on this painting. In the shot this pose was in, she wasn't smiling, so I had to add the slight smile from another photo.

Mushrooms, Lots of Mushrooms

I just received an email from someone asking me if I had any Mushroom paintings available. When I looked at my shelf I was surprised to find out that I had four! Of course, none of them were the size she is looking for so I get to do one more. It's a good thing Mushrooms are one of my favorite things to paint!

Feel free to contact me for pricing information.

"Blue Mushrooms" 10 x 20 Oil On Panel
Available

I absolutely love this frame on this painting, It was a touch on the expensive side, but I thought it was worth it.
"Fairytale Eggplants And Mushrooms" 9 x 18 Oil On Panel
Available

 

 "Fairytale Mushrooms" 9 x 18 Oil On Panel
Available

"Mushroom Study" 8 x 11 Oil On Panel
Available

"Let Down Your Hair" The Tower From Disney's Tangled - Stone by Stone

 When it was decided that the next Disney painting would be the Tower from Tangled, I began to search for one that was already built. I looked online for hours. The best one I found was a cake...Ok, that won't work, I'd probably eat it before the painting was done.

I slowly began to realize I was going to have to build one. I called a few friends in construction and asked them how I should go about that. Basically they said, stone by stone.

 After I built the base, I knew I wanted the actual post to be made of real stone and mortar.

I used a tiny palette knife and laid each stone one on top of another. It took three days because you have to stop to let a few rows dry before you can keep laying more stones.

 The roof was done in a similar way to the stone. I wanted a hand made feeling to it so I laid each tile on the roof one at a time also.

The tower is four feet high and about sixteen inches wide.

I painted from life with the sculpture right next to my painting. The painting is 18 x 48. The hair is from a Lady Godiva wig I purchased at a costume shop.

 For Some reason the Moon didn't photograph that well. I am working on a better shot of it.