Illustrated Children's Books

These are two of my latest children's books. Grumpy Grumblyhuffs is a picture book for very younger readers (3-6), and Canberra Camembears is for older readers who can read chapter books (4-8).

Grumpy Grumblyhuffs

Why are these hippos always so grumpy? The Grumblyhuff family of hippos, who live on an African savanna, are so grumpy, they don't let anyone near them. But what will happen if they finally let someone in their lives?

They're grumpy because their BUTTS ITCH! And they can't scratch their backs and butts themselves. So, they push everyone away in their lives, until......some oxpecker birds show up.

Canberra Camembears

Way 'down under,' in a land called Australia, there was a town called Canberra, in which lived a family called the Camembears. This family, the family Camembear, was not your ordinary family. That's because this family happened to be a family of koala bears. And they weren't even your ordinary family of koala bears. Somehow or another, the bears were always discovering things, going on adventures, getting out of trouble, getting into trouble, getting out of pickles, and all the while having a good old time, as you shall see.

Cat on a Shelf, Oil on Canvas Board

Boy With Dog, 8" x 10"

My friend with his dog.

Baby With Dog

8" by 10". Guardian Angel dog watching over baby.

Turtle and Snake Painting, Painting Pets III

Is your pet a turtle or snake? If so, then I just painted your pets, or at least something like them. Painted from a photo, 5x7" canvas board.

Orange Cat Painting

Cross-eyed orange cat painting, commissioned. 8" x 10" canvas board.

Water Lillies Painting a Day

These white water lillies are not a Monet knockoff, but rather painted from a photograph, and just to be different (or to save canvases), it is painted on the acrylic-primed back, or verso, of a previous 5 by 7 canvas.

Painted simultaneously, an orange friend for the octopus the other day:

Peacock, Painting a Day

Painting of the day: peacock head closeup, painted from photograph, oil on canvas 6" by 6", painted in one hour. 

Octopus, Painting a Day

This colorful octopus is the first in a series of small 6" x 6" canvases of simple subjects to be painted in under an hour. Painted from a photograph, the creature had the loveliest bright pastel colors of light orange, blue-green, blue and purple.

Miniature Golden Eagle Painting

The painted wingspan on this little eagle is about 5 inches, whereas the wingspan of the golden eagle that landed on a branch outside my kitchen window was closer to 5 feet or more. That giant magnificent bird flew away from me when I went out to try to get a snapshot, and I could hear such  powerful flaps from its wings as it soared away. I didn't get that snapshot so I attribute Tony Hisgett, U.K., with the photograph I used for reference here. This is the second time I've painted a golden eagle, the first time as Zeus landing near Ganymede.

Animal Paintings: Squirrel, Horse, Fish

You could call these small paintings "studies" because they are all small and very quick little paintings all on the same canvas and all done in the same sitting, or you could consider them each finished miniature portraits by themselves. They are all good considering their size (6" wide) and the speed they were rendered in. The best part is the superb turquoise water around the fish.

Dog Portrait Painting

This was a commission for a portrait of a small dog, a miniature poodle, on a small canvas, 6" by 6". It's always nice to paint animals.

Portrait With Cat

You may recognize the face from my copy of Caravaggio's Saint John, and the cat from Pet Portraits. This was my other Christmas present painting out of four.

Pet Portraits Part II

A second, more serious portrait of the cat after the whimsical Puss in Boots, along with another cat from years ago and a reworking of my Rottweiler in Part I.

Painting of the Day: Caribbean Fish

The change of scenery for the painting/catch of the day comes from the Caribbean. I snorkeled with this fellow in the BVI and snapped a shot along with hundreds of other pictures with an underwater camera, many of which may become source photographs for paintings.

Pet Portrait Paintings

Pet portraits are a wonderful way to immortalize a beloved member of your family on canvas: a member of your family who happens to have fur which is rich in character and varied in color, no matter what the breed of cat. Painting cats and rabbits give me the chance to use impasto, which is very thick paint which sticks right out off the surface.

Chloe shown here as a resting "Puss in Boots" was a real treat to paint (I love her jade-colored eyes and will definitely return to paint a more serious and close portrait), and this is my first whimsical picture in quite some time. I realize without the theatrical props (she was very annoyed posing with all that stuff), there would be a very nice painting of a reclining cat, but I needed to take the risk of making this an out of the ordinary portrayal, otherwise I might have just taken a photo of her. Below is our late pet Baby painted many years ago and which now serves as a memorial, and below her is not my pet at all but an oil remix of Durer's Hare, a very impasto painting with the fur being almost identical to Chloe's.

I painted this one below some years ago of me in a coon-skin (fake) hat with my beloved Rottweiler Archie, who loved or at least was very curious about that hat.