Chicago cityscape

24"x20" oil/linen

Did this piece in honor of my recent shows in Chicago. This weekend it's off to the Hamptons for the Amagansett fine art festival.

more structures and trees

11"x14"

Did this one after the next one. Got caught up in the geometry of the next piece. So I decided on this one to tear down until I thought I had something. Still exploring the idea of trees and structures.

midwest

11"x14" oil/birch linen

Driving to and from Chicago recently, I was unusually struck by the design feature of using shade trees to cool houses. Nothing new, but it resonated with me for some reason. The houses are all on the east side of the trees. Afternoon sun is much hotter than morning sun. I just remember all the bunches of trees and open spaces.

Just a first attempt here, but will continue to do work with this premise in mind.

Old Town Art Fair

I'm in Chicago this weekend at one of the top shows in the country! Check it out.

2 sycamores w/shed

10"x8" oil/linen birch panel

Finally picked up brush. Knocked this guy out and it felt good to move paint. Won't be too long before I get rollin' again. Love these these new linen birch panels. Man, they can take paint!

The scene is where a recent tornado rolled through. Knocked the one sycamore down.

Off to a show in Oxford ,MD. this weekend. check it out if possible. Link

chester county studio tour

On the road and in the woods the last 3 weeks. Towed a few times and got drenched a few times. Off to the Chester County Studio Tour  this weekend. With any luck I'll pick up a brush soon. Maybe even some plein air work at the show. If you're in the area check it out. It's even supposed to be sunny for a change.

This was my booth at Scarsdale last week. I had to post something. Some folks thought I kicked the bucket. The bucket is full of rainwater. I dare not kick it!

abstract spring

6"x12" oil/panel

Just enough time for some sketching. Basement flooded and I have a lot to clean up before the show season starts next week in Richmond. Mold galore. Yippeee...

28 strokes part 4

6"x6" oil/panel

I continue with the 28 brushstroke exercise. This time done over a painting. I seem to be completely engrossed in the horizontal line compositions. This will change no doubt, but for now I must follow my intuition. Note: when painting over old work, strokes could be many fewer to create a believable work. This exercise is enlightening and brings awareness to the temptation of predertermining strokes and loading the brush with color. Too close to craft work ie..painting flower petals with one stroke. I am abandoning this exercise. I learned a lesson.........Paintings develope through continual interaction and reaction........... 

More Spring

20"x24" oil/canvas

Continuing to paint over old work. I'm concentrating on colors seen throughout the day. Composition resonates in my unconscious.

I have a bunch of linen on birch panels coming that will be dedicated to plein air work. Light is lasting longer and I need to be in the elements.

Yet again.......

20"x24"oil/canvas

If you remember my ode to a Christmas tree last December(?) there were what appeared to be trees about to be burned in a fire disaster.Note the 2010 signature. Well I've drenched it with paint. To combine the imagination with observation would be ideal. Leaving things in that couldn't possibly occur in nature is quite tempting. I'm guessing I won't have much luck at the next OPA competition!

More spring coverups

24"x24" oil/canvas

Another painting over a painting. I'm pushing the idea of spring through abstraction again. I might tweak this one. A counter angle in the sky might do wonders. Need to contemplate this one. I'll ponder it while we are under a tornado watch.........

spring time

11"x14" oil/canvas

The trees are budding. I took a winter landscape and turned it a season. The show schedule is coming together and the work is starting.

no strokes

40"x30" oil/linen

Almost no strokes in this one. I used a big brush and scrubbed in the paint. This is a view from the local recycling plant. Yes it is in a rural area.

I'm enjoying the dynamic of the 28 stroke series then allowing freedom of brushwork.

28 strokes part 3

6"x6" oil/panel

Hopefully, you see the hand of the artist in this series. 28 strokes. Yes, it is hard to understand, Yes, I am hard to understand. Feel free to standover, but please keep a distance.

28 strokes part 2

6"x6" oil/panel

What started as an idea has become a full blown direction. This is a self portrait done with glasses off and 28 strokes. I'm all but blind without my corrective lenses. I couldn't even see my palette properly. I mixed warms where cools should have been and vice versa. The energy that is being created is overwhelming. These things are tough to do! But I'm only 2 in and getting ideas!

28 strokes part 1

6"x6" oil/panel

Since I have a boat load of small panels I decided to challenge myself. The challenge is create a piece with 28 brushstrokes. I'll vary brushsize however will not stray from 28 strokes. This creates an interesting dilema to say the least. The darks must go down first then carved into. A stroke consists of the brush never leaving the panel. Crazy is as crazy does..... These will appear at random

Fort Hunter

20"x24" oil/linen

A local historical area. I've attempted to tackle architecture again while maintaining free brushwork and allowing light to play the lead role.

'da hood

8"x10" oil/linen

This is a view towards the capitol dome from a less than desirable section of the city. I find boarded up buildings and junk cars incredibly interesting all the while recognizing the depressing state of things that create this situation. Finding beauty in the ugly. An artists job indeed!

I'm getting grounded again and can see things I need to do.

ps. I left the dome out.

plutonium

5"x7" oil

A quick sketch based on an image burned in my brain predawn today. It's ok to play I say. Formula may please the mind, and representation might pay the rent, appreciating paint for what it is is what soothes my soul when all is said. Done.

St. Patricks Cathedral

24"x20" oil/linen

Yet another attempt at the local dome I see from my house. It is a truly impressive church to see in person. I still try to capture it. I suppose most cities have similar structures. I'm sure others are as fascinated with their own as I am with this one.........