I'm working on a new series of landscapes around Oak Park: Front Steps and Stor(i)es One of the themes is store fronts, both the exterior and interior of the store. I am loving the combination of reflection and what's inside the window. This adds a layer of abstraction that I really like. As with most perceptual painting, I have to paint what I see and really pay attention to the values.

I was the featured artist on The Artist Magazine website for November 2009 and June 2010 I was in the magazine for the Competition Spotlight. This is the third year I’ve been a finalist in their yearly competition.

And Robert Genn’s Painters Keys has published two of my letters: http://clicks.robertgenn.com/thinking-ahead.php and http://clicks.robertgenn.com/becoming.php#C1740. Double click to read about marmots and Mongolia and vision.

Please come visit me in my studio and have a cup of tea.

Books you might like

Basic Drawing

The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Betty Edwards

Experimental Drawing Robert Kaupelis

The Drawing Book Sarah Simblet

Composition and Creativity

The Creative Habit Twyla Tharp

Composition of Outdoor Painting Edgar Payne

Mastering Composition Ian Roberts

Figure Drawing

The Undressed Art Peter Steinhart a natural history of life drawing/ quite wonderful

The Artist’s Complete Guide to Figure Drawing Anthony Ryder

Henry Yan's Figure Drawing (Techniques and Tips)

Color

Color: A course in mastering the art of mixing colors Betty Edwards

Making Color Sing Jeanne Dobie

Painting the Landscape in Pastel Albert Handell

Color A Natural History of the Palette Victoria Finlay

Fun Art Novels

The Art Forger BA Shapiro fictionalized account of the Gardner museum heist and a romance

An Object of Beauty Steve Martin

Girl with the Pearl Earring Tracy Chevalier

The Sea John Banville (main character is an art historian, specialty is Bonnard)

Seek My Face John Updike (main character based on Lee Krasner, Jackson Pollack’s wife)

I am Madame X Gioia Diliberto (fictionalized account of Virginie Gautreau, Madame X,

a famous portrait by John Singer Sargent).

And ever the science nerd

Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing Margaret Livingstone