Working and working some more

Here's some of the paintings on my easel right now. These are pretty far along—with only 1 or 2 sessions left before each is done. As always, more on the way!

House by the Lake

This one was a quick sketch for a good friend. Really cool house on a lake with lots of character!

Wedding Painter, Part 2

Here are two paintings from my most recent commission. Once again, I was hired as a "wedding painter." It's a new trend that has been growing in popularity. I love doing this kind of work; it's great to be part of such an incredible moment in people's lives.

The first painting was done on the beach of the Longboat Key Resort Club. You can't ask for better scenery. The sun broke through the clouds with beams of light shining down right as the ceremony reached it's conclusion. Beautiful, but it left me scrambling to add it to the painting. The second painting was done at the reception and it is easily the toughest observational painting I've ever done. A large dark room with 150 people moving around and dancing is not conducive to painting! I'm happy with the results given the situation, and looking forward to more wedding paintings.

In Progress

After a brief struggle of trying to make art I thought other people would like versus making art I know I love—I'm back. One thing I've learned about art: if you don't like it, no one else will. And if even if they do like it; you won't feel very good about it. These paintings are all in progress. Each one of them looked very different a week ago.

In other news I've got an awesome commission to do more wedding paintings. I'll be doing two plein-air paintings at a wedding on Longboat Key today. Pictures soon!

Quick update. Two paintings I'm working on. Very close to being done! The color and composition is there, but both need the final touches of small details and a glaze or two.

Oil Paintings on the Easel

Here's two new ones I'm working on. The first one started out as something very different. In fact, both of these had figures in them at one point. The second one is just an under painting right now, but it's a piece I've been wanting to do for months. My goal is to finish a total of 6 paintings by mid-October. Stay tuned!

Photography

Hey everyone,
Recently, I've been getting a lot of freelance photography work. I've always loved photography; it goes hand in hand with my painting work. Not to mention, the immediacy of taking a photo is just refreshing when you're used to spending weeks on a single painting.
In response to the increased interest I've redesigned by photo blog at www.gregdechowphotography.com and added a bunch more photos. Check it out!

No worries though, more paintings are on the way! We're getting into busy season here in Sarasota and I've got about 6 paintings that need finishing up. So, I'll be working like crazy to get them done—hopefully they'll be in the Madeby Gallery soon!