Cinco de Mayo

Click here to find out more about my series of Ballet Folklorico dancers -- on my latest blog post for Fort Worth, Texas Magazine.

"Ballet Folklorico"   12" x 16"   Oil

Dancing Girls

I'm exporting a little of Fort Worth's hispanic culture up to Vermont.  This painting of three Ballet Folklorico dancers will be on display (along with many paintings by other artists) at the Oil Painters of America Twenty Third Annual National Exhibition  in Bennington from June 7 through July 27.

"Trio"   24" x 48"   Oil

Here are a few more paintings from my series of this colorful dance troupe.

"Mariposa"   24" x 24"   Oil

"Ballet Folklorico"   12" x 16"   Oil

"Rosa"   36" x 24"   Oil

Trio Is Ready For Gallery Night

"Trio"   30" x 48"   Oil

This painting of Ballet Folklorico dancers will be on display at Galerie Kornye West on Fall Gallery Night, September 8.  Hope you can come!

One Down - Two To Go

Continuing to paint this trio of Ballet Folklorico dancers.  One is finished - two more to go.

"Trio"  (in progress)   30" x 48"

Magenta, Yellow, Cyan

I have started my fourth painting in a series of Ballet Folklorico dancers.  My first step was to do a quick watercolor sketch to get an idea about composition and color.

"Trio"   8" x 10"   Watercolor

Next a quick oil study to more accurately establish my darks and lights.

Then a drawing on canvas with a brush and some yellow ochre.

The painting is under way.  I'll now begin adding detail from left to right.

"Trio" (in progress)  30" x 48"   Oil 

Here are the other three paintings in the series.

"Mariposa"   24" x 24"   Oil

"Ballet Folklorico"   12" x 16"   Oil

"Rosa"   36" x 24"   Oil

Magenta, Yellow and Cyan

When I am thinking of ideas for paintings I often start with quick watercolors in my sketchbook.  My concern here is not for detail but for composition, color and general "feel" of the painting.  Sometimes these studies don't get beyond the sketch stage, but when I do decide to develop them into larger paintings I find they are extremely helpful.  In fact, I rarely paint a larger painting without having done a small version either in watercolor or oil, or sometimes both.  This watercolor is my initial sketch for another painting I plan to do of our local Ballet Folklorico dancers.

Fort Worth Spring Gallery Night

"Rosa"   36" x 24"   Oil

"Rosa" is another in my series of Ballet Folklorico dancers that I will be showing on Gallery Night at Galerie Kornye West tomorrow.  Twice a year, in the Spring and in the Fall, many Fort Worth art galleries participate in this popular event, where food and drinks are served and hundreds of people come to view the artworks on display and to meet many of the artists.   I plan to be at the gallery from 5:00 to 9:00 --  hope to see some of you there!

It will be a year from now, on Spring Gallery Night 2012, when I will be showing "A Year in Fort Worth" --  the collection of all the paintings and sketches that I worked on during 2011.

"Rosa" travelled to New York City earlier this year to be shown at the Salmagundi Club's Annual Exhibition and I was honored that they used my painting on their poster to announce the show.

Watercolor Sketch of "Rosa"

"Rosa"   10" x 8"   Watercolor

This is the initial watercolor sketch I made for my oil painting "Rosa," another painting in my Ballet Folklorico series.

"Mariposa"

"Mariposa"   24" x 24"   Oil

"Mariposa" will be on display at Galerie Kornye West for Spring Gallery Night in Fort Worth next Saturday, March 26, 2011.  This painting is one of a series of oils and watercolors I'm working on of dancers from the Ballet Folklorico Azteca de Fort Worth.

In preparing to paint this, I first made the two studies below -- a watercolor and then a very rough color study in oils.