Portrait of Tommy

I've painted many a portrait and thought I'd post this one of Tommy- a much-loved model at the Art Student's League of New York.
Gosh, the more I look at this the more it reminds me of Gilbert Stuart's portrait of George Washington where ol' George's dentures are not fitting so well and distends the bottom lip out a bit, much as it is doing here.

Bailey Island Lobster Pound

Just north of Portland Maine, there are a number of islands that jut out into Casco Bay, and among these is one called Bailey Island. It was here that I painted this view of Peter Rodger's Lobster Pound. Peter Rodgers was a man that was larger than life- as authentic a Maine lobsterman as there ever was- a character out of Kipling or Stevenson.

Star fruit and Mandarins

I was in Shop Rite the other day and they had a sale on these interesting shaped star fruits or carambola.In addition to their interesting shape, they have an amazing translucence and a waxy surface. A buck a piece along with some green plums and I happily added some new objects to my still life collection. Taking inspiration from Carol Marine, I set up a still life with the star fruit and some mandarin oranges and a blue glass plate to balance all the colors and make it pop.

Along a Naples Canal

I was scoping out suitable places to paint one morning and found this little scene nearby.
The bougainvillea was crawling all over a column from a retaining wall that reminded me a lot of French rococo artists- Fragonard in particular. He popularized a type of garden landscape painting that collectors prized. This view was also an excuse for me to paint my beloved palm trees.

Bougainvillea

When the Bougainvillea is in bloom it is a sight to behold.This is a scene that I painted on a path near Pelican bay that meanders through a small park. With the late afternoon sun hitting the foliage, I knew this is where I had to stop and paint.This painting comes with a custom 12" x 9" frame as appears in the photo. It's a frame that I acquired a few years back that has an interesting Gothic shape. I cut some panels to insert into the frame and glued Claessens linen canvas to them and primed with oil. I had one of these stashed in my plein air pack for a moment just like this.

Spring Showers

This view was painted in a field next to the Mayo farm in Stowe Vermont. In the distance is Mount Mansfield and in the near pasture are a group of Belted Galway oxen.

New York public library lions

This is a little plein air sketch of the lions which dominate the entrance of the new york public library on 42nd street and fifth ave.The crowds in front of the library are insane so I painted this with my little hand held pochade box.

Sunlight and Clouds over Naples, Florida

This is a view I painted from the bridge near Gulf Shore Blvd. in Naples, Florida.Late afternoon often finds huge thunderheads over the gulf which collect light and reflect it into the water. It's quite a stunning effect.

Color and Light

I've got these great tropical fruit in my studio and this is another one using the dragon fruit, the sweet banana and a blue ginger jar.

I call it Color and Light because i think the focus of this exercise is more about depicting these effects than it is about depicting the things themselves.

Dragon Fruit and Sweet Bananas

I found this amazing fruit at the market- it's called Dragon Fruit. Commonly referred to as Pitaya, it is the fruit of a tropical cactus. The shiny rose-colored husk looked especially interesting when paired with the tiny sweet bananas.

Portrait of Rudy

This is a portrait of Rudy. It is painted in oils on a gesso masonite panel. The gesso is a mixture of rabbit skin glue, whiting (powdered and washed white chalk- calcium carbonate) and titanium white. Although very laborious to make- it's degree of absorbency and slickness is unexcelled.

Ice skating in Central Park

Looking toward the Plaza, I painted this scene of skaters at Wollman rink.

Portrait of Jaycee

This is a portrait of Jaycee. It is painted in oils on a masonite panel that I coated with a homemade glue and chalk gesso.

Chewing on a piece of grass

A portrait of Louis in oils.

The Carousel in Central Park

Couldn't resist this .. plein air at the Carousel on a 20 degree February afternoon. A little cold but I had my fingerless gloves and a little bottle of Schnapps- Perfect!

Portrait of a Man

Something a little different for today's post. This one is a porait I did a while back of a man with the most intense gaze. I painted him a number of times and was always impressed by this.

The Bow Bridge

Mid-park at 74th street is the Bow Bridge. This was a quick plein air sketch from along the promenade on a cold blustery day in November.

The Bridge itself was designed during the mid 19th century by Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould.

Jersey City Tugs

Not too far from where I painted the previous painting is where I painted this scene.It's at Liberty State Park- looking north from the old Morris canal in Jersey City. There's a kind of marina there .Hardly recognisable now with all the development. A gritty part of town in a city with a lot of heart.

Ellis Island and the Ferry

I painted this scene from Liberty state Park near the old train station. It's an amazing view of the city and harbor

Central Park Gazebo

This was painted plein air from a Central Park gazebo which is perched on a rocky knoll  just off Sixth Ave. looking east.

Springtime in Central Park

I found myself up along the west side of Central Park where I found this view of a fountain in Central Park on a sunny day in April.

Looking south, this was painted plein air on canvas paper and clipped to a piece of masonite.

Conservatory Water

This is a plein air late afternoon winter scene that I painted in Central Park. It is a view on the sledding hill overlooking Conservatory Water, the pond and model boat pavilion at 72nd street and Fifth Ave.
http://www.centralpark.com/guide/attractions/conservatory-water.html

I used a palette knife for this one and because of the quickly ebbing long shadows of winter, I worked very fast without a drawing on canvas paper.

Winter on Sixth Ave.

I painted this little thumb box sketch at the foot of Sixth Ave. at Central Park on a winter;s day in January..

Face book 7 painting challenge

Here are a few paintings that I recently uploaded to Facebook. My friend the artist Marlene Wiedenbaum invited me to participate.http://www.wiedenbaum.com/

Thanks Marlene!

Central Park Bandshell

Here's a sketch I completed while out painting plein air in Central Park. This is a view of the bandshell.

Painting every day

I've recently uploaded some new work, or to be more accurate, work that I have "refreshed", to my website. I'm new to  Daily Paint Works and have started uploading images of paintings to the daily forum of work that appears on my screen every morning. It's very inspiring and I have learned a lot from what the other participating artists are doing regarding the promotion and sale of their work. It's really a very focused and serious enterprise, selling one's paintings, and the benefits of learning from many other pairs of eyes is invaluable.
Here's what I got today...
This went up this morning.

Broadway Nocturne
oil on paper
8" x 10"
A nocturne I painted from the traffic island in the center of Broadway adjacent to Lincoln Center in NYC. http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/keith-gunderson/broadway-nocturne/543903


My previous day's upload is here:

Greenwich Village scene
oil on paper
 5" x 7"
This is a little scene that I painted from my hand-held pochade box that artist and friend Bill Darling made for me.Little flower shop off of Christopher Street on a sunny day in May.