It has actually been several months since I have produced any “New” works, and finally that dry spell was broken with a little rain the other day. Sitting on the deck after a rain storm I liked the richness of the color of the Petunias in front of me, coupled together with the fresh water droplets on them, I felt it time to break out the camera and do something.

I fired off around 8 shots and after picking the one to use, I loved the image before I even began to work on it. But in the end, I combined three exposures to produce and HDR version, then replace the two main subjects with the droplets from the original image and went about toning down the background just a little to make the subjects stand out more. Then finally after three or four hours of tweaks, I was ready to print off an artist proof and get it added to the online gallery to be available for purchase.

Although it may seem a little odd for me to do a botanical image as a new piece, this became more of a personal project rather thatn doing something I think will sell… And actually all of my images are that way, but with flowers especially. I know over the years of having galleries, that flowers are not a big seller. And of course as I wrote that, it brings to mind that the last big piece I sold was a flower image “Spring Fusion”. So maybe I spoke too soon about them being slow movers!

After making a 5×7 artist proof, I was very pleased with the vibrance of this image, so I went ahead and knocked out a full 12×18 on fine art paper and was overly pleased with the resulting image. And I guess I should be, since it could have the most hours in creating it than any of the other images in the “Botanical” section.

You can see “Pink Tunia” online at The Black Bear Art Gallery, along with a current offering of about 80 more images. And you just may find one you would like to make your own and have it to display in your home or office.

Over the past month I have produced a few more new pieces to my “Automotive Collection“. I was in hopes of getting a bunch of stuff ready for the recent Shades of the Past and Grand Fall Rod Run. My plan was to get a vendor booth and hopefully get some of these works into homes and offices across america. But unfortunately my own car that I drive had a stroke and is seized up here at home. So I didn’t get to carry out those grand plans.

Two of the new works I have to share with you today are “Big Wheels Keep On Turnin” and “Woody“. And of course both images are available from the web site “Black Bear Art Gallery“. I have also changed my print options and except for items already in stock, the prints come full size unmounted and unmatted. So now and 11×14 print is just that.. an 11×14 print. And the same for the other print sizes. The stretched canvas prints are still produced in the same way as before. So you get a stretched canvas Giclee that is framed.

See the we site for all the new Automotive Works that I have added to the collection. Also look for some kind of new face lift to the gallery web site sometime in the near future.

I guess with the Shades of the Past and the Grand Fall Rod Run in the area this month, that my creative efforts have seemed to be originated around automotive stuff.

The fifth new works in my Automotive Collection is of a proud dog in chrome that adorns the hood of a vintage Mack truck. I know I wasn’t the only one that this little canine drew attention from. As I was walking past the truck, there was already a curious onlooker there with her camera capturing images and then looking them over in her cameras LCD window. So I waited around till she was finished and then moved in for my own version of what is to be known as “Mack”

And for those counting… New works number 4 is of a vintage 60′s Studebaker front grill. Named “Golden Arrow“, although not pictured here, you can see it in the online version of the Black Bear Art Gallery and as a Giclee print here in the gallery in Gatlinburg.

Over the last couple of weeks since I acquired my new Nikon D2X, I have captured quite a few new images to be used for new works in the Automotive Collection. As a matter of fact, you could say I am now behind in getting new works completed. And with the Grand Fall Rod Run coming up this weekend in Pigeon Forge, I will probably get a bit further behind in completing new works. But for the most part you will be able to see many of them here in my blog.

Available as a Ltd. Edition Giclee on Canvas in sizes up to 22×28. Also available in a limited number of Giclee Prints on Fine Art Paper. Look for more new pieces to be added to the ?Automotive Collection? soon. Visit the Black Bear Art Gallery at 170 Glades Road, Shop 14, in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

“The Squawker” is the latest works from doctorsid and the first to be added to his “Wildlife Series” in quite some time. Although the image was originally captured over four years ago, it has finally been brought it to life.

A vibrant mix of reds and blacks and not a piece for just any room in the house. Much like “Caged Like An Animal” this new work is quite a conversation piece

Available as a Ltd. Edition Giclee on Fine Art Paper or Canvas in sizes up to 22×28. Look for more new pieces to be added to the ?Wildlife Collection? soon. Visit the Black Bear Art Gallery at 170 Glades Road, Shop 14, in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Artist “doctorsid” of the Black Bear Art Gallery located in Gatlinburg, Tennessee has added a new dimension to his collection of works. Finally he was able to capture some Civil War images from a recent re-enactment of the “Battle of the Burg”. According to government records there were several skirmishes in Sevier county and this re-enactment was from the accounts of a battle in or near Gatlinburg.

When the Civil War erupted, a number of locals joined the Union and a few went to the Confederacy, but most mountain people tried to remain neutral. When Confederate commander Colonel Will Thomas occupied the town in an attempt to protect the salt peter mines at Alum Cave, near the Tennessee-North Carolina border. Federal forces marched south from Knoxville and Sevierville to dislodge Thomas’ forces, which had erected a fort on Burg Hill.

So far only one image from this battle has been produced but look for many more to come from doctorsid in the upcoming weeks. Available in 3 sizes as Giclee Prints on paper and canvas. Visit the Black Bear Art Gallery at 170 Glades Road, Shop 14, in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.