Four Little Words

"Congratulations on your acceptance..."

In a Friday morning email, these words served to validate and reward the efforts of the past 6 weeks, as I frenzied my way to the completion of 11 new works to be juried by the Illuminations team at Mass. General Hospital.

All 11 paintings, including this one, will be part of a rotating exhibit, opening in October, 2017. Details to follow.

A Toast to Nostalgia

I had lunch recently with a couple of townies — people I've known for over 50 years. Our formative years were spent in Andover, Massachusetts — the subject of this small pastel. From a mid-century photo, this will be the basis for an oil painting.

Downtown Andover

8 x 8

Pastel on paper

Available

2017 Desk Calendars

Now shipping! Featuring 12 new paintings. 

Email me to order,  or pick up at Handworks Gallery in Acton, MA. $18 + S/H.

Open Studio December 3 + 4

Not much painting this week — I'll be tidying up the studio somewhat.

Thanksgiving

How in the world to I have the time to post this on Thanksgiving morning? I'll be hosting at least ten hungry souls. And speaking of feeding souls, painting is what feeds MY soul. This is one of a series of three, featuring the dead-end street where I live, on a late Fall afternoon.

"End of Nashoba #2"

Oil on Canvas

Owl's View

Painting a scene from a bird's eye view is such fun! This is the view from the deck of the wonderful place we stayed in this summer. Owl's Head, ME.

"Owl's View", oil on Masonite, 8 x 10. Available.

Ode to Autumn

I've been working on EIGHT paintings, believe it or not. The larger panels I've started to use take much more paint and much more time!! Go figure!!

Here's a smaller one, 12 x 12, of an interpretation of the end of our road. 

"End of Nashoba", oil on panel. Available.

Back to work!

Open Studio this weekend went well — lots of visitors, regulars and new friends.

Now, back to painting on a regular basis. Here's one I'm working on:

Downtown Gloucester, Massachusetts. Oil on wood, in progress.

Upcoming: Annual Open Studio!

Our 11th year! Hope to see some of you who are within driving distance of 01720!

Gloucester, Massachusetts

One day I drove up to Gloucester to revisit the old paint factory, which was the subject of a painting-in-progress (will post that painting later).
Someone, somewhere told me that when you are photographing something to possibly paint, always turn around and photograph what is behind you, because that can be as inspiring as your intended subject!

Rocks at Gloucester

Oil on wood

18" x 18"

Ah, Florence!

From my recent trip to Tuscany, here's a small view of a sunlit building at day's end. The luscious color of the building, typical of the beautiful city of Florence, compelled me to paint this early evening scene.8 x 10, oil on canvas.

A Conversation Piece

During a recent visit to New Orleans, I snapped some sunny photos of mostly architecture, but a few images of people on the street somehow sneaked into my camera. The shadows of the couple standing at the juncture of several different varieties of pavement was so interesting to me! This is a small canvas, 8 x 10, and I have just begun a larger version.
"Conversation", Oil on Canvas. 

S O L D

I wish I had a river...

Well, actually I have many — the Nashua, Assabet, Sudbury and Concord Rivers now, and the mighty Merrimack and its tributary, the Shawsheen, which ran under Central Street in Andover, MA when I lived there. Much of the rich industrial history of New Hampshire and Massachusetts was built upon these two rivers.

I love rivers, maybe even more than oceans. And I love painting them. Here's a pair of small oils on canvas that I've entered into a juried show this coming Fall. 

Shawsheen #1 and Shawsheen #2. 8" x 8" and 10" x 10", respectively.

Back in the USA

Just returning from 10 days in Italy. Ten days with NO politics, shootings, or television at all for that matter. Used the laptop for work only. Here's a small plain air painting that I'll touch up (slightly wet when packed in my suitcase). My first try with water-miscible oils. I found them totally OK to travel and work with. 

A Day in Tuscany, approx. 8.5 x 9.5. oil on canvas.

Departure

Finally, Spring is here! It's wonderful to see the trees greening up and to hear the hissing of suburban sprinklers in the morning.

BUT! On a recent art-supply shopping trip to Cambridge, MA, I spotted this sunny, all-concrete scene in the H Mart parking lot. Couldn't resist the bright red signage and the orange car.

"H Mart", 12 x 16, oil on canvas, available. 

A Smallie

Here's an 8 x 10 (I think) that I'm almost finished with. It's a house in Massachusetts that played a part in the Underground Railroad during the Civil War. My reason for painting it has nothing to do with the war, however — it's part of my continuing study of architectural styles around the country and world.

"Early House"

oil on wood, 8 x 10

Available

3 Paintings on exhibit

See us at the Gallery at Villageworks, 525 Mass. Ave., West Acton, MA

April 14 – May 27, 2016

All available for purchase.

ArtFest II This Weekend!

This weekend I'll be joining 13 other artists at ArtFest II. Presented by Acton Open Studios, this event brings artists from Acton and nearby towns. If you're in the area, please plan to stop in! Also nearby: Acton Coffee House, Twin Seafood, True West Brewery.

Snow Day

I found this in my list of unpublished drafts. From March 22, 2016.

We had a New England moment — a snowstorm on the first day of Spring. Not too unusual; no one around here had been foolish enough to put away the shovels just yet.
I'm not scared of snow, but had to ditch some plans I'd made. Now I had NO plan -- sometimes the best way to start an unexpected Studio Day.
I confronted a monoprint I'd made recently on a piece of wood. I consulted Bill Creevy's wonderful "The Pastel Book" to reassure myself that this was really a thing, and attacked the little monoprint with a few pastels. I made myself stop when I got here:

Spring 1

Mixed Media on wood

8 x 10 framed

$300 + S+H 

More from Tripp Street

Here's a view of the back of a building on Tripp Street. On any warm spring day, this area is crowded with shiny motorcycles and the people who own or want to own them. This oil painting on wood, 24 x 24, isn't about the bikes, but about composition, and the sun & shadows. Enjoy! (looks a little off plumb here, but it's straight in real life)

Final few days

My solo show at the Lincoln, MA public library comes down this Saturday. It's been a great show, with four paintings about to be delivered to new homes!

Next up: ArtFest II, a show and sale in the gorgeous new Gallery at Villageworks in West Acton, MA on April 9 & 10. Announcements will appear here as it gets closer.

In the meantime, I'm busy prepping panels to paint for a two-person show this June in Provincetown.

Just completed: A Pond at Daybreak, Mixed Media, 9 x 12. Enjoy!

Public Hanging Today!

Hanging paintings in a public library, that is! I hope local friends will join me at the opening reception next Saturday!

Silence in Aquinnah

Usually when I find myself on Martha's Vineyard, it's off-season and this house museum is closed. But I've been fascinated by the house and its contents, and wanted to paint a few pieces based on its stillness and position on a high cliff in Aquinnah, overlooking the Atlantic. Here's one view. Oil on wood, 12 x 12. Available.