Waiting for wine!

This glass of remarkable reflections is

an 18 x 24 painting I have underway.

It is on a panel and the glass itself is

9" x 12". I did that in order to really

have those reflections show up! And it

is way more fun to paint it. I took this

shot just before wine was served at

dinner...so you see the reflections on

the inner concave section of the glass

and the outer convex side facing the

window. Looks like European buildings,

but it is actually one of our more

wonderfully preserved towns of

Frederick, Maryland.

Oh yes, and this is about mid-way in

the process. It's not done yet!

Happy Birthday Batik!

This batik is very special for a number of reasons.

First, it is a gift for my sister's birthday which is actually

tomorrow. Second, it was done by my very dear friend,

Dikki Van Helsland. She is an excellent batik artist.

Third, it is of our childhood home, and one in which

my parents lived for most of their married life, some

63 years. I hope you like it as much as my sister does

and I do! Click on the image to see it bigger. There

is embellishment with acrylic and colored pencil for

fine details.

New work at stage #2

This is the first rough-in stage for the paint.

I have, at this point, worked on it for two

sessions. Now I can see what I want to

emphasize and what to downplay to get

the effect I want from this scene. I have

altered elements from the photos such

as the empty chair position (would you

like to join her?) and simplified the

background content.

All is a supporting cast to the vibrant

young lady taking a break. I am finding

this a very interesting color combination.

I am referring to the strong colors.

Any ideas for a title?

New work #1

Back to the easel after a LOT of other

stuff going on. This work is 24" x 36"

and this is how I start my work that has

a lot in it. I will do small works by just

painting in what I want to start, but when

there are a lot of part, angles, etc. I make

a drawing of it. In this case, of course,

I am not working from 'life'. It is a

composite from a number of photos I

took from a restaurant window, looking

down across the street at this relaxing

scene. Let me know how you like it!

I am a teacher at heart, so I like you

to see how I work!

Over the top!

I'm running out of superlatives for the skies I've

been seeing around here. How's this one for ya?

Sorry about the wires, but I didn't want to crop

any of it out.

More inspiration

I love the unposed shots of people doing what is

pleasurable, such as going out to eat in a place

with lots of atmosphere. This is the Olney Ale

House which has been there for many years.

You may see a version of this shot appear in

paint eventually!

ART started this friendship!

This photo is a memento of a passage of life.

Here the two of us have just finished a farewell

dinner. My dear friend of over 20 years, Lori Puente,

is moving across the country in just a matter of a week

or two.

We first met at a festival in the town we both lived

in then. I was demonstrating my art, and she wanted

art lessons. She took them and in those initial days

of contact, we became fast friends. Now she has

grown children and she and her husband are going

west where he has a new job and they will have many

new challenges to meet. I have total certainty that

all of them will be met with her amazing ablility. It

just will be hard to know I can't pop in the car and

drive over to see her.

Cloud perfection!

I am a cloud lover and one day last week was just

amazing around here. The atmosphere was quite

clear and so these fabulous formations were really

visible in all their tonal variations.

I was trying to drive and see all this sky spectacle

at the same time....not such a good practice for sure!

I pulled over a few times and just took photos to my

heart's content.

WOW

And again I give you glorious mother nature on

a major cloud day. This was a week or so ago, and

then again today it was just crazy gorgeous in the

sky. We've had so much rain that the visibility to

clearly see the clouds edges has been great. I may

post some of the pics I took today leaning out of my

car window.

One funny thing is that as I waited at a light today,

a guy was next to me on his motorcycle. I stuck

my camera out the window to capture yet another

cloud formation. He posed for me! But that wasn't

the shot I got. Too bad, and then the light changed

and he rode off, leaving me in the dust!!!

Click on this image to see it bigger!

The front of the Frederick Cellars Winery

Before too much time passes since my June show

at this great place, I am posting this photo of the

front of the winery. This building was constructed

in 1904 as an ice house!

Inspiration!

Driving in the truly beautiful summer

countryside here in Maryland is inspiration

for my work. Lately I have been doing

more driving out and about and there

have been some truly gorgeous vistas.

Fortunately it is not far from my over-built

town to get out into the county. Here is

what I saw on my way to another winery

that could be a possible place for my work.