To the Dogs....

Here's a couple more of the commissions that I did for Christmas.  I can finally share them with you now that they've been given.  Both of these paintings were to be a memorial to dogs that are now enjoying "doggie" heaven.  The first one here is called "Tucker" which is an adorable Cocker Spaniel that I was given a picture of....

"Tucker"; Watercolor and Ink on 11" x 14" Paper.

The other dog painting is called "Skippy"  who was a Pomerania who loved to snuggle in blankets, or so I assume from the picture I was given....

"Skippy"; Watercolor on 11" x 14" Paper.

 I welcome any feed back and thanks for stopping by! 

Juliet, The Cat. ..

Another commissioned piece and the first time I had ever painted a cat in watercolor. Here's what I call,"Juliet,  The Cat"...

"Juliet, The Cat"; 8"x10" watercolor on paper.

I welcome any comments and thank you for stopping by.

Happy Holidays!!

I wanted to wish all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  All of the Christmas orders have been taken and filled... I put the finishing touches on the last one this last Thursday night.  I had quite a few this year and here's some that I know have already been given out before Christmas that I can share with you....

"CCR Customized Motorcycle"; Watercolor and Ink on 11" x 14" paper.

"Blue Fairlane, His Baby", Watercolor and Ink on 11" x 14" paper.

"His 56 ", Watercolor and Ink on 11" x 14" paper.

The two above were for the same person and were commissioned by his family at his request.  I designed them so that they can hang side by side.  I've seen both of these cars at local car cruises and they are amazing.  There's more commissions that I can't show here yet because I don't want to ruin the Christmas surprises.  There's dogs, a cat, and a house.  I'm hoping to post them after Christmas here.  Thanks for stopping by and Happy Holidays!

Taking Christmas Orders....

I still have a couple of openings available for commissioned work for Christmas.  So if you are looking for a unique and special gift, think about a gift of custom art work.  Perhaps, a car painting for that classic auto car enthusiast or perhaps a painting of a lost best friend to serve as a memory.

Contact me soon, because the calendar is filling up and Christmas is also fast approaching.  I can be reach via my email listed on this site.  Just put Christmas Commission in the subject of the email.  Thanks for stopping by!

A Bit of Catching Up...

I've taken a vacation to Vegas and am a little behind on posting some of my recent artwork here on my blog.  So here goes...
This first painting was done as a Wedding Anniversary present for a friend who grew up in my same hometown (Cedar Rapids).  He now lives in Las Vegas with his wife and I thought it would be nice to bring a bit of hometown to him in a painting.  I call the piece- "Cedar Rapids Tour".  He loved it!

"Cedar Rapids Tour"; Watercolor and Ink on 11" x 14" paper.

Then, just before I left for Las Vegas I finished this fun one that I call "Purple Coupe".  

This painting was based on a photo that I took at work one day.  There was this cute coupe that was parked across the street from where I was working in Czech Village in Cedar Rapids.  I snapped a shot and thought it would make a good painting.  Go figure! :)  Thanks for stopping by and I welcome any comments you may have.

Stude 37 Inked!

I did a watercolor of this a short while ago, and I thought that it would be a fun experiment to do it in an ink.  I really enjoy the details of this 1937 Studebaker that I took a photo of last summer at Good Guys Car Show.  So here it is done in black and red ink.

Photo:" Black, White, and Red Stude 37"; Ink on 9" x 12" watercolor paper.
SOLD.

I welcome any feedback you may have and thanks for stopping by!

A 60 Polara...

Based on a photo I took from a car cruise that took place at the Coralville Mall near Iowa City, IA last Summer.  It was a 1960 Dodge Polara.  This was a fun and relatively fast watercolor and ink that I pulled off hopefully showing off some of my car artwork tomorrow across the street from the Chelsea Car Show in Chelsea, IA. I just hope that the rain forecaster tomorrow morning is short and sweet.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed. :)

Photo: "60 Polara"; Watercolor and Ink on 9" x 12" paper.
Available for purchase.

I welcome any feedback you may have and thanks for stopping by!

A STUDE 37

This was a quick fun one that I did.  It's based on a photo that I took at the Good Guys Car Show last Summer.  It's a black 1937 Studebaker.  I decided to just do part of the front end of the car to focus on some of the details more.

Photo: "Stude 37"; watercolor and ink on 9" x 12" paper.
Available for purchase.

I welcome any comment and thanks for stopping by!

Car Row...

Here's a fun one I just finished.  It's based off a photo I took of a row of cars from a car show last summer.  This row seemed to be cars in the 1930's-1940's.

Photo: "Car Row"; watercolor and Ink on 9" x 12" paper.
Available for purchase.

I welcome any comments you may have and thanks for stopping by!

Stingray Blues...

I just finished this for a surprise 4th of July birthday present this last Friday.

Photo: "Stingray Blues"; watercolor and ink on 9" x 11" paper.
Commissioned Piece

A wife wanted to surprise her husband with a painting of his 1971 Stingray.  It was a fun project to work on.  I worked up four different layout drawings and she rather had a tough time deciding on which one.  But finally got it narrowed down to Option #1 below.

It's always fun trying to surprise someone with a piece of custom artwork, or at least I think it is. :) Thanks for visiting and I welcome any feedback you may have!

Split Front Bumper...

It's been almost a month since I've put anything on here.  Yes, I've been bicycling with the nicer weather and painting has taken a bit of a back seat.  This is a fun piece that I've been working on bit by bit. It's base is a poured watercolor, then a bit more regular water coloring, and then some finishing with red ink.  I call it "Split Front Bumper". The base car is a 1970 Z28 Camaro that I did some commissioned artwork on last year. The idea has been "simmering" in my mind for awhile of collage of doing a little something different.  Here's the little different....

Photo: "Split Front Bumper"; 11" x 14" Watercolor and Ink on paper.
Available for purchase.

I welcome any comments and thanks for stopping by!

Yellow Nomad Dreams...

I took a photo of this car last Summer when I was at the Swisher Car Show in Iowa.  I really fell in love with this beautiful 1955 white/yellow Nomad.  I could easily see myself cruising down a two lane highway in it.  The "station wagons" have always had a special place in my heart.  No surprise there when you consider I've had three different station wagons and they always have room in the back to stow a bicycle which is my first love. lol

Photo: "Yellow Nomad Dreams"; watercolor on 11" x 14" paper.
SOLD.

I think it's ironic that just as I am finishing up painting this beauty, I end up seeing the same car at the Houby Days Car Show.  It's a small world sometimes. lol I gave the gentleman a business card and asked him to check out this site within the week.  But I got so enthused after seeing the car again that I went home that evening and finished the painting.  Here's some photos of the painting in process...

Photo: Prelim background work and sketching.

Photo: About half way done...

Photo: Almost there...

Thanks for stopping by and I welcome any comments you may have!

"A Royal V Eight"

I finished another painting this last weekend.  This has been on the back burner for almost a year.  I've played with the idea of doing this painting shortly after I took the photos of the 1954 Dodge Royal V Eight at one of the Thursday night cruises in Cedar Rapids early last Summer.  In fact, while I was playing with this ideas for the Demon painting came into being.  Then, I ended up getting some other commissions and other projects.  This painting ended up getting set to the side.  Now, I finally had the time.  Here it is...

"A Royal V Eight"; watercolor on 16" x 20" cold press paper.
Available for purchase.

It was fun playing with a bit of a different style on this one too.  I welcome any comment you may have and thanks for stopping by!

A Green Thunderbird

With Jazz, my black lab, finally getting more settled in.  I'm finding more time to paint.  While she chews on a rawhide, I'm able to sit quietly in my studio.  I finished this painting the other night.  It's based on a photo that I took last Summer while spending the day at the Good Guys Car Show in Des Moines Fairgrounds.  I believe it is a 1964 Thunderbird.  Here's the painting...

Photo: "Green Thunderbird"; watercolor and ink on 11" x 14" cold press paper.

And here's the photo of a photo that I based it off of...

Photo of a photo of the car at Good Guys.

Thanks for stopping by and I welcome any comments you may have!

Memorial to Triton....

It's been awhile since I've posted here.  I've been training a dog and had my hands a bit full; still do but not quite as bad.  Back at the beginning of the year, I had my friends ask me to do a commissioned piece for their dog Triton.  The sad tale is of a dog's life shortened quickly and too soon by a tumor in the brain.  Here's the finished Memorial painting....

Photo: "Memorial to Triton"; 11" x 14" watercolor on paper.

They were very happy with the painting.  In fact, there were tears in their eyes as they looked at the painting.  I hope it brings them good memories for years to come.  Here's a close up of the painting that I took...

And here's the photo that I used to do this painting...

I welcome any comment you may have and thanks for stopping by!

A Red Barn...

It's been a while since I've posted anything on here.  The New Year 2015, has been a bit of a rough start for me.  Mr. Motorhead and I have broken up.  I came down with a nasty cold.  Then, adopted a dog and returned it because of a severe case of separation anxiety-- it chewed up some new vinyl floor, a wooden/wicker chair, and some curtains.  The dog was getting to be too expensive.  I'm still looking for a dog and hope to have one to enjoy my new home with soon.  But while I was home sick, I did manage a small painting.  I HAD to do something I was getting bored. :)  But here's the painting...

"Red Barn in Brown Field"; watercolor on 8" x 10" paper.

I'm hoping to turn this year around soon.  Keep your fingers crossed and I'll keep you posted.  Hopefully, I'll also find more time to paint and be motivated soon too.  Thanks for stopping by and I invite any comments you may have!