Bocce on the Beach

"Bocce on the Beach" is one of my recent acrylic on canvas paintings. It is currently in my group exhibition at Lemon Street Gallery in Kenosha, WI (http://www.lemonstreetgallery.org/). The painting is of a scene I saw last summer on Long Sands Beach in York, ME. I compose with my camera typically and I loved this off balance composition with the lone figure on the left and the group on the right. I love the feeling of the late afternoon sunlight as well. This painting, while realistic and photographic-appearing from a distance, is actually quite loosely painted with very little blending of colors. The technique is a departure for me but I am really pleased with the result. The painting is 24 x 48 inches.

As usual, comments are greatly appreciated.

"Half Baked" or "Medium Rare"

This is my newest painting. It is the newest in a series titled "Beaches". Last summer, I rented a beautiful home on the coast of Southern Maine. While there, I drove to York Beach to shoot photos for paintings. The series is based on those photos. Currently, there are six painting planned for the series. This is the first completed. There are currently three more in various stages of production. All are acrylic on canvas. The paintings are either 30 x 40 inches or 24 x 48 inches. This one is 24 x 48 inches. The painting are for a group show coming up in June at Lemon Street Gallery in Kenosha, WI. (http://www.lemonstreetgallery.org/
The painting is of a group of tourists sunning themselves. There are three people in the painting though you really only notice two. The man on the right is blocking the view of his wife, lying on the chair behind him. You can see the tie to her bikini top above his chest. The other person is his daughter. While still realistic, I moved away from painting photographically as I have in the past. While the image may still appear photographic I painted with little blending and more blocks of color. I also decided to leave the beach very simple as a graded tone with only simple strokes indicating clumps of sand on the beach. I love the color in this painting and the sense of light. The subject of the blog has two possible titles for the painting. Which do you prefer? Please leave your suggestion in the comments.

Enjoy and I hope you like the painting.

Dan

Thomas - Head On

"Thomas - Head On" was the first large scale portrait in a potential future series entitled "Friends...and Lover". The intent is to paint portraits of friends of mine and a portrait of my partner. This painting is of a former boyfriend of my partner's second cousin. The painting is a 30" x 40" acrylic on canvas. I wanted to capture the softness in his eyes. Thomas is a very sensitive man and I was hoping to capture the sensitivity in the portrait. I learned a lot doing the painting. In the past, I thought of the people in my paintings as nothing more than objects as in my still lifes and landscapes. In this painting, the feelings I wanted to convey weren't coming across and the painting felt quite cold. I started the painting over several times. Then, one weekend, Thomas and Christina came over to visit and, while he was in the other room playing games with her, I could hear his voice, his humor, and his laughter. I connected with who Thomas was and the painting seemed to flow out of me. I completed the entire face from pure white to what you see now in a matter of about three hours. I have started thinking more of the model as a person in my newer portraits and that has made all the difference. This painting has been on display in several group exhibitions.

63 Cocktails

"63 Cocktails" is my newest work. It is an acrylic on canvas and is sized 30" tall by 40" wide. The painting is of a neon sign above John's Grill, a restaurant in San Francisco. At the time I was there photographing, I was drawn to the old neon both during the day and at night time. I shot many photos of the sign and have more paintings of it planned. I decided to do research on the restaurant recently and learned that the restaurant played an important role in the book and the movie "The Maltese Falcon." This piece is available for purchase. It is framed in a black wood frame and is selling for $2,000.00. If interested, please contact me at dsimoneau@wi.rr.com with the subject 63 Cocktails.