A painting of my alley in the fall and a friend's peeling garage:

[Ocelot II]

Comments and critiques are welcome!

[Docreed2003]

1. Beautiful work

Love the garage. There's a starkness and emotional quality captured in the small snowbank, the shadow of the tree, and the subtle flaking of the paint. Absolutely love it...could pass for an Ed Hopper

[mobeau69]

2. Awesome. You have an incredible talent.

[secondwind]

3. Wow!

[GPV]

4. So lovely!

[Leghorn21]

5. I am LOVIN THIS, OII!!

Just marvelous work!!

[Sanity Claws]

6. Both are so impressive

I imagine that they would appeal to different audiences. Was that your aim?

[Ocelot II]

9. No audience intended - just trying out different ideas and techniques.

I and the cat are my only audience, and the cat isn't very interested.

[MackinacBridge]

7. Oh, so nice

Thank you for sharing your work with us. Love the garage. With that banked up snow and low angle of sunlight, it looks very much like my area (43rd parallel)

[Ocelot II]

10. 45th parallel here (Minneapolis)!

[MackinacBridge]

13. Ah, yes

You've captured that snow perfectly. It looks exactly like the crunchy "sugar" snow that is starting to compact and crust over with the warmer temps you and I are both having.

My son is in the Minneapolis area (Brooklyn Park). I'm glad you guys are catching a break from your recent frigid temps.

Happy painting!

[Karadeniz]

8. WOW!!!!

[FuzzyRabbit]

11. I really like your style of painting.

[ZZenith]

12. Love these!

Both magnificent. Got that lighting just right - I can feel the cold air on my cheeks and the sun trying its best to warm things up.

[MLAA]

14. I love both.

You are a master with leaves. The way the wind as blown them in the alley is perfect. On the second painting I love the door with the shadow on it. It just looks perfect to me.

What talent! Looking forward to seeing more 🙂

Did you once post a gorgeous painting of your cat? If so, I loved that one as well.

[Ocelot II]

43. I've done two of my three cats:

Jeoffry:


Milo:


Sadly, both passed away this past summer. I miss them a lot.

[MLAA]

59. The 2nd one is the one I had remembered 🙂

A friend’s cat that I painted

[Ocelot II]

60. Love it, well done! That cat looks very satisfied with him/herself.

[Auggie]

15. Nice design and use of light

Love the contrast of shapes in the garage and the shadow on the door. Looks ominous — good use of a scary green color IMO. And just what’s behind the door???

[Ocelot II]

18. Garden equipment and spiders.

[Auggie]

27. Uh-huh ... like a half dozen sling blades of varying sizes? And one big-ass arachnid?

[Ocelot II]

47. It's too cold here for big spiders, but I think he has an axe in there.

[Mr.Bill]

20. Yes, the light and shadows struck me also. n/t

[druidity33]

16. Gorgeous!

I usually get right up to a painting to see detail in small patches. Consider posting a detail pic next time? LOVE the shadows on the second one. And really what a delightful alley. I like that it looks like a storm is coming in. Moody and evocative.

Nice work!

K&R.

[Blue_playwright]

17. Love the peeling garage especially

If I had money, I’d try to buy that! Lol

[housecat]

19. beautiful work. post more when you can

[ratchiweenie]

21. The garage is very well done but the alley is just beautiful. Very, very nice.

[femmedem]

22. They're both gorgeous!

I especially love the abstract qualities of the garage. And those shadows!

[JDC]

23. Those are both awesome.

Great work.

[harumph]

24. I think your framing of the scenes is interesting - also,

the shadow of the tree falling against the door is handled very well.
your painterly treatment of the white door and the shadows on the snow - very well done.

Regarding the alleyway, I'm drawn to the seam or 'T' shape that the leaves have
taken down the center that drives your eye to the central tree across the street.

Both scenes make me feel somber - that there is a stillness and possibly bad news is about to be delivered.

I like both very much.

[cachukis]

25. Details inspire movement. The eye moves and

when focused senses it elsewhere. Good ones.

[No Vested Interest]

26. Sweet!...

[Delphinus]

28. Oh my ...

Beautiful work - thank you for sharing!

[evolves]

29. Gorgeous!

Absolutely lovely!

[Escurumbele]

30. Fantastic, well done

Just hope no one will try to drive through the fall painting, is very realistic...

You are quite an artist.

[not fooled]

31. WOW!

You created beautiful, compelling images out of what are usually perceived as mundane, everyday views.

[SunSeeker]

32. You've got a great eye. Takes talent to frame like that.

[Marie Marie]

33. Nice.

[panader0]

34. I'm very impressed.

Damn!

[sinkingfeeling]

35. Those are exceptional.

[AllaN01Bear]

36. wow.

[dchill]

37. Those are both great!

[bluecollar2]

38. Very cool...n/t

[MLAA]

39. I love both.

You are a master with leaves. The way the wind as blown them in the alley is perfect. On the second painting I love the door with the shadow on it. It just looks perfect to me.

What talent! Looking forward to seeing more 🙂

Did you once post a gorgeous painting of your cat? If so, I loved that one as well.

[ailsagirl]

40. Exceptional!!

[OMGWTF]

41. Moody, evocative, and beautiful. Nicely done!

[NurseJackie]

42. Love!

[rdking647]

44. Nice

i wish i could paint. but anything more than stick figures is beyond me

[vsrazdem]

45. Beautiful work. You are very talented.

[LiberalLoner]

46. Such beautiful work! These would easily sell for a good deal of money!👍👍👍

[highplainsdem]

48. Stunning!

[leighbythesea2]

49. Beautiful

Love the color. The garage wall is fantastic.

[Racygrandma]

50. Love it

I used to paint a lot and have recently picked it up again, I like the subject matter, it like a slice of peoples everyday lives

[Trueblue Texan]

51. very impressive!

I so admire your skill and the patience it takes to get all those colors right! Even if I am one day able to teach myself to draw and make sense of translating 3d data to 2d, I don't know if I'll ever grow the patience to mix the colors to achieve the right level of light and dark...maybe after I retire I'll take some classes. Thank you so much for sharing this! I'd love to visit that alley!

[c-rational]

52. Both are lovely. Wonderful light, detail, real life and aliveness. Thanks for posting.

[catchnrelease]

53. Really nice!

Your use of perspective in the alleyway is so well done! The fencing on the right and the lines of the house on the left are perfect and I always think that's a hard thing to get correct. When it's off it just sticks out like a sore thumb to me, so this is really great to see it done so well.

Did you once post a link to a site--blog or website--where you have a series of paintings of your alley through the year? I remember looking at all of that and it was so good.

[3catwoman3]

54. Even tho that is a view of your alley, and not any where...

...I will ever be, I would buy that painting in a heartbeat. I can almost hear the fallen leaves skittering across the pavement should a breeze come along.

Do you ever sell any of your work? I have a feeling I have asked you that before.

[Ocelot II]

58. I've never sold them, or tried to -

they are just for fun, and I'm sort of attached to them since all that I've done are from photos I've taken of places I'm familiar with, and my cats. Thanks for the kind words!

[BobTheSubgenius]

55. VERY nice work!

My wife also paints, and, like you, favours realism. You have obviously put in a lot of time developing your craft...or are just naturally uber-talented.

The garage is extremely realistic, which I love, and I am a huge fan of that autumn tree in the driveway picture.

Again....very nicely done!

[Dream Girl]

56. These are fantastic.I love wat you did with the shadows! The sky in the alleys painting is

Interesting...like a rain was about to start in Indian summer.

[bif]

57. Beautiful!

I especially like the second one. Nice composition.

[judesedit]

61. Really, really nice. No critiquing here. You did an awesome job on both

You are very talented. Thank you for posting. I saved them, so I can look at them occasionally and appreciate them. What medium? Acrylics? Oils?

[Ocelot II]

62. Thank you. Oils; they are messier than acrylics

but I think easier and more flexible to work with.

[judesedit]

82. Yes, I agree. My dad was an artist and preferred oil. It just takes a longer time to dry.

You are very welcome. Your paintings are beautiful.

[usaf-vet]

63. How long before someone takes a hard turn to go down the street to the see the tree up close.

Fabulous artwork.

[Ocelot II]

64. Thanks, everyone, for your kind comments.

It's really hard to evaluate your own stuff, like trying to edit your own writing. You get so close to it that you don't know whether you've accomplished anything. Thanks for your encouragement!

[Sogo]

65. Really nice. I especially like the garage one.

You are very talented....

[colorado_ufo]

66. Masterful perspective!

Color, detail are fantastic. Love the shadows. The only thing my eye wants is a figure in the first, which would energize the scene, and a stronger focal point in the second, to keep the eye from wandering.

TREMENDOUS TALENT! Thank you for sharing with us!

[MFM008]

67. love it

Did you ever see Georgia O Keefees many door paintings?
Look them up if not.
Excellent work!

[Oppaloopa]

68. I would love to buy the alley painting.

Do you sell any of your paintings?

[Ocelot II]

75. I've never really thought of selling them -

I just do it for fun, and I don't think I could part with that one because it took so long to finish. And it's the alley behind my house so I'm kind of attached to it. But I'm glad you like it!

[bucolic_frolic]

69. Givernage and Hopperesque /nt

[mwb970]

70. OMG that is amazing!

I can write a song, but I can't imagine being able to create visual art like this.

[Joinfortmill]

71. Love it

[nuxvomica]

72. I like the way the color scheme is distinct for each object

It sets things apart yet everything is consistent by lighting and intensity. This distinction of objects is something I've seen prominently in the works of Van Gogh and Rousseau, not so much with the Impressionists, and taken to the extreme by the Cubists. Your take on it is very pleasing to the eye.

[crickets]

73. Lovely!

You have a way with light. These are both quite beautiful paintings - thanks so much for sharing them!

[JudyM]

74. Fabulous depiction of texture and capture of light.

The alley reads like a story.

Wonderful work, Ocelot II!

[alfredo]

76. Gallery ready

[birdographer]

77. The alley is perfect!!

I love everything about it.

I wish I could do that!

[11 Bravo]

78. Beautiful work! You are very talented.

[patricia92243]

79. I kept reading this as "a friend's peeling an orange." lol

Had to look twice before I realized I was reading it wrong.

[Ocelot II]

81. LOL, I got one of those, too:

[lillypaddle]

80. These are amazing

Your use of shadows is just ... well, glorious.

[samnsara]

83. i studied at a private art studio and i never achieved this...beautiful!

[samnsara]

84. i thought the alley was a photograph!

[ryebreadneo]

85. Ocelot II (Original Post)

This really awesome. I LOVE IT!