An ornate, pedestaled, metal dish holds a treasure of marbles and light. This watercolor painting has incredibly strong color, yet effervesces with glowing, glass marbles, sparkling with internal bubbles. A digital image of this painting was shown at Artexpo New York 2007, Jacob Javits Convention Center, Art-Exchange booth, March 1-2, 2007.
Tree Pockets
1999 - 8.375" x 10.75" - Watercolor, Arches Aquarelle watercolor paper
The rough texture of the tree reminded me of the big crinkles on the bib overalls. It seemed like I was drawing similar types of lines and shapes for the two areas. From there, came the idea to coax some pockets and seams into the tree bark for a little child’s play in this child’s …
Tree Jeans
2000 - 19.5" x 27.5" - Watercolor, Arches Aquarelle watercolor paper
A roughness of wrinkles and textures seemed to be shared between the rugged jean material and the tree bark. But what if the boy wore bark overalls and the tree, jean overalls? Wouldn’t a child’s silly bone like that idea? Shown at the Norris Gallery, Dellora A. Norris Cultural Arts Center, St. Charles, IL and …
Tree Sprites
2000 - 17.25" x 21.375" - Mixed Media (Gesso, Gouache, Watercolor), Arches Aquarelle watercolor paper
A child might notice some things that an adult might miss… Look closely, now. Shown at the Norris Gallery, Dellora A. Norris Cultural Arts Center, St. Charles, IL and in the Celebration of the Arts show at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Naperville, IL.
Mother and Daughter
2006 - 11" x 14" - Watercolor, Arches Aquarelle watercolor paper
A portrait of Josie Castro’s daughter-in-law and granddaughter. It’s a beautiful mother and daughter moment.
The First Bite
1999 - 9.875" x 7.875" - Watercolor, Arches Aquarelle watercolor paper
This picture really told a story. Nick kept wondering why Jon didn’t open his mouth. It seemed quite straightforward to him what needed to happen next. Jon, on the other hand, was wondering what to do with the spoon and the stuff on it. A baby’s not always sure what to do with The First …
Sisterly Love
2008 - 14" x 11" - Watercolor, Arches Aquarelle watercolor paper
Josie had a favorite photo of her granddaughters and wanted a watercolor capturing this moment of sisterly love. Earlier, I’d painted a portrait of her daughter-in-law and the older sister when she was a baby. I loved all the light in this picture. It was a pleasure to paint.
Watchers in the Woods
1999 - 22.375" x 9.75" - Watercolor, Arches Aquarelle watercolor paper
Some of the paintings I had been working on prior to this one included figures wearing various kinds of robes, which gave them an air of mystery. The figures themselves were totally out of my imagination, and had intentionally distorted features. In my next painting, I wanted a more realistic approach in the handling of …
Three Masks of Ghana
2002 - 30" x 22" - Watercolor, Arches Aquarelle watercolor paper
These masks were used in agricultural ceremonies in the country of Ghana, West Africa. For me, there is a lot of mystery surrounding each mask. I love the symbols of plants on each, and the rich, warm browns and blacks of the woods. The inlaid metals add another interesting texture, as well as the beads. …
The Dinosaur Kid
1999 - 7.625" x 11.75" - Watercolor, Arches Aquarelle watercolor paper
This was from a favorite photo of our son, Nick, in the mountains wearing his dad’s hat. He had a dinosaur and a wind-up toy with him. The texturing of all the different stone and rock surfaces made a great setting. We still had that dinosaur, and it was kind enough to model for me. …