Paintings With Soul

  robin’s egg blue I have completed some major projects recently - hung a solo show in the fall, filmed and launched an online intuitive painting workshop ( available for purchase, with lifetime access, through Kara Bullock Art School ), completed a community art project for the Detroit Society of Women Painters & Sculptors, launched   on demand art lessons , opened a group show a couple weeks back, created an entirely new body of work for   a two person show   in Denver next month, and am varnishing and readying to ship 4 new, large bear paintings to Whiteside Art Gallery (Cashiers, NC) in early July. It’s no wonder I’ve not released a new art journaling lesson in a bit! Earlier this week I had an afternoon to sit with one of my books and just play. It felt great, to get to make marks with abandon, no worries about anything having to turn out any particular way. That’s my favorite kind of arting, the rudderless sort. Out of that afternoon came this lesson, ...

  Peach Peach, original acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, image painted around the sides so no pressing need to frame, 48”x36”x1-1/2”, $5000 plus s&h. Peach will ship rolled and require restreching at the recipient’s end, which can be done by a reputable framer. Questions can always come   to me , or just reach out to share some love. She started as a mountain lion, I kid you not (here’s a   reel   outlining her progression if you don’t believe me). Over the course of three months, Peach challenged me in ways I couldn’t have predicted, but I am SO glad that I stuck with her. You can view - or even purchase - Peach up close and personal   on my website .   Let me know if you would like a payment plan (30% non refundable deposit with the balance plus shipping paid in full inside 12 months time). Repeat offenders, err, returning collectors, use “COLLECTOR10” at checkout for 10% off your purchase of original artwork. And, if you are looking to level up you...

  I am thrilled to share that I was invited to chat with none other than Kelly Anne Powers' as part of her Learn to Paint podcast. I'm the guest in episode 97. You can catch the episode on your favorite podcast platform or   here on Kelly's website   (which also includes access to an extended cut where I talk about nurturing your Must Haves and other gems).  In our conversation I talk about why you shouldn’t be afraid to cover up what you’ve put down (that universal problem of things becoming precious!), how to build an intuitive approach to your painting process (working from your humanity, your gut, is always authentically fresh and something AI simply cannot replicate) and why you might need to start a studio log (more on that below). Plus so very much more. But let's jump to the big question - What is a studio log? I started one decades ago as backup documentation for tax purposes. Initially it recorded what I did on work days with regard...

  Alpha, 20x16 original painting, acrylic on panel, $850 plus s&h to the first asking nicely. Link to purchase is below.   Please reach out   with any questions. I dreamt of wolves last night, but it may have been because of this beauty who showed up 4 days back. Or it could just be that wolves, with their ties to family and loyalty, are walking with me because of various shifts happening in my personal life. Is it really my place to question? I try to just accept the messages and respond with my brushes. Understanding, if it does come, will most likely show up with hindsight. Alpha   can be viewed up close (you want to see all the details in her surface -  it's a good one!), in a room setting, and even purchased  on my website.   As a First Dibber, you get the chance to make this extraordinary piece your own before the general public. Ask   if you'de like a payment plan. A 30% non refundable deposit reserves the painting, with ...

  Ribbons of Sky, 48"x36" original painting, acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, $5000 plus s&h. This painting will ship rolled and require restretching at your end. A repurable framer can easily do this.  Please reach out  with any questions. Ribbons of Sky was a fantastic teacher. Yes, my paintings teach me. They teach me what to do and what not to do, and this lady was no exception. I thought she was finished on Friday, and I had a burst of adrenaline as I cleaned up the studio. Then Saturday morning I looked at her and she felt unresolved. The dark value shape comprising the right edge of the bear was lovely in how it vibrated, but that illusion overwhelmed the sincerity in her face. Sunday I spent some time with her, too, and compared her to some of my other pieces as a means of trying to learn from them what she might need. Aura  minced no words. There wasn't nearly enough line work, she said, and as lovely as that dark passage was, it needed to be...

  Aura, 40"x40" original painting, acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas, $4500 plus s&h. This painting will ship rolled and require restretching at your end.   Please reach out  with any questions. I have been putting in long studio days since March, when I accepted an invitation from   Mirada Fine Art   to hang a two person show at their gallery in downtown Denver (Colorado). This was an ambitious undertaking in that it involved delivering a dozen new, large scale paintings inside 4 months. The pace has been both grueling and inspiring. Each piece spawned excitement in me to try something new. There was no time to overthink or second guess myself. I leaned into my intuition and fully embraced colliding my wildlife spirits with the sky and planets, all sparked by April's eclipse and the northern lights which I was able to witness right in my own backyard. I thought of the animals as containers, source, veils, precipices, apparitions, constel...

  Labradorite, 23-3/4"x23-1/2" original painting, acrylic on panel, $1200 plus s&h. Purchae details below.   Please reach out  with any questions. This is a rework - a facelift, if you will - of  a wolf painting carrying the same name  from April 2023. I always say that any painting in the studio is a candidate for a rework. Why might I want to rework a piece? Well, my skills grow with each new piece, and the things I'm fascinated with also shift and change. I learn how to better communicate the story or maybe even recognize something I missed out on the first time around. So today I pulled out  the old painting , which felt a bit too safe - a wolf with fierce eyes in front of a full moon - and had another go at her. I wanted her gaze to be gentle yes wise, to add nuance and softer transitions to the piece, add arbitrary linework and a hint of landscape. I wanted to retain the flash (this is a term identifying the wash of color embedded inside...