Snow Bridge

I live in the Northern United States, and every so often its snows...a lot. Each year, everyone seems so surprised, as if they never ever expected to see snow again. This is a picture of a bridge connecting two halves of a park and golf course.

Road sketch

This is a miniscule sketch, maybe 3x5 inches(7x12 cm). It'll be interesting to see if I can push it farther. I tend to work very small to begin with, and it doesn't allow a lot of latitude. I love to ride along the freeway and look at the passing scenery, the collections of buildings and signs that are collaged together.

River and Snow

This is a small silvery river that runs through the park near me. Its a very peaceful place.

Garden

It's been a while since I have blogged, but here is a piece I did last summer, in the garden.

Rose Card

I did this little painting as a thankyou gift, and I am thinking about making it into a small card. Its tiny, about 3x4 inches(7.6x10 cm) and I was fooling around with color changes, on a very, very small scale. The more I learn about color, the more fascinating it is. Anyway, I'm going to frame it, and I hope they like it.

Portage Road

This is one of the few times that I couldn't get a good picture of a painting. The original is more subtle and less choppy looking. I'm developing the theme of the traveler, the solitary traveler through the twilight. That's him in the middle of the picture, the little dot of light on the road. Poetic, eh? But it turned out to be a Dodge pickup, so don't go and get all mushy on me.

Boys of Summer

These are the boys of summer, circa, maybe 1908. We're still playing, and somewhere, they are too.

Horses

I finally went to draw horses. I've been wanting to do this all season. They are such beautiful animals.

Blueberries and Black-eyed Susans

Gosh, its been a while since I've blogged. This is a summer picture, but one that I just finished. It's oil on linen on board.

Greenhouse

A recent painting, started on site and finished later. It's small, about 4"x5", and really only a fast sketch. I like it though, and I'm trying to blend a more polished type of painting with this style.

Little Landscape

After some very generous advice, I managed to come up with this landscape. It's small (4"x5", oil on masonite) and totally made up....I painted it in my backyard, which doesn't even remotely look like this. All in all, I'm pretty pleased with things.

In the Park

Its hard to belive this was taken about a month ago. Everything is overgrown with brambles and brush.

The Mourning Swan

A new still life. Mourning Swan is the actual name of the bird "Cygnus atrata". It's my entry in the Art Post Gallery "Black Bird" show. I went with swans instead of crows.

In the Good Old Summertime

I grew up in a very long lived family, and went back to the family home in the country every weekend of my childhood. Essentially, things hadn't changed since the 19th century, and the village it was in hadn't changed either. For every one who thinks it was idyllic, it was. There were honest to gosh church pie socials with homemade ice cream! It was also a lot of very hard work. This ferris wheel would've been considered cutting edge technology back then....

Paint Can

I am getting closer and closer to what I want to achieve in painting. I'm a little stronger technically,too. I really cut back on the color in this- only two colors and white- and it worked out pretty good, I think. It started out just as a sketch and wound up a finished piece.....although I might do another and try to refine it even more.

Black Bird

For an upcoming show I have been drawing black birds, and here is one of them.

Illustration Friday Lion DANCEr

A collage of the natural habitat of the Lion Dancer. In my world, he lives among flowers.
I've been working on a few other projects, including framing and sending off pictures to the Plymouth Arts Center and preparing for a show called "Black Birds" at a new gallery called theArtPost. The framing I had to do was really fun, I felt it was as creative as painting the picture. Some one told me to let the painting pick the frame, and it's really true. I wound up with a frames that were totally different from the ones I had imagined

Illustration Friday "Portrait"

This is done in silverpoint, on prepared paper and its a portrait of my Mom, who just turned 95 a month ago. She remembered the soldiers coming back to her little village after fighting in France, in WW1, that is. We have a long lived family, she has twin sisters who just turned 100. And her other sister, who has since passed away, was born in 1900, and remembered reading in the newspaper about the sinking of the Titanic.

Storm

A storm rolling in over the fields. It, along with two other pictures I have posted here, "Landscape" and "Country Yard", got into a show at the Plymouth Arts Center called "Agrarian Views". Drop by and see all the work!

Apple Flower

Here is a painting of an apple that was cut using one of those slicers from the grocery. It made the apple into a flower shape.

Dog Park Apple

An apple tree from the dog park. Its an amazing place containing meadows, a pond, a hard wood forest,a river, a stream and lots of nervous squirrels. If I don't get the dogs there at least three times a week, they let me know about it with incessant whining, barking and leaping for the leashes every time they hear the car keys.

Illustration Friday"Fat"

In that case, pass the pie.

Biker Apple

Why the name Biker Apple for a tree with not even a hint of Harley? Why, because it belongs to a biker, of course. Not only that, it belongs to a biker with the word "chopper" tattooed on his neck and who was convinced that I was photographing it because of a dispute with the power company, under whose lines it grew. And who was upset because he thought that I was going to drag him into a messy court case when I sued said power company for chopping down my trees while his still stood, thus resulting in him having his trees chopped down, too. And who didn't believe me when I told him I was an artist and didn't have a clue about what he was talking about. And who further didn't believe me when I explained I was thinking about doing a series on flowering trees. Actually, the look on his face was almost worth it all when I told him that. It fell into the catagory of "When Worlds Collide". I realized at that point, if Martians ever land on earth, I'm going to understand exactly how they will feel. I thanked him for letting me take its picture, gave him an open invitation to any show I might have, and then I left before he changed his mind. I think the photo turned out nicely.

Illustration Friday"Under the Sea"

It's a sunken city under the sea. I always liked sunken treasure (city) stories, so I made a collage of one. I think the people who search for treasure (and find it) are the luckiest people ever.

American Gothic, revised

This is my Great Aunt and Uncle. It's like "American Gothic" with a straw boater and snappy clothes. I love this photo.

Pears... part 3.5Bid here

This is better, the colors are more in line with what I wanted.

Pears part 3

This is the value study with color added. I might try another one just to make sure everything is in place. I'm thinking right now some darks are too dark and the lights are too dark, too. I'll have to adjust them.

Pear painting...part 2

Here's step 2 in the pear painting....I tried a value study so I could see how the lights and darks would work out.

Home for Orphaned Art

This is the newest addition to my "Home for Orphaned Art". It came from a junk store for $2.00 and it's a pastel. Some people rescue orphaned kittens and puppies, I rescue orphaned art. This is a really nice painting, but it's not signed, so there is no clue to who made it or where its from.

Landscape

I just finished this. A landscape at that time of day when you can't tell if its dawn or dusk. I think it gives a feel of that other-worldliness, and is still subtle about it. I tried for that anyway.

Country Yard

This is one of my favorite photos. When I took it, I knew I liked it right away. But it came out better than I could've expected, so it was still a surprise. Sometimes things just arrange themselves and then wait to be found.....and that is the job of the artist.

Asparagus and Orange

I love the white asparagus tied up with purple. I added an (orange) orange for a warm color. Looks pretty good, but I'm not sure how it would taste. Eating the moth is optional.

Geese

Geese are the Rottweilers of the farm yard. A hissing goose will stop most people dead in their tracks. This photo was taken last week, a respectful distance away..... and behind a fence, too.

First study for Pears

I did a study for a new painting called "Pears". It's a beginning study, really small, done in charcoal. I think this painting is going to be about color and value- close colors and close values. And maybe color temperature. Anyway I start with a charcoal sketch, just to get a feel of what to do later.

Old Barn

This is a practice piece, which means that I just keep painting it. It's gone through many variations and everytime something pops into my head to try out, this is where I do it. It had its origin at a class where someone brought in a photo and said, "Let's all paint this". That class is long gone, but this painting just keeps going and going...........

Illustration Friday "Spotted"

I'm going to be too busy to do a painting for Illustration Friday this week, so this is the entry for the category "Spotted".
It's a piece I did about two years ago. He's just breezing along, smile on his face, wind in his hair.

Illustration Friday "Speed"

It's all relative.

River and Trees

Its Spring and time for pictures of trees with actual leaves on them. Two days ago the trees and bushes had no sign of life. Today little leaves have appeared, and the trees look like they have a green haze around their branches from just those small buds.

Two Girls

This is a photograph that I found in a basement junk store. It has an almost hypnotic quality to it, the more I look at it, the more I want to look at it. It was taken in British Columbia and I think it was a summer vacation for one of the girls. Its the kind of picture to make up stories about, about the girls adventures and about their lives. I hope they were happy.

Illustration Friday "Spring" Bid here

Whew! Just in under the deadline for the ever delightful Illustration Friday. If any thing in painting this could go worng..errr, wrong, it did. But I love *Peeps, especially if they have been in a still life
for a while. Mmmmmm.
*No Peeps were harmed during the production of this painting, unless you count the ones that I ate.

Dandilions

It's Spring and time for dandilion still lifes. This is a small painting done with just a few colors and a couple of weeds. I made a digital print of piece, matted it and put it on eBay. This is a new experiment for me, I hope it'll work out.

Storm on the Marsh

It's raining today and I just finished this sketch. Its a soaking rain, not a thunderstorm, so it isn't so exciting. No lightening to start fires and scare people.

Vermeer for April 1st

One of Vermeer's most evocative and timeless images. The sleeping man is supposedly a self portrait of the artist. It was recently discovered that the original backing of this painting was a menu and beer list from the tavern where it was painted. It was removed and is now in a museum in Delft.

Oranges

Oranges was done about 6 months ago. I've been so busy I haven't done as much as I wanted to lately. It's small, about 5x7 inches. Its oil on paper.

Illustration Friday "Monster"

I thought that in monster society, they probably have portraits of their ancestors just like we do. I think this one might be from the early to mid-19th century. He's got little pointy teeth sticking out. They're too small to see well.
Its graphite and charcoal and was made for the wonderful Illustration Friday.

Genetically altered Pincushion

My favorite pincushion. I think it's supposed to be a tomato, but it has a little strawberry attached to it. It was the original genetically altered fruit. I think that makes it a Franken-cushion.

Steam Train

I found this in an old box in the attic. Its from a glass plate negative. I like trains, so this was a real treat to see. I have quite a few glass plates and can't wait to see what's on them.

Screen porch

A photo from the screen porch of my Grandpa's place.

Warmer Weather......

I'm so ready for warmer weather. Another plein aire painting, done when no coats, boots or mittens were even close to the area.
I was sitting in the sun on the side of a hill watching dogs play in the grass. Its like some mirage right now.

Highway

I usually don't do a lot of alla prima painting, but this is one I tried. If they would all come out like this, I would do more. It's small, about 4x5 inches.