Milwaukee River Lights

Original Painting - Acrylic on canvas 16x20

This is an impressionistic scene of downtown Milwaukee looking south on the river. I wanted to capture the glittering lights and their reflections on the water and also the energy and mood of the downtown area.

Machine Gun Madam

Original Painting - Acrylic on canvas 16x12

“The voluptuous blonde bombshell just delivered a Chicago Valentine to a couple of wise guys trying to muscle in on her operation ...a hooker with a heart of hot lead instead of gold.”

I had a lot of fun painting this and learned a lot about the Thompson Submachine gun; also known as, the Chicago piano, the Chicago typewriter, Chicago Organ Grinder, and the Tommy Gun.

Gangsters and Bootleggers of the Prohibition and Depression era made this their weapon of choice. It has been referred to by one researcher as the "gun that made the twenties roar." The Thompson Model 1928 submachine gun came with a 20 or 50-round drum magazine and a .45 caliber punch.

This was the weapon used in the infamous Chicago St Valentine’s Day massacre where seven members of the North Side Irish Bugs Moran gang were mowed down by Al Capone’s South Side Italian gang.

Plaza Hotel New York City

Original Painting - Acrylic on canvas 24x30



The Plaza Hotel in New York City, located at Fifth Avenue Central Park South, is a landmark and a treasure. If you want to see more of the inside of the Plaza, watch the latest "The Great Gatsby" movie. Fitzgerald loved staying there and it was featured in his novel. Many of the movie scenes were shot on the premises.

The abstract shapes formed by light and dark vertical passages and reflections are what drew me to this subject. Who knows, perhaps some day I'll stay there as a guest! But first I'll need to sell a lot more paintings ...

Finch

Original Painting - Acrylic on canvas 12x16

I painted this little guy as a class demonstration for our "birds" session. The soft background and blurred edges were my goal, plus contrasting the hot yellow color against a cool blue-green backdrop.

Two's Company

Original Painting - Acrylic on canvas 16x20

This study of chickens was part of a demonstration for my class (A.K.A. the Fine Art And Cheap Wine Group). Our theme for the session was birds. We painted everything from owls, parrots, and eagles, to something called a puffin.