J. Crew Drama (The landscape of her shoe)

I feel comfortable using shoe and landscape in the same sentence.

Oil on canvas 10"X14"

Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $120 USD plus $9 USD s/h
Or, send me an email

Sweet Avalon (Avalon Fishing Pier) Kill Devil Hills, NC (SOLD)

Avalon Fishing Pier
Oil on Linen Panel 12"X16"
(SOLD to a repeat collector in Holly Springs)

Fur Ball Pole Dancing aka: Pôle de boule de fourrure danse(SOLD)

 I am partially color blind in the blues and greens. I have found it to be beneficial to lay my colors out in the same location on my pallete every time. More men than women are colorblind. I don't know among painters. I am not totally color blind. Just certain shades of blue and green.  This is the replacement cat's dead sister replacement, Lovee. Please see "The Replacement"  Cindy thinks she spells it "Lovey". I try to ignore it.  The Smart Continental thinks everything smells better in French.

Oil on stretched canvas 10"X14" (please forgive me for my sins).

(SOLD)

The crab I love so close at hand (SOLD)

Sometimes these blue crabs make my day, or it could have been that greasy pizza, but I think it was the wine.  It seems that kickin back at the beach "creating" can be like that. Blue or No.

Oil on canvas 12"X24" (SOLD) to a repeat collector in Kill Devil Hills, NC

Lone Cedar (SOLD)

This was one of the  first 25 paintings. I have drawn enough landscapes for a lifetime. The subject holds no interest for me at present. It is one of the few painting I have done that has my full signature, "Rick Nilson".

A collector came by the mancave and liked this.  This is a scene not far from my house.

Acrylic on stretched canvas approx. 12"X10" (SOLD to a repeat collector in NC)

Cat on a Stick (SOLD)

This painting will have to dry for 2 weeks prior to shipping.
This is my cat being coaxed around a piling with a fishing lure over her head.
On Pole Dancing

Oil on canvas 14"X11" (SOLD to a collector in Willow Springs, NC)

Rodeo Shrimp

Pen and marker sketch

not for sale

"Trois paire de chaussures" The Smart Continental

"Trois paire de chaussures" is the way a smart continental might refer to, "Three pair of shoes"
Acrylic on canvas 20"X20"

Just like VanGogh. Accept no substitute.

Cocaine Blues (SOLD)

" A lot of people don't know what's the matter with them sometimes , because nobody can't get along with them, you know...."

Rev. Gary Davis

Oil on stretched canvas 8"X6" (SOLD to a collector in Elizabeth City, NC)

Bad Lamb/Reform farm Bound(SOLD)

He was immune to her reform farm threats.

Oil on canvas 12"X9"

as always our guarantee

"No salesman will visit your home"

The sun finally came out on sunday afternoon.

(SOLD to a repeat collector)

Watch this storm Live and a beachroad video and more added on Saturday

South Nags Head.

"...BESIDES THAT," god said in her knowing way, "I THINK I WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT THIS SPIT OF SAND LOOKS LIKE A BIT CLOSER TO CURRITUCK COUNTY."

and the children of Israel said, "....oh."

When God said ("..go yee therefore, oh children of Israel, and live amongst and occupy my lands, and build your house up on the solid rock and not in the sand on those little sticks. .") ,she did not realize her children were counting minutes until the threat of cramps had passed or the money there was to be made in coastal development.

This is not my photo. I ripped it from a facebook friends page. I do not know who took this photo, it was from a northeaster along the Outer Banks last winter. Sometimes kickin back at the beach can be work.

I have a link here to the live camera on Avalon Fishing Pier.

HERE

If you click

HERE
there is a facebook link to pictures of south nags head yesterday.

HERE

is yet another facebook of some of those houses on little sticks.

HERE and then HERE

I do it for you.

The Last Blue Crab in Pepto-Bismol (SOLD)

This little blue crab will spend a long time, I hope, hanging out in St.Johns, USVI. Thanks to Kate. I painted this yesterday as a demo in a painting class that I hosted in the mancave.

Oil on canvas 16"X12"
(SOLD)

Marshes Light(SOLD)

A collector came by the mancave and bought this. I will take a better photo when the sun comes out. The paint is still wet so I will have this around for 2 more weeks. I had a student attempt this with me. I have another painter that tried to get off Hatteras Island today around noon and was turned back. The road to Hatteras is flooded by the storm all around us. Hatteras Island and Ocracoke are now cut off from the northern parts of the outer banks and escape. Mick, Stay dry down there, Mate.

I just use some mud to define the tones. I started with a white canvas. I added a very thin wash of cad red to the canvas. I am not painting, I am just using pigment tones to define my shapes. I used the mud left over from yesterday's painting class. I rely on sun for taking photos of my paintings and the last 3 days have been very cloudy, and overcast, all this storm is upon us.

Oil on canvas 24"X12" (SOLD)

Gary considered a career as a private detective

I started this on Monday morning. Who does that? Who has a job like this? Who wakes up monday morning thinking, ".....yep, I gotta get started painting a drag queen...."

I tried to give this portrait a more stately look and less chorus line drag queen. I did not have a reference photo or a mirror.

If you come to the Outer Banks in the summer go see "The Lost Colony Outdoor Drama" on Roanoke Island. Yes, it is lost, but there are signs and arrows everywhere. The story of Sir Walter Raleigh, The Queen of England and the first English child born in America and a bunch of missing people."

If you click here. it will take you to a link. Good outdoor family fun on Roanoke Sound. Bring mosquito repellent.

Not for Sale

Oil washes on 12"X16"

Bumble Bee (SOLD)

I found out this morning that I have been juried into dailypainters.com. When I got the email congratulating me, I was so excited that a little bit of pee came out.

Oil on canvas 5"X7"(SOLD to a repeat collector)

Pimp My Crab (SOLD)

She said "..why don't you pimp my crab?"
I said "......how much time do I got?"

She said ".....You got all the time in the world."

Oil on canvas 16"X12"

(Sold to a repeat collector in Va.)

The Last Esso in Red Oxide (SOLD)

This is the last Esso station before you get to the Outer Banks. Its on the west side of US158 in Currituck County. I hosted a painting workshop today. We all paint the same thing. This is my version. We spent the day in class just finding these shapes. Unfortunately, by her own admission, Deb said nothing clever, but Donna bought a painting. Way to go Donna. Try harder Deb.

Oil on canvas 9"X12" (SOLD)
Oh! I have approximately 35 to 40 paintings hung in a one man one month show at the Full Moon Resturant in historic downtown Manteo. I took pictures of it yesterday, but they were terrible. I will get better ones. Stop by for lunch and say hello to my Paul Dillon in the gallery. I have a few more paintings there. I will be having a press release coming soon about a new photo and painting workshop I will be hosting at the DCAC gallery in Manteo in about a month. Real Hightec Gritty Stuff, a dulled cutting edge thing.

Dancing around Delphinius (SOLD)

This is the Delphinius docked in Wanchese Harbour. I start with a red stained canvas. I have spent a lot of time dancing around painting the letters DELPHINIUS. I had a painting class today. I painted this early this morning before the painters showed up. I have spent most of my time just on a few of the most difficult shapes. The bow line is always a deceptive shape.

Oil on canvas 12"X9"

(SOLD to a repeat collector)

I raised my claw (SOLD)

A art critique asked me if I could describe my new voice. I told him that I said "Yahh, you betcha". Just like the girls in Fargo.

Blue crabs 6"X12"
This painting is sold.

The Replacement (SOLD)

Do you have a cat? We have three cats now. The oldest is an ancient calico named "Prissy" or "Prissie". I am never sure. About 2 years ago Cindy noticed Prissee was slowing down a lot and perhaps only days away from death.

It was decided that the time had come to activate a cat replacement plan. A plan that would ease the inevitable pain that accompanies dead pets. We collectively decided that the best replacement was another calico. To ease the bereivement, the replacement must shared all the markings that calico cats have. We hoped to find one that was good enough to fool the neighbors into thinking a death never happened. A seamless transition from one cat to another. We try to think how our decisions will effect others.

We found the kitten depicted as a full grown cat in this painting. Her name was "Shirley", but her name tag said "Shirlee". I just ignored it. I could not, however, ignore her twin sister, Laverne. We left the shelter with 2 kittens. Laverne and Shirley. As luck would have it, Laverne died within 48 hours. It was now apparent we needed a replacement for Laverne. A new search began. The neighbors never saw Laverne, so we were less particular about this replacements general appearance. We found a skittish pastel calico in another shelter. We called her "Lovee" (I am certain it wasn't "Lovey").

We considered calling her Laverne, but it didn't seem right. I believe that our neighbors think we have two cats.

Oil on canvas 9"X12" (SOLD)

Descriptively Seeking Idols

A secret spot.

I am hanging this and a lot of paintings that are not in galleries into a one man one month show in Manteo, NC. I will post pictures of it when all the paintings are hung.

Oil on stretched canvas 18"X22"
I donated this painting someplace.

Kingfisher and Painted Ladies (SOLD)

put it on. wipe it off. put it on.

"Live to fight another day, Lads. Take some R&R. "

Its late in the day by the docks. The Shell Shop out on the highway is closed. That huge garage door is open. A kingfisher is eyeing the water below. Odd, I don't see anybody around. Sportfishing boats in Wanchese Harbour, NC.

Oil on canvas 16"X12" (SOLD)

Official Intermission (Furlough Boys) (SOLD)

I have 2 groups of 3 beginner painters come paint with me in my "studio" (aka mancave). They are all fun interesting people. Today one group all painted the painting above. I worked on it a little after they left. If you would like to come paint with us once or twice a month, contact me. Sometimes Deb says really clever things.

Oil on canvas 11"X14" (SOLD to a repeat collector)
How goes the battle then, boys? Some progress and a lot of paint on my rags, but, ".............Muck in boys. We can't win the war if we are a man short."
Oil on canvas work in progress

Boogie Shoes (on intermission)

Boogie Shoes

Oil on canvas 6"X12"

I took a break from the battlefield for refreshments.

Great generals instinctively know the moment to do that.

"Ok boys, you hold down the fort."

Welcome to the Battlefield (SOLD)

I never can get to 100% or photo real, but I can see the shapes are correct enough.The battle really is won when you decide to do "Something". In my humble opinion, the wrong line or shape will let you see the right one. Thats the way I draw, I just keeping moving the pen or brush around and eventually I will strike on the right line or shape. I believe your eye wants to forgive my errors and they fall away like texture or dead soldiers. I don't care about the color. Most of the paint or color here is just muds left over from my last painting. At this point I feel comfortable really "painting this". I will use lots of clean colors and bold brush strokes. I will wipe away the right color if I am not liking the brushstroke that make it. I try not to overwork them. I have not wiped away any shapes, yet.

This is very early on in a work in progress. I am just trying to get the shapes defined. These red boats are moored in Wanchese Harbour.

Stephen Austin spent his salad days teaching architecture at TAMU. I was fortunate enough to have him as an instructor in my first design lab. One day while I was busy tearing up my latest version of whatever we were designing, Professor Austin paid me a compliment that I did not appreciate until years later. ".....Rick, your designs look like a battlefield." I think anyone that has been forced to design anything with real world components that has to somehow function would agree. Good design never just happens. It is trial and error and only the winners should leave the battlefield. Thank you for looking.

Oil on canvas 16"X12"
This painting is sold.

Scared Crab (SOLD)

Oil on canvas 7"X5" (SOLD to a repeat collector in Mclean, Va.)

Chair Man on the Board

Oil on canvas 11"X14"

Yell Ohh

This might be considered a typical photo I would get (after a bit of cropping) while driving north on NC12 in Kitty Hawk. I love these buildings. You can see my antenna in the foreground and a slice of the Atlantic.

I had my left arm out the window holding my camera over the top of my pickup looking northeast.

I was eating a taco. My hair was perfect.

This KDH ocean front house had a new paint job this year. I don't know if anyone was fortunate enough to watch it happen or to witness the paint dry. Last year it was blue with kelp or something painted on the sides. You can miss so much not living in a big city like Kitty Hawk or Kill Devil Hills. I have always liked this house for its simplicity. I have been photographing the beachroad for 2 years now and I am more aware of the sun angles during the different times of the year. Right now this stretch of NC12 is dead on perpendicular to the sun and some sections of the beach road are not. I have never felt I got a good enough image of this house to paint it. My reference photo was very grainy, most of them are. I use the shotgun approach to photography. I click as quick as the camera will let me while driving at 35 miles an hour with the camera out the window. Don't worry, I usually don't eat or talk on the phone while I'm doing this. I have no idea what my short road trips will yield until I load them into my computer.

Oil on canvas 11"X14"

Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $185 USD plus $12 USD s/h
Or, send me an email

Call Girl Blues(SOLD)

Lots of guys come to the Outer Banks on vacation. A lot of them get anxious or depressed because they don't know how or even what to call the local girl crabs. A lot of local crabs pass through Wanchese, and you may find the locals to be real helpful. If you go down there after the "Shell Shop" closes and hang around by the docks, one may approach you. Should you ask for names, you might get a wary ".....the "Shecrab?", you can spot her by the painted red claws, that's Sally. She's pretty young. Her mother has a bit more experience, we just call her Sook."........." ..the boys? well, you must be talking about Jimmy."...."..no.nobody named John around here.........anyway, what's your name, sailor?"

Oil on canvas 14"X11"

If you really want to see some bits, click here
This painting is sold.

Unassuming in Blue Green (SOLD)

This unassuming ocean front cottage is along the Beach Road in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

My town. Oil on canvas 24"X12"
This painting is sold.

Manly Flowers (on coming out)

I have come out in the past and declared that I rush to avoid painting flowers. I am of the belief that there are more manly subjects requiring my artistic attentions. Last night, however, a chain of events set into motion the eventual creation of this work. About midnight last night I awoke to a hissing sound near the kitchen sink. A water pipe under our house had burst. I shut the water off at the meter. I am not the kind of guy that would ask his wife more than once to deal with this in the wee hours. She says she is a very sound sleeper. We spent the night and a brief part of the morning without water. I could have hired a plumber, but I did the plumbing myself. He would have charged me tens of dollars, but it was its not always about the money with me. I had the leak located at first light. I was at Home Depot with the contractors, and I had the leak fixed by 9:30 AM. With that type of thing under my belt so early in the day I tackled this subject without fear of any silly stigmas or ramifications. My manhood never in question, and it didn't take me very long either.

oil on canvas 12"X16"
I gave this painting to my daughter. damn it.

Punk Ass (Open the gate, Homer) (SOLD)

I started this painting yesterday with my Tuesday painting guys. I finished it today. I bought 2 paintings today. Something I have never done. Both by the same artist. Something else I have never done. I bid 600% higher than the minimum bid on one painting and about 250% higher than the previous high bid on the other. I hope I get them.

Oil on canvas 12"x16" (SOLD)

Bad Instructions

It is only now, decades after it happened, that I can bring myself to discuss it here with you. I was a victim of bad instructions. What is worse is that I believe I was singled out for this conspiracy. The worst of it happened at university during my second attempt at linear equations. It was not limited to one of my math instructors, I look back and see that the entire math department was in on this cruel prank. There were times when 3 or 4 instructors and tutors would tag team me and show me bits of some equation and describe the bits in smaller pieces. I am certain that none of the other students were subjected to this barrage of instructions and they all did fine. Afterwards I would have less understanding of their bits and logs with rhythm than I had before the class began. I thought it was me.

Oil on canvas 8"X6"

Nice Kitty

She wanted fish up front.

If anyone wants this painting, I will give it to you. If you don't already own one of my paintings and if you send me an email, and if you pay the shipping, I will give you this painting.
(Joe S. in Duck got it. Thanks Joe.)

Oil on canvas 6"X12"

Moving Through Here (SOLD)

When people ask me, as they so often do, how it is that I can tell the best stories, I have a prepared response. I explain that almost anyone can tell a good story. The part that comes with years of practice in manipulating facts is the knowing just what part of the story to leave out. I then add "Great artists and and story tellers have the instincts to judge exactly at what point during the telling not to mention it". I then stop explaininng, and I know they wonder at my ability to provoke thought with such limited resourses availble to me, but I remain silent. Then they nod their heads. I nod my head too, but I know it is a lie.

oil on canvas 12"X24" (SOLD)

A Fistful of Feathers (SOLD)

 This was a fun painting of a rooster on mud creek.

oil on canvas 16"X20"
this painting is sold.

Silly Fish Facade (SOLD)

This little house is "between the highways" in the shadow of Jockey's Ridge. Nags Head, North Carolina

oil on canvas 20"X16"
this painting is sold.

The Nail Job (SOLD)

Oil on canvas 6"X12" (SOLD)

First Place Winner (SOLD)

This painting ("Wanchese Party Boat") will be on the cover of next years "The Beach Book", a local phone book.

Cool. Over 55,000 copies of this phone book will be in local homes on the Outer Banks of NC. Oil on canvas 16"X20 (SOLD)

The Village Knowitall (SOLD)

I did not get much time to paint yesterday, what with life and all. Here is some progress. I have smeared away as much paint as I have applied, almost.

This is a work in progress.

I first stained the canvas with an acrylic red oxide. I let it dry. I spent about an hour unceremoniously sketching my subjects and filling in the other areas with shades of grey and yellow to begin developing the "structure" of the breaking waves. Oil on canvas 12"X20"

(SOLD) I sold this painting and I did not get a final photo of it. It was spectacular.

Thanks for looking.

Formerly Jennette's Fishing Pier

This is new construction on the fishing pier and aquarium at the old Jennette's Fishing Pier site.

The link below offers some interesting info on local fishing, and a brief discription of whats happening here.
click HERE

Beachroad Satori

This is Island Dyes, or at least the corner of the building and some trashcans. Your moment of Zen. Lord I got 'em!

Oil on canvas 14"X20"