Pi Kappa Alpha - Purdue

My fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha will be celebrating their 100th year on the campus of Purdue University in the next year.  Since I had done several Purdue-oriented pieces in the last several years - you can see them in this blog - they asked me to do something commemorating the various houses that the Pikes had during that 100 year time period.
This is the result of that effort.  It includes 4 houses that were used, 2 of which I lived in.  I also added several other Pike or Purdue specific items, the pin and clock tower.
We hope to use this to raise money for scholarships.

Candles and Sticks

I saw a similar image in a magazine recently.  But, I decided to do something similar but different and add some additional detail.  There is a lot going on, here! The combination of the shadows from the right, with the reflections in the marble table, and then the candle sticks, themselves, both in color and shape.

But, my favorite part of this piece, by far, is the smoke.  I had never attempted to do smoke before and my friend, Arturo, gave me the technique and hints on how to do it effectively.  He had it right, I think!!

The combination of all of these things makes for an interesting story in the viewer's mind.  Who was there?  Why is one candle extinguished? And, does the lit and unlit candle represent someone who is gone?  You decide!

Pink Roses

When I saw this image, I fell in love with the subtle colors as well as the shapes.  It is almost abstract due to the close-up view of the flowers.  It had been a while since I took on some flowers as I used to paint them all of the time.  So, this one was a nice memory of previous pieces.

The light pink makes a nice contrast to the greys in the above flower, I think.

Peggy's Cove - Again

I have painted many images from Peggy's Cove in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  We had visited there a number of years ago on a cruise with friends.  It is such a cool place and there is a vista from every place around the cove.  This one, done at sun rise adds some special colors to the overall look.

For some reason, I am taken by boats, water, and reflections.  This has all of them.

Violins By Francis

Our friend, Francis from Denver, is a violinist.  He bought his violin, a green one, when he was studying in London for his PhD.  Last summer, when he returned to London for a visit, he went to the music shop where he had purchased his violin.  In the front window were several other colored violins.  So, he took a picture of these instruments and shared it with me.

I loved the colors in this image, but also the curves and shapes.  I hoped that I captured them to Francis's satisfaction.