A Painting A Day

Tuesday check in

2009-07-07T20:01:00.006-04:00

My day slipped through my fingers...
I had very good intentions, but it is 8pm
and I have not even started painting....
This morning Linda and I set up an exhibit
at our favorite theater/cafe called The Allen

This is not a great photo, the lighting was not
good but it gives you a general idea.

After that was finished we needed to run to the
grocery store for food for the weekend. Then
it was home to pack the van and the camper.
I also squeezed in a visit with my Mom while
Linda was packing clothes and food.
We leave in the morning for the Penn State show.

Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts
State College, PA July 9-12
Thurs. to Sat. 10am-8pm Sun. 12-5pm
My space is #A01 on Allen Street
rain or shine!
more info: www.arts-festival.com

I will be painting/demonstrating at the show
and will attempt to blog if I get an Internet
connection.

Talmont-sur-Gironde

2009-07-06T21:04:00.007-04:00

4"x6" Original Watercolor
click here for more information

We started our trip in Paris but it
was the countryside that really moved
me so I am starting with one of the villages
we stopped in, Talmont-sur-Gironde.
It is known for its hollyhocks. My first
impression was color and light. There is
this light warm blue everywhere and the
hollyhocks grow wild in every color. The
shutters and doors seem to be works of art.
It is no wonder that such great art and
artist flourished here.

I am back!

2009-07-05T21:05:00.006-04:00

I am back and am inspired to paint! We had a trip of
a lifetime. I have so many photos I do not know where
to start! There were 17 days filled with eye candy.
I must start with the reason we were even in France.
Abbey and Ben's wedding.
Here is a photo of our new happy extended family

Starting on the left is Charlie (Roz's boyfriend),
Roz (Ben's sister) Rob (Ben's dad)
Shirl (Ben's mom) Abbey & Ben (bride & groom)
Linda and me and Rashetta (our adopted daughter!)
We had a perfect day, counting family there were
30 of us to celebrate. Who would have ever thought
30 guests would travel to France for a wedding! I
will have a few more photos later.
Linda and I started our trip with 3 days in Paris
with 5 of our friends. We then rented cars and
drove down to Saint Fort Sur Gironde (about 1
hour north of Bordeaux) We had a very nice house
for our adult guests, there was 9 of us. The Hunter
party had their own house and the 13 kids stayed
in the chateau with the bride and groom. We were
just around the corner. Saturday night we all got
together and Rob cooked a great meal while we all
got acquainted. Sunday 6/21 was the wedding day.
Everyone chipped in to set tables, make flower
arrangements, sweep and all the fun stuff. All of the
guests had jobs. It looked beautiful and the bride
was stunning. That's it for tonight.
I plan to paint in the morning...
not at all sure where to start.

Monday night check in

2009-06-15T22:38:00.002-04:00

Bonjour...
Just practicing!
We leave for Paris at 2:00 tomorrow afternoon.
Our daughter's wedding is on Sunday in
Saint Fort Sur Gironde, France.

There will be no blog until after July 4th.
I plan to take a huge amount of photos,
soak in the culture and become inspired to
overflowing.

Au revoir (goodby)

Evening #13

2009-06-12T22:13:00.004-04:00

4"x6" original watercolor
SOLD

I managed to squeeze this blog
in between our friend Joan's visit
and errands. I also must confess to
two bike rides, I rode this morning
by myself and then tonight with a
bike buddy. Linda is busy laying out
clothes to pack plus we have a suitcase
full of wedding items that need go
along. 4 days... it is becoming real
now.

Lemons and Salt Shaker

2009-06-11T21:45:00.004-04:00

Lemons and Salt Shaker 6"x 4" original watercolor
SOLD

I found two lemons and a glass salt shaker
in the kitchen and set them up as a still life.
The lemons are actually more yellow than
they seem on the computer... The white is
my paper. The silver lid was accomplished
with an underpainting of burnt sienna on
the dark areas. Dry it. Then add a deep
mixture of payne's grey. Painting around
the negative spaces. Edge the negative area
around the bottom with a thin touch of
cobalt blue.

Cloud Study #3 6"x 4" original watercolor

With all the storms that have been
rolling through our area I was inspired
by the clouds.

I do not remember if I said why we
are going to France, aside the obvious
sightseeing opportunities. Our daughter
planned a destination wedding to
Saint Fort Sur Gironde. It is about an
hour north of Bordeaux.

Brick Building #3

2009-06-10T21:58:00.004-04:00

Brick Building #3 ~ 4"x 6" original watercolor
contact the studio for purchase information

I enjoy architectual studies. It challenges
my drawing skills. I worked on this
painting tonight while visiting friends.
I am one of the rare artist that actually
works better when surrounded by friends,
conversation and food. It helps make
painting the bricks go faster!

Moon Over the Blue Ridge ~ 4"x 6" original watercolor
Sold

This one needs to be studied. I painted
it for my own pleasure. A full moon in
a dark sky overlooking the rolling
mountains of green. It takes a little
bit of skill to keep it from becoming a
muddy mess. The photo does not do
this painting justice.

If you live anywhere close by and want
to stop in and see any of the blog paintings
just give me a call. I plan to be home all
weekend. We are down to 6 days until
we leave for France!!

Full Moon #2

2009-06-09T18:37:00.004-04:00

Full Moon #2 4"x 6" original watercolor
SOLD

Signs of Spring #11 5"x 5" original watercolor
SOLD

Lots of excitement around here. The
weather was perfect for our family
gathering on Sunday. All of Linda's
hard work paid off, everything was beautiful.
Then to add to the excitement, Linda had
a very bad allergic reaction. We are not sure
from what but if it had not been for fast
acting benadryl we would have spent our night
in the emergency. As it was we had an early
morning doctors appointment. Her face was very
swollen, eyes shut, throat tight, and she lost her voice.
We now have an EpiPen for our trip. We cannot
take any chances. When we get back she has an
appointment with the allergist. We must find out
what caused it. We are leaning to a nut allergy.
She has been on steroids and her eyes are still
pretty bad but she could talk a bit today. The whole
ordeal was scary. I painted in between playing
nurse so I have two painting to post today since
I did not get my blog on yesterday.

Friday update

2009-06-05T20:20:00.002-04:00

No painting today!
Linda had me running errands all
day in preparation for the family
gathering for Abbey and Ben. Now
all we need is for the sun to come out.

I will be showing on Saturday:
Foundry Day Arts & Crafts Festival
Held next to Children's Lake on Front St
in Historic Boiling Springs, PA
Saturday, June 6 from 9AM to 4PM
FREE ~ rain or shine.
My space is #129

Come out and say hello!

Full Moon

2009-06-04T22:20:00.006-04:00

6"x 4" original watercolor
SOLD

Yesterday I studied the light at dusk.
Today I went farther into the night.
I love the effects of a full moon on the
landscape. In my painting it becomes
a focal point in the composition.

I also finished this 18x14 painting.
Typical Lancaster County farm scene.
I will get it posted on my website as
soon as I frame it.

Signs of Spring #11

2009-06-03T22:14:00.004-04:00

6"x 4" original watercolor
SOLD

In keeping with my signs of spring and
farms around Lancaster County; I have
chosen an evening composition at dusk.
I am fascinated with this time of day.
Textures fade and become softer. The
sky changes the light across the landscape.
As a painter, I cannot pass this up.

In case you thought I was goofing off; I
finished my last commission and it was
picked up tonight. Even after all these years
I get unnerved until my clients say they
like it. I know I did a good job but a
commission is so personal.

I also finished this painting...
I do not have it priced but it will turn up on
my website with more info.

Fishing

2009-06-02T22:46:00.004-04:00

4"x 6" original watercolor
SOLD

Sometimes bike rides yield more than
mileage. Some of the scenes almost look
like paintings themselves. This composition
reminds me again of the wonderful Winslow
Homer watercolors of young boys engaged
in fun.

As always, I start with a pencil sketch in
my sketch book. I work out all the painting
problems at this point. Yes it takes a little
more time but I feel it is time well spent.
It saves me from mistakes in the painting
process. I get a feel for the direction I
am going and the proportions.
I thought I would share this with you.

Blue Door #2

2009-05-29T20:39:00.004-04:00

4"x 6" original watercolor
SOLD

I was excited about working on this
one today. Great warm blue against
the texture of the stone.
It has a light feel but strong shadows.

I was to help with our local elementary
track meet today but it was to wet. So
I had extra time home this morning. I
started right in on the blog. I also
played around with a sketch for another
commission, ran an errand and painted
some more. Abbey came home and we
are all going to DC tomorrow to help the
kids move into their new apartment. So
there will be no blog tomorrow!

Still Life #14

2009-05-28T21:20:00.006-04:00

6"x 4" original watercolor
SOLD

This little painting took much longer
to paint than I planned. While it is a
subject I am very familiar with, it still
takes time to build the color and texture.

I was asked a question...
Don't you run out of subjects?
No I don't. Subjects are all around you.
You just need to slow down and look. I
also do a lot of historical sightseeing and
that helps excite me. I keep a camera
with me in case I see something I want to
reference for later. Also subjects look
different at other times of day and season.
Since I am a realist I am interpreting what
I see. My eye tends to see small parts of
a whole scene and I am drawn to light. It is
hard to get bored when I can paint a variety
of subjects and I like to mix them up daily.

Farm Scene

2009-05-27T22:40:00.006-04:00

6"x 4" original watercolor
SOLD

This scene can be found often in my area;
Farmers working in the fields. I have great
respect for their work ethic. This is not
an easy job. I enjoy the patterns of the fields
and the feeling of action or motion.

It was to foggy and wet to ride bike this
morning. I wish I could say I went into
the studio and started painting but I
actually went back to bed and picked up
a few extra hours of sleep. I had a few
house maintenance chores to do. Then I sat at
my desk and started the blog painting. Now at
almost 11pm I am wishing I had stayed at my
desk but I stopped and went in to see my Mom.
Home in time for dinner and then we ran to the
mall to look for pants to go with my suit jacket.
Back home to spend another two hours on the
painting. I was feeling a little rushed to get it
finished, I don't think it looks rushed but I could
easily spent a few more hours on it. I was
inspired by Winslow Homer's genre' scenes.
Although I doubt he was trying to paint one a
day!

Lancaster County Barn

2009-05-26T20:58:00.004-04:00

6"x 4" original watercolor
SOLD

I love the red on the barns around
Lancaster County. I went with a
familiar scene for my first blog after
two weeks off...

I am back!! I had so many emails wondering
if anything was wrong. It always surprises
me that there are people paying attention.
No worries, I just had to much to do.
Thursday, May 13 was track leagues. Girls
took 1st place and boys 4th out of 21 teams.
I am so proud of them. So, track is now over;
giving me back several hours a day which Linda
plans to fill! The next morning, Thursday the 14th
we left at 4AM for a 4-day show. It rained 2 of
the 4 days. I returned home Monday, May 18
with all wet show supplies that needed to be
set up and dried. I had a house commission
that I needed to finish so I concentrated on that
instead of using the time to paint a blog. It is
finished and looks great. I look up and it is
Friday, May 22 and I need to set up again for
a 3 day show in Harrisburg, PA. So today I
was determined to get back to the blog. I plan
to get one on everyday this week.

Signs of Spring #10

2009-05-11T20:34:00.004-04:00

4"x 6" original watercolor
SOLD

Another inspiration from my neighborhood.
I am told the flowers are pansies. They
have a nice spring color and I enjoyed the
shadows laying across the porch.

I spent my weekend working on my
commission. I did not even stop for a
bike ride. This is a short but busy week
for me. Last two days of track practice,
finishing up with leagues on Wednesday.
Tomorrow I do a demonstration in Lititz.
Thursday we leave for a show. So I need
to get a lot accomplished in two days!

Signs of Spring #9

2009-05-06T22:45:00.004-04:00

6"x 4" original watercolor
SOLD

With all the rainy days we have lately
I need any sign of Spring I can get!
One sign is getting out the porch
furniture and setting out the ferns.
I found this scene down the street
from my house. Warm sunshine
against the bricks and a shadow in
the window. Simply a pleasant painting.

I spent most of my day working on my
commission. The client came to watch
my progress, you had better be secure in
your talent to do that! Off to track
practice at 3pm. Back home and the rest of
my night was spent on this blog painting.
It is the glamorous life of a working artist!
I still have a van full of wet tarps and tent
to set up in the yard if the sun ever comes out.

Signs of Spring #8

2009-05-05T21:00:00.004-04:00

6"x 4" original watercolor
SOLD

The Daily Painters suggested theme today
is "Celebrating Mom". I was stuck for something
to paint. So I asked Linda to come up with
an idea. I just knew she would go with a flower.
She went out to her garden and came in with
"Bleeding Hearts" as her tribute to mothers.
I think it is an inside joke of some sort because
she kept chuckling to herself. I never paid
much attention to this flower but it is very
delicate. She placed it in an old blue vase and
set it on the windowsill in my studio, creating
a flower stilllife but also a landscape out the
window. As a tribute to the mother of my
child, I painted the Bleeding Hearts with
no fussing at all!

Signs of Spring #7

2009-05-04T21:14:00.004-04:00

4"x 6" original watercolor
click here to view eBay auction

On the back roads of Lancaster County
Pennsylvania you can find scenes like
this one. A young farm boy riding his
scooter on a sunny day.

Rain, rain and more rain. That should
sum up my weekend. We returned home
today at 3pm with everything wet...soaked.
I need a sunny day to set up the tent and
dry everything out. We used the camper
so that also needs to be set up and dried.
Not a profitable weekend, it was even to
wet for me to paint so I did not get any work
done. Even track practice was cancelled
which worked out ok for me, after a 5 hour
drive I was tired! I forced myself to get a
blog painted. I did not want to be off schedule.

Thursday evening update...

2009-04-30T20:42:00.002-04:00

There is simply not enough hours in the day
this week. I could not get a blog even started.
No excuses, just to much on my plate.
I am packing my van and it is almost 9PM.
We are leaving in the morning for Richmond, VA
to set up for my first outdoor show. That meant
gathering up all the equiptment for showing
outside. If you are anywhere close stop in
this is a very nice show.

The show:
Arts in the Park
Held in Byrd Park along Rugby Road in Richmond, VA.
Sat. 11-6 and Sun. 11-5 ~ great variety of work
My space is #102
FREE Parking and FREE Shuttles available at the
University of Richmond Stadium parking lot.
View Promoters Website:
http://www.richmondartsinthepark.com

I will be home Monday in time for track!
No blog over the weekend.

Signs of Spring #6

2009-04-28T21:19:00.004-04:00

4"x 6" original watercolor
contact the studio for more info

This time of year the garden changes almost
daily. I love walking out and looking at the
new flowers. We have squirrels that took away
most of our tulip bulbs but this one stands
tall...and alone.

Q&A:
I received a question about my painting palette.
I use Davinci and Lukas paints. I buy tubes and
squeeze them into my tray and let them dry.
I use Yellow Ochre, Burnt and Raw Sienna,
sometimes Sepia. Cobalt and Pthalo blue,
Cadium Red and Permanent Rose, Pthalo Green
and Paynes Grey. From these I mix the shades
I want.

Q&A:
Who am I selling to?
I exhibit at outdoor shows and have always kept
a mailing list. When I started my blog I let all
my clients know. I also am a member of the
Daily Painters and have picked up new clients
through them. You need a starting base and a
plan. I do not think you can put a few painting on
eBay and expect to hit it big. I have been blessed
with clients who believe in me and love my paintings
and have been faithful supporters through out the
years. I add to this base daily.

Feel free to send new questions my way!

Signs of Spring #5

2009-04-23T21:15:00.004-04:00

6"x 4" original watercolor
SOLD

It is the pots that are moving me! Another
interesting cement pot with grapes.
This is simply an exercise in technique.
All the white is my paper.

I plan to walk around my hometown of
Lititz this weekend on a search for more
signs of spring. That is after my bike ride!
I am often asked where I find so many
subjects. The key is to slow down and
pay attention to what is in front of you.
I really look, not at the big picture but
at the small parts of a scene. I use a cheep
camera and just snap away at anything that
moves me. I bring it back and look at it on
the computer. I use this as reference.
After that, it is all in the drawing.

It did not feel like spring today. It was
a bit chilly for track practice!

I think I would like to start a question
and answer section... about art.
So if you have a question send an email or
use the comment below. We will give it a
try.

Signs of Spring #4

2009-04-22T20:02:00.005-04:00

4"x 6" original watercolor
contact the studio for more info

While this does not have the color you
think when saying signs of spring it is
still a freshly potted plant. I was
interested in capturing the character
of the pot. Making it stand out against
the white wall and step. It came across
with a warm feeling.

I was able to finish another larger painting.
This is an European jug we purchased on a
trip to MD at an antique store. The color
is a wonderful strong green against the very
old clay. It was irresistible setting in the sun
light. It will be framed in 14x18" and I
have not come up with a price yet.

Signs of Spring #3

2009-04-21T20:48:00.003-04:00

6"x 4" original watercolor
SOLD

There are literally hundreds of beautiful
planters all over Georgetown. Every
time we go visit our daughter; which is
not often enough, we try to walk the area.
Each visit brings new subjects. I was looking
for interesting planters and signs of spring.
I found them!

I had to stay focused today to get my
blog painting finished before going to
a track meet. Both girls and boys won.
We are undefeated! I love coaching.