Christmas Pears...in Acrylic

I painted these pears for the Shoppes on Woodlawn. I hope someone buys then for their Christmas decorations.

Crystal Bridges...in Arkansas

Get to this museum in Bentonville, Arkansas as quickly as you can. It is outstanding!

Cesi Italy Apartments

This painting is my latest in a series of paintings I am doing on my trip to La Romita in 2007. I know, it took a long time for me to get around to painting some of these really romantic scenes.

Trick or Treat

Willie and Jack went trick or treating.

Tom Herrin at White Wagon Farm Fall Show

This year I painted out at White Wagon Farm. The weather was perfect and the company just fine. Lots of good food but only one sale. So goes life.

Porch Painting by Tom Herrin

Well, here is my porch. I painted it in two weeks. I think I did a lovely job. Do you agree?

Still Life Setup at White Wagon Farm

Here is a really neat setup for a still life painting. Hope to get it right this time.

Mini Painting at Sage House Studio

This painting is all of 4"x5". It was a delight to paint at Sage House Art Studio. I got good advise from Pat White, Jan and Marv Crummer, all really good painters in oil. I will be trying more of these in the next few months, all in oil, and maybe a few in acrylic. Hope they are as good as this one.

My Painting Sage House Studio...August 23rd

The painting shown here was painted in two hours, alla prima. Was I happy, No; but what artist is ever happy with all of their paintings. It was a good effort!

Still Life Set Up...August 23rd

Today's still life set up at Sage House Gallery.

Sage House Art Studio Still Life Set up

The set up you see here is from our summer still life painting sessions at White Wagon Farm, Sage House Art Studio. This particular one was most difficult. Artist participating included Pat White, Jan and Marv Crummer, Suzann Waggoner, Shirley Brainard and me(Tom Herrin). They are all great artist painting in oil, watercolor, and mixed media. Paintings to follow show their work, or you can go to the White Wagon Farm web site and click on Sage House Gallery (http://sagehousegallery.com/). Have a look at their work, it will be worth your time

What you see here is a composition and color study for a painting I plan to paint. The painting is based on a photograph shown on the Scott Settlement brochure. I wish I had taken the photograph, but I didn't. Anyway, the idea is to show the buildings in sharp contrast to the landscape in the foreground.

Lilies in Scott, Arkansas near Scott Plantation

The lilies shown here were found along the road behind the Plantation Museum near Scott, Arkanas. Flowers growing along the road usually means there was a house at that location in the past. Almost all of these country homes are gone now-the flowers remain as a marker of the homes past location. Lilies make great subjects for a flower paintings; however I am not much of a flower painter. I may be tempted to try to paint these lilies.

Scott Arkansas View...Watercolor by Tom Herrin

David Cook and I paint in plein air on wednesday each week depending on the weather. The small notan shown here studies the values around the trees and a small house located at the base of the tree line near Scott, Arkansas. I was painting from the porch of the Agricultural museum in Scott. I plan to use this small study as a guide for a larger painting in watercolor. The point here was to use the trees in the fore ground to set the scale for the house and trees in the middle ground. I think this worked.

Hilltop Village Final...Tom Herrin Watercolor

This version of a painting of a hilltop village in Italy is my final version that I am submiting to the Mid-Southern Watercolor summer show at Cantrell Gallery in Little Rock. The colors are better and the values are correct. I could make a few more changes but I want. If you like it let me know and be sure to come to Cantrell Gallery to see the art. The show will be open for the month of June.

Italian Hilltop Village...A watercolor by Tom Herrin

The village painting you see opposite was painted from a photograph I took while I was in Italy in 2007. I took a lot of these pictures but only a few came out to be good compositions for a watercolor painting. I like this painting; however, I know it could be better. I may give it another shot before I call it a day painting this type of village. Or, I could go back to Italy and do some more research. Maybe?

Cesi, Italy Apartments

Good apartments is Cesi, Italy (pronounced Chesi) are hard to find. The buildings you see here is not what I would call a nice block of apartments. However, I was fascinated by the look of the place and it obvious age. So, I painted the building back in the studio at The La Romita School of Art. At first I did not like what I painted but over time I have come to like the painting after cropping.

Indian Lore...Abstract by Tom Herrin

Indian lore was painted a while back. I loaned the painting to my wife, who sells real estate, to preview in a house owned by a lady from India. It looked really great sitting on the mantle over the fire place. Unfortunately, she decided not to sell the house. It now hangs at The Shoppes on Woodlawn in the hillcrest neighborhood of Little Rock.

My Main Man

This is my main man, Avatar, and buddy. I found him in Orvieto, Italy playing near the center of town. I have decided to use him as my avatar-I just like the way he seems to be playing and not paying much attention to the rest of the world. I hope to get to see him again in the future, in Orvieto, of course.

Crazy Sunflower

The sunflower painting shown is one of several still life paintings I have done at White Wagon Farm located near Maumelle, Arkansas. White Wagon is a plant nursery and art studio that reflects the interests of the owners Pat and Kathy. On the first Tuesday of each month our painting group paints still life paintings. This one is titled....I Love Your Hair. It will be shown in a group show at Searcy, Arkansas in April and May. If you are anywhere near come and see the show.

A Rose is not just a Rose

This rose has been painted, by me, three or four times. It remains a challenge. I am now working on the rose in watercolor to be followed by a painting in acrylic. I am hoping for a better looking rose when I paint it in acrylic. Send me your suggestions for improvement.

Winter Scene...Snow on the Landscape...Warm Colors

Winter scenes with snow aren't always painted in cool colors. Here is a scene that is both a winter scene (usually cool) and also warm in color. How do you paint a scene like this? Keep it small, paint the snow a cool blue and the background in warm colors fading into the sky and also showing up in the water in the foreground. Give it a try.

Red Bell Pepper

Red Bell Pepper...A pepper I want to paint. Check out the highlights, the shadows, and the background. Wow!! This is my photo. Now all I have to do is to paint the pepper in a small format with highlights saved and strong shapes in the background. The shadow under the pepper provides a bridge from the pepper across the table over to the background.

My corgi dog Jack just loves the out of doors. I took his picture sitting in the sun in the middle of my hosta bed. Fortunately the hostas are dormant during the winter. What you see here is a ink rendering of Jack as the basis for a painting. I hope to get to Jack and do the painting real soon.