I was asked to do a live abstract painting demo at the Rare Bird / Inman Art & Frames open house on Saturday, March 28, 2026. Until then I had never done an abstract demo. I did a still life demo at B3 Gallery in Brown County, Indiana several years ago, but this was my first abstract demo gig. I was a bit nervous before I got started, but once things got going, I had a blast talking about my process as I painted. 

It was a beautiful sunny and 55ish degrees day outside. I decided to do a waterless demo so I wouldn't have to mess with washing out my brushes and getting new water throughout the demo. I also used acrylic paints, which I was afraid would dry out quickly. But because it wasn't hot outside, I didn't have any problems with that. Jessica and Mike at Inman's let me borrow their tent so that cut out one less thing (a bulky one!) that I had to pack.

Several of my collectors came by to watch and new people I had never met came too. 

If you've painted abstracts before, you know that they often go through "ugly" stages or can go wrong very quickly. This was my main concern with the demo - that either one of these would happen. But, everything ended up going great! It was a perfect day.

I brought three canvases, two 24x24s and a 20x24. I brought several so I could still be painting while one or two of the canvases were drying. I bounced back and forth between them, which went great! I also packed posca pens, China markers, a spray bottle, paper towels, and a grey matters palette. Oh, and my easel! I was worried that it would be windy and knock my canvas off the easel, but I totally forgot I can lock it down on there.

I had so much fun doing this demo that I'm thinking about offering live painting demo services for events. If you have an event coming up and you'd like an abstract painter for live entertainment, just send me a message.

This was a blast and I can't wait to do it again. And, I'm offering an abstract class soon at Inman's. If you're interested, call Inman's at 812-471-8651.