clouds

Welcome. I love to paint and would like to share my paintings with you. Most days I will try to create and place a new painting here. Sign up for my emails and I will send you an image of my daily painting every time I do a new one.

“Eel Pond 1892″, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel.

In 1892 this was the northwestern most edge of Eel Pond in Edgartown, Mass. The southeastern most corner was and still is about where the houses stop on the left of the far shore. 120 years of storms and Nor’Easters have eroded away, opened, and pushed the eastern edge of the pond into itself. A small, sheltered anchorage for shallow draft boats is all that is left of the once large saltwater great pond…

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“Sandplain Dunes”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel.

I went off the path to find this location. The dunes were the highest landmark along this flat sandplain. As it went down, the sun gave its warmth and color to the winter landscape. I stayed out until I found myself working in the moonlight…

To purchase, please click Go to my eBay auction, Bidding starts at $100.00 US.

“January Dune”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel.

Rain poured on and off all day. I caught this view while painting from my van between storms, from behind the dunes at South Beach. The rain intensified the colors of the dried grass and the leafless branches of the rosa rugosa. The dark storm clouds added to the drama of the day…

To purchase, please click Go to my eBay auction, Bidding starts at $100.00 US.

“South West”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel.$550.00 USD

Fifty feet above the ocean at sunset may be a glorious view. This night it was. The breeze held off until just after the sun went down. The clouds turned blue to purple to gray. I left when I could see no more to find a color…

“The Edge of Evening”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. USD $550.00

It was close to sunset and I was on the beach road with water on both sides and a full dome of sky overhead. Going from a mostly cloudy day to lots of light at sundown made me think I had more time in which to work. This was the beginning of a fabulous sundown. It was hard not to change my colors as sky became on fire with setting sunrays…

“Awash Behind The Dunes”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. USD $550.00

This creek behind these dunes is where I sometimes catch blue claw crabs. I began this painting 2 weeks ago. When I went back to finish it the meadow in the foreground was completely submerged with water. Usually by this time the ponds connected by the creek have been opened to the sea and the levels are much lower. I was glad I began this when I did…

“Cloud Break”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

It felt like snow, but was just thick, tight clouds. I think they look denser in the winter air than in summer. When they leave, it really makes the sky brighten up in comparison…

“December Tree”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I have enjoyed this view over many years while walking past and through into a more enticing angle. Today the wind was moving too fast and I settled in the lee of a pine tree grove. The sky gave me glimpses of greatness, but the clouds held only for seconds and were gone…

“Cattails”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This is part of the view behind my winter studio in Edgartown, Ma this season. It is about a 4 minute walk from the house to the edge of Sheriff’s Meadow Pond behind me. Eel Pond is off to the left with the Sound beyond. This was one of my favorite haunts when I was a little boy. I first painted the little mud hole pond in the middle-ground in 1974 and have returned to paint here many times. There are few walkers on the paths around the pond this time of year, but I often think the winter colors are more spectacular than the summer foliage…

“Shell Fisher”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

The oystermen are back at it on one of the great ponds. Most of their vessels are gray and/or non de-script. This one has that color charm I like so much in a flat bottom pond skiff…

“The Naked Season”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

A long walk near the beach found this tree to paint. The sky went pink and orange as the sun went down. A well deserved end to a beautiful, cool day…

“Life Saver”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

Far away from all is this stretch of beautiful beach. It happens to have a bad rip tide along it. Stationed every so often there are orange boxes with rope inside and a life saving ring. These may be tossed out to the hapless swimmer struggling in the rip…

“Wind Swept”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

More cliff washed out in the past month’s winds and tides. A section slumped half way between the top of the cliff and the beach. I was able to stand on the slump, set my easel up and appreciate the new view…

“Slack Time”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I started this on a rainy evening a few days ago while sitting inside my van. I couldn’t finish it then and went back a few more times for better details. The light was not as dark and overcast the next few times. So I waited until it was almost dark for the colors to mute more like the original start day…

“Pulling The Pots”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

None of the lobstermen appeared while I was painting this, which was good and bad. It is always good to paint without too much activity happening around me, but then there is no one to pose a question to about my subject matter…

“Fuller Street”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I came into town to paint a friend’s garden, but the frost had beaten me to it. The lighthouse was just down the street…

“Quansoo to Nomans”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

A good part of the late afternoon was well spent scouting new locations to paint. I also enjoyed a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers, up close, who happened to be going my way. When my not-enough-time-left-to-paint alarm went off, I had no choice but to come down to the beach for an obligatory sunset painting…

“Autumn Field”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

I love this field and this tree and the edge of the great pond and the back of the dunes. I come here to paint and sometimes just to look, often. Each time it is different, the season, the hour, the day, the year. I almost always paint this exact same view. Yet it, also, always comes out different each time. It challenges my strengths and weaknesses and, even though I know this scene by heart, still keeps me on my path of discovery…

“Fall on the River”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

For decades I have passed this river on my way to Boston and have wished to paint it. When I finished this painting and did a quick global positioning to really see where I had worked. I was totally surprised to find this was the river I always wanted to paint. It is the North River and passes under Route 3 in Hanover and Pembroke, Ma. It looks beautiful from the highway, but even more stupendous from the river bank, especially in fall colors. I was just a half mile east of where I had first seen it so many years earlier…

“Evening Grazing”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

Finding sheep in this field is a hit or miss proposition. It is usually a miss. These are the rams of the flock and they are separated now from the ewes across the road. When they next greet the ewes, they will be very excited. In spring we shall find lambs timed to be born toward the end of March, otherwise they would be lambing all winter long. This year I also found a very cooperative sky for my backdrop instead of a bland blue one…

“A Grand Entrance”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I try not to paint at the same place too often, but the sounds of the waves brought me back to the beach. This path is the only way to walk down to this section of beach, but what a view awaits. Even with this year’s salt burt colors of the local vegetation, it is a beautiful place…

“Collin’s Beach”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I have worked on this for a few days. Each time I have gone there it has rained and I could only complete a small part of the whole. Luckily the light has pretty much been the same, and no one has wanted to go out in their boats. Today the sky opened just enough to show me its inner light…

“Lookout”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

It was sunny. Then it clouded up and rained. And then it was sunny again. But, it got cooler. What clouds were left shivered and shriveled up into tight, violet blue, cottony shapes and, defying gravity, floated on out to sea…

“Storm Brewing”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I saw this cloud bank come in and tried to figure out what foreground I could place in front of it. The storm was too far north of east to be able to think of any other place to drive to. Luckily it was very tall and very far away when first spotted. I was able to go home and get my paints and turn around and come back up to this end of the island to capture the full majesty of the clouds. I think I had about an hour to get everything in before it began to rain and I had to quit…

“Last Beach Sail”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

It was late when I arrived here at the beach. I was despairing about only having the dunes to paint. I set up my gear and was amazed to see this sailboat with 2 sailors appear. They beach the boat at the back of the dunes and followed the path up to the surf side. After a few minutes of satisfying their curiosity, they reappeared. They then shoved off in what little air there was, probably berthing at their dock as I arrived in my driveway…

“Cedar Tree Neck”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

This sky reminded me of a Caribbean sunset… except with signs of glacial activity all about. It took fast painting to get it in as the colors faded into gray very quickly and my light was not long available. After it became too dim and I had packed up, I wandered over to the shore and cast a few lures in, but to no avail…

“Fog Rolling”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

Earlier in the day the fog came in along the south shore shrouding all with silent secrecy. When I came back to paint it, I was tortured by its repeated movement back out to sea and back into land. It never gave me the image I wanted, but I took what I could get…

“Runabout Runaground”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

I was off to do something else, luckily with my paints in the car, when I saw these heavy cloud formations floating by. It was mid-morning, not my usual time to paint, but I was able to get to this location and go to work. The clouds really cooperated by staying in the same place and yet rolling by in different intensities as I worked. One was just as spectacular and dense as the last, ladened with moisture but not spilling a drop…

“Lagoon Goldenrod”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

It was way foggy up on the western end of the island when I decided to try here. The Vineyard Haven harbor and environs is usually the last place for the fog to close in upon. Today was no exception. It came roaring in right after I started to paint. But I did get to start in the sunlight…

“Lighthouse Beach”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

This was a fishing and painting expedition. Robin and I walked about 3/4 mile down the beach to get to the fishing hole and the painting spot. The weather was calm, but the tide was near low. I mostly painted while she fished. We caught a lot of seaweed salad for dinner… Oh well, at least I have the painting to show for the effort…

“Menemsha Creek”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

It rained most of my painting time here. No one was out. I parked on the wrong side of what I call “Fishermans’ Lane” and worked with my windshield wipers going on and off and then on and off. It was drismal, except for the finished piece…

“Surf’s Up”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

I went back to yesterday’s location to paint a landscape view behind the dunes and cliffs. Not only was it not raining but the surf was so much more impressive than the day before. I abandoned my plans and concentrated on the seascape from the cliff tops…

“Sunset Sail”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

Today I tried to capture another moonrise, but clouds were threatening to obscure the 30 minute painting window I had. And this sunset in the opposite direction was just too color rich an image to leave unpainted. As I worked, a small gaff rigged sailboat swung into view unexpectedly adding a human scale to the landscape before me…

“August, Mill Pond”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD

Clouds threatened from a distance and made a dour end of a pleasant day. I set up just slightly off the tarmac in some bushes so the traffic would could not bother me. A few friends spotted me as they drove by, but they were past before they could give a shout out. I painted into the dark until the passing headlight began to disturb my view. After packing up, I rushed to the gas dock in Menemsha and jigged up 5 squid for a late dinner treat…

“Blueberry Ground”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

I found this blueberry patch while out scouting locations last fall. Going there with fingers crossed hoping to find some, we ran into so many I almost forgot to get my gear out to paint. It was a gorgeous day to recreate on canvas. The clouds felt like one could reach up and eat their cotton candy hearts out. It also was a tick haven. I found 9 dog ticks on my pants but, luckily, no nymphs yet. Pie and blueberry crisps back at the studio helped me reflect on the days labors…

“Waiting”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

This is a plain white dinghy I have been scouting and photographing for a few months each time I travel up to the Gay Head Cliffs. It can be a very buggy place to paint if the wind is not right. The sun was not correct today for me as it slid behind a thunderstorm disturbance as soon as I got there. However, the bugs were almost non-existant which made my day…

“Tea Lane Barn”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

I drive by this barn almost everyday. I alway want to paint it, but… Today was the day and the sun cooperated fully…

“Long Light”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

I enjoy walking out to this locale to paint, or just to view the evening sky. From my studio, it is the closest 360º, open sky view point. This was a beautiful end to a warm day. The mid-summer field colors were enchanting in the low evening light. Volumes and shapes not apparent when the sun is more overhead were exposed in the sunset light…

“Fish Farm Fog”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

The day turned out full of fog and wind. Finding a safe set up was hard to accomplish. I used the van to block the wind and painted while Robin and friend Kathy laid out some picnic goodies. The distant Audubon Sanctuary disappeared in the fog at times, while the shellfish nursery floats and buoy added color to the muted scene…

“Evening Anchorage”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

It was raining lightly when I went out to paint. I had to stay in my van to create this piece. The sky turned yellow as I hoped it might just before I finished. A warm glow always cheers a rainy day…

“Menemsha Bight”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

On a lark, I drove up to this public Land Bank property. The path down and the beach were safely out of the breeze and held no threat of bugs. The warm evening light mellowed the distant view of a sailboat with the lighthouse beyond. While my companion cooled off in the waters below, I worked from atop the stairs as unexpected friends hailed, then passed me by along the path. As the sun was setting the first mosquitos appeared around my head and hands. Time to go and enjoy an orange moon rise on the drive back home…

“Race Weekend”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Not only is this a favorite place from which to paint, but it is the best place to capture the Cup Race sailboats at both start and finish line this year…

“Thunder Moves In”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This is the same view I painted 3 days ago, something I don’t like to do, but it was too dramatic to pass by. An unexpected, large thunder cell was moving from the nnw and was about to pour down and crackle. What had been a delicate dreamlike view in the earlier piece, became a strong, heavy, almost flat color scene. I actually had to paint in the car to get this one done because it started to pour as soon as I arrived at this vantage point…

“Dreams to Come”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

To start this painting, I stopped here, because I liked the evening view. I set up to paint and the sky turned purple and the the lavender clouds streaked through. As I included them in the image, the moon added its presence and completed the scene along with the distant thunder of the waves. The beauty of painting outdoors always reveals itself in its unexpected splendor…

“Eastville Fog”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

The fog had rolled in on my studio when I left. Sometimes it is only along the south shore and the ends of the island, but not over the Vineyard Haven Harbor. It held off there until way after sunset, but scared most day sailors into port early. This was one of the last stragglers still visible as the light left……

“Night Light”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

It was a gorgeous July day, but I could not get to my paints until late. Since it was the beginning of the long holiday weekend, a picnic was in order. Robin created a Pan Bagnat stuffed with smoked bluefish and a bottle or two of oatmeal stout was acquired to wash it down (and to keep my brush hand limber!). A light house was included for some local color and the striking sunset closed down the day, and then the mosquitoes arrived…

“Chilmark Hay”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Hay! Hay! I have been waiting for this to rolled up. Fog came in thick the day after they had cut the field. An extra day was needed to dry and finish the job. My good luck…

“Rearing To Go”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

I had been checking on this pond, waiting for the exceedingly high water level to drop. The water was into the poison ivy thickets along the shore, giving no leeway to pass unscathed. I think someone else had given up checking and now was about to find their boat high and dry. Even though I was wishing for a sunny day, here was my opportunity…

“Moon Tide”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

It must have been dead low tide when I finally began this painting less than an hour before dark. The sky had just hinted at the orange sunset way above my cloud cover. That was my only motivation to paint this scene. As I got into the rocks, their colors and shapes, I was completely oblivious to everything else. Until my boots splashed in the on coming tide and I found my easel was in the water. The full moon was pulling that tide up, fast. I moved my easel 3 times to keep ahead of the rising water before my work was too dim to see…

“Cool Spring Waters”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

A well wrapped bicyclist passed me as I worked at the edge of the pavement. She mumbled something about seeing the last of the snow clouds for the season. She could have been right as the breeze and the temperature had me working on all cylinders to keep up my body heat. Those clouds sure were purple as the sun slid over the horizon…

“Lagoon Shore”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00

A nice spring day down at the Sailing Camp found me contemplating sky, water and boats. An otter frolicked in the lagoon beside me as I worked. Ducks were at their stations farther down the shore, guarding mates and nests as the dusk settled…

“F P Farm Road”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

My muse drew me out to the end of the farm this evening, but I just couldn’t see what was there. I turned about, walking back to the van in defeat. No cow or horse, sheep or sail, just a totally flat, open landscape. Until I turned the corner as the sun came out for the last half hour of the day…

“Wishing & A Hoping”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

It is strange how a gray day can change the feeling of a location from one of hope, in the sunshine, to one of sometimes overbearing sadness. And yet a place which just yesterday in sun had no feeling what so ever, may now have a sense of comfort and coziness…

“From The Top”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I began today thinking of a painting in the woods. Maybe a tree or stonewall would do. I wandered down paths and byways scouting. Each time I came to a high spot, there was a great view of this beach, but from afar. I finally had to give in and drive down to the beach and walk up this path. And, well, this is what I saw: hazy sunset and dropping temperature as an inclement weather front floated in…

“Tidely-Idely”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

Here is a friend’s boat I stumbled across the other evening. It is the work horse for the oyster farm out in Katama Bay. I did dream about oysters all night long…

“Meanwhile”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

The day was sunny to start, but not to end. I chose a Vineyard cliff experience from which to begin. I was looking for the contrast I had felt in my head the whole time I had been away, between an Australian seascape and my familiar New England scene. I suppose, being cloudy (and finger numbing cold) helped me to really feel the difference, too. The waves below sounded similar, but, oh, were the water colors and cliff tones two seasons and a world apart… (And yes, it is always nice to be back home.)

“Cape Schanck Light”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

My brother, John, and I went for a drive-about my last weekend in Australia to the southern tip of the Mornington Peninsula, due south of Melbourne. It is a rugged coast with sand and an overlay of ancient lava from past volcanic activity. We stopped long enough for me to paint this lighthouse. Moseying onward we got out and followed a rolling hill path to a seaside overlook. Discovering 200 well heeled revelers way out ahead of us on an ocean bluff, we turned to go and nearly walked into the bride and bridesmaids. They were in full attire gently gliding down the footpath to make her grand entrance. Farther along our journey, we found a helmeted man hanging onto a pair of wings about to jump from a cliff into a stiff headwind. He survived and soared off into the wild, blue yonder…

“Eucalyptus”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

I had some extra helpers while working on this painting out on the farm. Two yearlings kept prancing up behind me and giving me nudges while trying to rummage in my canvas bag. It took me a few times before I realized the apple smell in there was too much for them. Ah well, sometimes it’s good to share my snack…

“Beach Boxes”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Some would call these boat houses, others beach shacks. Here on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, the locals call these beach boxes. They are generally used to house beach towels and chairs, windsurfers, kayaks, fishing rods, grills etc. All are painted bright colors to help distinguish them from each other. I had hoped to paint a closer image of them, but the ocean had hauled away sand and cliff last year. The powers that be were moving in new sand and boulders to try to rebuild the beach and surrounding bluffs. My present view was somewhat blocked at this end of the shore…

“Winter Eve”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I could not resist another field of Little Bluestem grass. This is a tree I love to paint in all seasons. It is near a mailbox which says “Old Hunt Place” and for lack of a better location name, call it just that. Every viewing is different as time and seasons change and weather moves in and out. Sometimes I walk away empty handed, yet still relishing the view…

“Tea Lane Farm”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

I pass this scene in winter many times during the week. The Little Bluestem Grasses in the field turn a golden orange during the cold months. Sun hitting it late in the day gives it an extra boost of color against the bleaker landscape. Today I stopped to finally paint the view and was excited at how easily it all fell into place. But then I had been composing it in my mind each and everytime as I drove by…

“Approaching Storm”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I tried to do this outside as ice formed in the puddles and the cold air was streaming in on a 35 mph wind. I got a start in my van, but it, too was rocking from the breeze. The studio was a nice warm spot in which to finish this…

“Candle Light”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Rain was coming down and it was very late for me to start a painting before darkness came. It was already too dark due to the storm clouds. I was despairing and to cheer up my spirits I took a drive out to the lighthouse. What a treat to find it at this balance of light out and lights in…

“Carried Away”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

It was a gloomy, rainy 40ºF day, should have been snow except for the high temperature. Late afternoon found me itchy to get outside with my easel. The rain and mist and fog seemed halted. I got to the beach and set up amidst the roaring surf and falling cliffs. I wanted to hug the cliff face as the tide seemed unpredictable, but it was literally dropping wheel barrow loads of clay and peat onto the sand by my feet. Not too safe, but clear of the breezes which were about…

“Break Out”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This was the painting I began over a week before, and then the trouble started. It was a very cold day to work outside and my paint started to act sluggish. I finished as quickly as I could on site. Then I put all away in my car and went off for a dusk stroll, hoping to hear an owl or two. Did I mention I also wanted to exercise my feet and hands so they would heat up before climbing into a cold car? I walked for a half hour. No owl calls, but I did warm my extremities. When I arrived home and made a quick dinner, my core was still cold. I felt a short nap under the covers before finishing this piece would set me to rights. But I went out like a light. No painting finished and when I awoke, next morning, I felt a cold coming on. I’ve been out of commission for most of the last week, but now that I am really ready to go out and paint again, it’s going to be in single digits for another day or two. Maybe some indoor still lifes are in order?…

“Tide Melts Snow”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

Snow came in during the night. By morning everything was covered by 4″ of white. Afternoon and the high tide melted all snow off of the marsh grasses. The island and lands all around were still laden with snow, but the bare naked marsh added an eerie dimension…

“Lightening Up”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This was the tail end of the storm, a true Nor’easter. The wind was gusting to at least 50. Even inside the car painting, it was rocking. I made a sketch and some mental notes, but had to finish in the studio. I wanted to capture the low light before darkness. That always creates a problem because it does get dark fast then…

“Approaching Snow”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

I was going to do a painting of the western sunset sky, as it had a nice passage of evening light below the clouds. Yet, the drama was really the eastern view. The night’s snow storm was approaching. One of the darkest setting skies I had seen in a long time…

“Wash And Wear”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Nothing like a sunny day with no breeze in the midst of winter. It was just warm enough to work without any gloves. Although, fast I did work with the waves rolling in next to me…

“Marsh Waters”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

There are certain areas of the marsh which are tidal pools. From high to low tide, they never fully drain off, but are replenished by the next high tide. Other areas have direct drainage through the marsh waterways to the rivers and thus to the ocean tides. These places will move from empty to overflowing and back again during each tide cycle. I enjoy the sky reflections on the tidal pools. It is as if a mirror was laid down in the dark grasses giving a strong contrast of light to dark as the daylight fails during the sunset hour…

“Down Hill Short Beach”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

One the few locations with a country lane, beach, water and distant shore. However, there was too much wind to paint out in the cold. My van, parked in the right direction, made a great portable studio. Toward sunset the clouds sweetened the view…

“North of the Light”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I found this view last time I was painting the light house. I didn’t factor in the wind and wind chill when I went two evenings ago. My friend Donald loaned me a bright yellow/green rain slicker to announce myself properly to any hunters about. He was especially concerned as he spotted a buck with a good rack creeping away from me as I entered the underbrush. I found my spot, set up and started right in only to have my easel fall into me as I bent over to clean a brush. Fixing that, I went on working until the gusts came in again. I lasted about an hour before light and breeze had me wanting to go home. Wind chill was in the low 20º’s and I had a bit of a time following my path back thru the underbrush in the low light of the afterglow. But, like always, it was a fun outing just to experience the air and evening light…

“Snow Clouds”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I look forward to visiting this meadow marsh in the fall while the salt hay has its way with orange and gray. The hills roll on into the background, while this field is perfectly flat. Only a moon tide changes it when it becomes submerged a few times each month…

“Mill Pond”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I drive past the Mill Pond almost everyday. With a great sky, clouds or thunderheads, off in the distance, the view is just waiting for a painter to capture it. I missed my few opportunities this past year until now. My friend, Joannie, is the local Animal Control Officer. She has been saving ducks and geese and swans with wing or feather damage and placing them here in the Mill Pond. She comes by late every afternoon to feed them and see how they are getting along. When she brought in the first swan, I started to dream about this painting. Then news came that “Bob” was actually “Bobette” when she brought in another hurt swan. Bobette is currently enjoying her second companion as word got out that the 1st companion to arrive was so damaged as to flow over the waterfall and drowned…

“Flow River Flow”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

Almost missed this one. On any other day, with steady wind in the 25/30 mph range, I would have been sand blasted out of my dune cover. But with a heavy rain last night and early morning, the sand was still packed hard and moist with no chance of a dust up. My parka on and hood up it was a great place to paint and watch the light turn down…

“Some Enchanted Island”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I have been lugging my paints along with me on some recent trips to the mainland, just incase I am inspired. This is a view near a friend’s house in a town, oddly called, Marshfield, MA. In early US history, pioneers would venture forth in flat bottomed skiffs and harvest the salt hay, marsh grasses, rinse it and use for livestock feed. What look today like mosquito control ditches throughout the marsh are actually town or farm property demarkation lines. Your hay is there. Mine is here. Stay away! The Indians were aghast at this European sense of personally “owning” the lands. Now, sadly, Indian place names are the only signs left of their former “stewardship”…

“Poison Ivy”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

This piece was created about 3 weeks before yesterday’s painting. I am standing at the same location, too, but looking more northwest, rather than west. It is the only spot on Martha’s Vineyard where there are so many small marsh islands and terrific sunsets as well…

“Islets”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I have been here to paint three times in the past month. This is the first to be finished to my satisfaction. Each time is so different from the previous one. The sky was singing in today’s view and I was bundled up in my winter parka with hood to keep the coolness out…

“Light On The Backside”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

A sweet afternoon of warm sun and breeze until the light air turned into wind and the sun, shadow. Upon reaching the van I found I was wearing 2 shirts, a fleece, a vest and windbreaker. But I was happy to have caught this image early, in the warmth of the day. I probably never would have considered this view if it had not been for the tumbling shadows on the hill side…

“In The Shadows”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

This was a quick sketch as the sun darted below the tree line, the field filled full of shadow and the cloud cover warmed from the setting sun. At that moment the cattle came up the field in front of me. This gave opportunity…

“Sepiessa Sunset”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

I did not paint this from inside the van because of the wind or potential for rain. I worked from inside due to the large clouds of mosquitos ready to complete their birth cycles the moment I opened a door. It was an excellent choice for it started to rain soon after my start. The near opposite shore was intriguing to paint because the blueberry leaves had all turned a deep, dark red. They just barely stood out against the brightness of the sky and darkness of the land mass in the lowering light…

“Early Fall”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This was a tough call about rain or not. Drizzle happened, but only on my drive to the parking area. The sun poked and prodded, but could not get through. My light stayed constant for the few hours I was there, both painting and exploring for other vantage points of view. The only small mishap was an unleashed dog passing by with his master. After a short, cool swim, they had scaled the dune to investigate my work. The dog took the stop as the perfect time to shake water and sand off his coat into my easel case… Drat…

“West Wind”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

I was hoping for a good sky when I set up to paint. I just didn’t realize how good it would be. I think I made up for it with the colorful fisherman’s gear on the dock!…

“Fall Equinox”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I had tried to capture the moon on my canvas the day before, but it became very overcast by sunset. Tonight was gorgeous and worth the wait. The combination of clouds turning orange and the moon just popping through the horizon darkness made it even more enchanting. Even the mosquitoes paused in their work to equally enjoy the view…

“Growing Sweaters”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This was a beautiful partly sunny, partly overcast day. Some of the overcast parts were dropping rain and yet the sunshine was on either side of the cloud banks. This enhanced the drama of the day…

“…And Not Alone”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

It was raining. For some reason it stopped as I got my easel out to paint this scene. Fall colors are beginning to announce themselves here in the marsh. I love to capture them as they proceed from vibrant greens to orange and rust. Happy and sad all at once, as the season changes from warm to cool to cold…

“Still Evening”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

This is a view I have never painted before. It is probably one of the most dramatic places along the Island’s south shore from which to work. I did not paint it in, but you may see on a bright, clear day the water tower in Edgartown and with binoculars, Nantucket Island, too. The sky and sun seem to move faster as it gets dark this time of year. Or maybe it’s just me, caught up in my paints…

“Light At The Head”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

I haven’t painted with another painter since, maybe, May. Partly because I never know where I am going to go. And partly because cell service is so bad up-island that I couldn’t say where I was when I got there. Today was different. My old friend and painting partner, Cheri, came out with me. It still didn’t stop me from driving around in circles stopping and looking to find THE place. However, when we got there, we KNEW it! We had a lot of fun painting and talking. She has been painting in the studio all year on mostly large canvases and has been dying to get outside to work and I am really ready to go into my studio and work on larger pieces. So we were able to compare lots of ideas with each other while we worked. And, of course, the sun did not disappoint us…

“Quansoo Goldenrod”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

The Quansoo gate is locked from May until September, when it is finally opened again for the fishing derby and the rest of the winter. It is a long drive down a bumpy dirt road, but well worth the occasional tree branch scratches along the length of the car to get there. Under a big domed sky at sunrise and sunset there can be an infinite numbers of colors and reflected colors to tickle one’s fancy…

“Sunstreaks”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

With thunderheads floating about in the way of the sunset, I thought this might be a painting opportunity. I did not anticipate the sunbeams streaking out across the clouds, nor just how fast the colors would change from moment to moment…

“West Shore, Tashmoo”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

Except for a few fleecy clouds early on, it was a nice, crisp, clear day. Late in the afternoon, white mare’s tails appeared in the western horizon. I took a chance they they would be high enough in the sky to capture the orange light of the setting sun. I started painting and the sky started glowing…

“Riding Out the Storm”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Mid afternoon I found a painter friend painting along the docks. It seemed risky as Hurricane Earl was spitting water down. Able to get my iPhone to work at a signal sweet spot, I looked at the current radar map. We were between spiral arms of rain emanating out from the core of the storm. We painted intensely for about 45 minutes before ducking into our cars when the next arm swung over head. One more clear spot for about an hour and we finally packed up just as the rain began in earnest…

“Final Bow”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

I was almost too late for this painting. I set up quickly and painted until I couldn’t see the mosquitos buzzing around my head anymore. It was a still, warm evening and I could hear the flocks of birds as they tried to settle in along the shore trees for the night. At first they sounded like an electric car driving around the sandy corner by me. Almost no noise until they were upon me with a subtle whirring. I was lucky nothing landed on my head or palette…

“A Goodbye”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

An artist friend treated me to a new, private location from which to paint. It was fun to see old favorite views from a different angle/perspective. However, it was the vanishing sailboat which drew me to paint this view. It is not often I may find a dune with a path through it and a sail off in the distance. Nor is it often, in the summer season, when there is a beach without a multitude of people upon it. I was grateful for the quiet…

“Heaven Light”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

It rained for many days. This was the closest to blue skies we have had. However, I had to wait until the very end of the day for the sky to rent. Then the colors came tumbling out. Anticipated and welcomed on many levels…

“Across The Dunes”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

I began this two days ago along with a larger one. Yesterday was too breezy to go back. Today was better, but I had to finish this one and did not work on the larger one. Luckily there are lots of splendid views here. I will go back to finish the bigger one and do a smaller one of one of the other views. For lack of a more meaningful name, I call this location, “the old hunt place” as it is stated on a mailbox a few properties away…

“Water Glimpse”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

A mellow sunset was due to the high, thin cloud cover muting the setting sun. The freshly mowed field gave me little islands of green throughout the landscape, but no hard, dark shadows. The dryer sheets I put in my pockets and under my hat seem to fend off the mosquitos. Then, again, it might have been the breeze which kept them away. A calmer day will be a better test next time…

“Fleeing Storms”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

This was a short and quick painting session. Short because I got there while the sky was rolling out the colors, but right at sunset. Quick because after 25 minutes it became hard to choose my pigments and the recent rains brought out all the mosquitos and then some. I never packed up faster and ran to my van…

“Out To Pasture”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

Catching a wind as it cooled down, I wandered the pastures and looked around. I could have been here or there in Texas or New Jersey, Colorado, you name the place. Water, horses, cedars, field, sun playing the end of day… it felt just right…

“Asters”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

A rainy afternoon, evening painting from the van. The sky held back until close to dark when it ripped. I barely got the window cracks closed. The wind was from the best direction to show this boat in profile. I’ve been scouting it for 2 months and nothing was a go before. Light or wind or traffic, something was never right…

“Boat Launch”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

A quiet ending to a busy day. Even the mosquitoes had something else to do until the sunset…

“Anniversary”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I am celebrating this week as it will be my 4 year anniversary of doing a painting-a-day. I still can’t believe it. It was also the anniversary of the man I met on this beach path who handed me a beer while I was finishing this scene! Happy Anniversary to us both!!!

“Eastville Evening”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

This was as close as I got to the water today, about 50 feet. But that was good! It was breezing and cool. I appreciated it as the perfect spot to paint from. I was able to pick and choose the boats to put in, there were so many passing by. The atmosphere was smoky, meaning the far shores were soft and decked out in shades of French Ultramarine Blue. I stayed on until it became too hard to differentiate and choose my colors…

“The Evening Run”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

It was mildly sprinkling when I left my studio for this evening’s paint. The northwestern sky looked promising for a break to the leaden gray which had been overhead since yesterday. I wended my way past other potential choices before arriving at the end of West Chop. A distant sail caught my fancy as did the rent sky along the horizon. The ferry and jogger came as I was nearing completion, a gift for one who waits…

“Home Port”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I was testing out my new “camera” here today for zooming and distance. Suddenly I realized this was were I should paint as well. What a beautiful afternoon, marred only by the fire at the U.S. Coast Guard Boathouse at the other end of the Island in Menemsha. Luckily there was no loss of life. I will miss painting that red roof and crisp white exterior in major contrast to the fisherman’s shacks seemingly in disarray all around it. Hopefully they will soon rebuild in a similar style…

“Thunderstorm Aweigh”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

The open sky over the harbor had so many different surprises in it today. Multiple thunderheads floated by during the afternoon with dark gray clouds. Then dark-blue purple clouds and even some on the warm yellow side of the spectrum. And do sailors like to sail on Saturdays! Countless different rigs floated or motored past my vantage point…

“Power Boat”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This part of the Island was not fogged in at 6 p.m. as most of the rest was. The skies behind the light were dramatic and fleeting as arms of fog swept in and out before it settled on me just before sunset. Things started to get moist as I packed up my gear in the muffled evening light…

“Sunset Oyster Boats”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

The other day in the fog I found a small fleet of flat-bottomed pond skiffs around the bend in a cove by the Ospray’s nest. It was drippy wet that day, no wind and flocks of mosquitos, not a painting day. Today was much better including a good breeze to keep mosquitos at bay until darkness, when I packed up and had to run!

“1st Launch”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I watched as John put his freshly painted boat in the water. He went off fishing for an hour. Came back and hauled his boat back out. Slowly, he drove off down the beach, pulling, by accident, someone else’s anchor line attached to 3 other boats. The line went taught. I yelled “STOP” and he did! Just before the other boats would have dislodged his from it’s trailer. Bad boat manners by the other boaters…

“Sand Bar”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I missed the best part of this view. The catboat with the dark sail which is cruising in to the the dock got stuck on the sand bar, just after I looked up and saw them. I didn’t look up again for a few minutes as I stooped to clean my brush and mix some new color. When I next paid attention they were under sail heading toward the dock to my right. One sailor had jumped overboard and pull-pushed the boat off the sand bar and climbed back aboard between my glances…

“June Moon”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

The weather began to clear near sundown just as a solitary thunder cell rolled past. I raced up here to this vantage point and was able to enjoy the colors flash as the light subdued. Suddenly the moon came out of no where and began night time illumination…

“Through the Grove”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. USD $500.00

There was breeze enough to keep me happy… and mosquito free! The sky unfurled lazy waves of orange above my head against a mellow blue-green heaven. A man and his dog on a tight leash walked past to sample the evening air. The dusk faded to a dark blue and I could see to work no more…

“Clearing”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I found open western sky with a wind break to catch this change of weather passing. It wasn’t an impressive sunset, nor did it stay clear for long. But for this moment, it was enough of a change from the gray sky color to give a sense of optimism…

“Eastville Jetty”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Another day ending getting wet before finishing painting. Shadows gone, shades of gray, subtle colors, and foul weather sailors to brighten the harbor entrance…

“Out of the Blue”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This was a beautifully sunny day as I set up to paint. A storm front came in. I got wet before I could get my paints safely into the car. The clouds were intense to look at, complete with thunder and lightning and a rainbow at the end…

“Fog on the Chop”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

The ocean air and the land air have not been at equilibrium. Fog has washed over for 2 days at a near constant pace. Colors are amplified, if they are close by, or muted farther away against the graying mists. Paints, canvas and gear becomes damp if out too long in the dripping air…

“Sunset Fire”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This is the following painting to “Sunblind”, which was posted around May 6 or 7. The sun had gone but the clouds were radiating off key colors in the afterglow. They were so out of the ordinary colors that I grabbed this second canvas and began furiously capturing what I saw and felt. There are times when I see and experience a landscape moment, which is so intense that I say to myself, “no one would believe this if I painted it…” This was one of those moments. The colors were changing so fast that I had to paint the clouds first and then sunglow, before I could even think about anything else in the image… I think I got the essence here, but am forever looking for my next chance to be there and get it again, but, isn’t that always the way?!

“Quitsa, Smoke & Mirrors”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Today was a day of forest fires up in Quebec, Canada and smoke all the way down here on Martha’s Vineyard. Hard to believe but true. The result was a blue haze out in the landscape distance. Sunset was more diffused and probably redder then normal. The blue distance boosted the red color of the sun, just above it before it sank into the sea…

“Not Working”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

It was a rainy evening in the fishing port of Menemsha. I sat in my car and worked on this with no interruptions. All the fleet seemed to be in and the crew were all at home, waiting for a better day. This pile driver has been in the vicinity for a few weeks. It has been tempting me for a while…

“Cliffs Above”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I had a beautiful hike to get to this view. It was a favorite fishing spot when I was younger and you could still walk straight down the cliffs and straight back up with 40 lbs of fish at night! Now the path parallels the cliff tops for it seems a mile before you may access the beach. Then walk the mile back again along the shore to get around to this corner of the cliffs. The wind was mild and right. Sun out all day and tide couldn’t get any lower, yet kept getting lower! A lone bird watcher passed me and I was alone with gentle surf sounds at my back and a gull or two gliding softly overhead…

“Spring Green”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Today was the first day of real green back in the landscape. The dune grasses, beach roses and some of the trees are now dangling green leaves and blades. It has felt like a long wait for this moment to arrive. A joyous moment indeed!!!

“Sunblind”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Tortured skies have appeared before sunset recently. Only to be trumped by magical settings. As it happened this eve, I expected rain upon my walk to this dune top before the clearing would commence. Dry I stayed as sky went into its multi-colored wrappings. I was so excited by my good fortune, and was able create two paintings before the final curtain call. This one is the earlier, mellower sky. The second I will post in a few more days (just so no one gets bored by the same place two days in a row)…

“Windy Beach”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

It was a beautiful warm and sunny day, until this island crossed paths with a few cool, dark thunder cells towards evening. I was forced to work in my van to create this painting. It only just cleared at sunset, bestowing a glowing radiance on top of and underneath the remaining clouds. The sky and the clearing manifested many surprising choices to put onto my canvas…

“Harborside”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

The fog was rolling in. The harbor is usually the last place to be fogged in. This is due to the configuration of the landmass and the fact that fog generally comes in from the ocean side of the island before the Sound side. The Lagoon was already choking up. Painting here was my best and last hope of beating the fog and darkness…

“Dusk Light”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This is one of the rare views of the Gay Head Lighthouse with a sunset backdrop. Most public viewing is from the south or west of the light. With close to 30 pounds of gear, it is a 1/3rd of a mile hike downhill from parking at 190 feet above sea level to near sea level and then back uphill again. Always great to get there and great to get back to the van before dark sets in. No coyotes passed me on my return that I could see. A few bats flew across my path, but I relish their presence as they are mosquito vacuums with wings! If I have judged everything correctly, the light should be good when I get there and the wind will not be funneled up the path directly at me. This evening was a sweet night down there…

“Broken Skies”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

Rain and sprinkles were off and on. Skies were dramatic all day, but never safe enough to paint. My van became my movable studio with hopes of sunset drama. Found a spot just out of the car shaking wind, yet with water and sky views. The show came on suddenly, and just as rapidly was gone. The muted landscape colors gave added emphasis to the orange sun streaked skies…

“Splish Splash”, this is a small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

A northeast breeze and almost full moon tide made for a noisy beach today. The rollers came in and punched up and down the shoreline I was on. One splash off the rock I was painting flew just over my shoulder. Quitting time…!

“Another Day”, this is not quite so small a painting, 9″x 12″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Note: I ran out of my usual small panels. This is a 9″ x 12″ painting (larger than my normal 6″ x 8″)… A beautiful evening to be painting above a cliff as the sun settles over the horizon. Waves lap against the sand below. A Northern Harrier swoops low overhead on a flight across to Nomans Island in front of me. I stayed even after I could see no more to paint. The water colors at this time of evening against a fading sky have been spectacular for the past few nights. I am preparing myself to do a piece this late in the day, but the light gives me no chance to mix the colors I want. It is just too dark to see color, only values on a gray scale…

“Storming Up”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

My judgement was off and rain came while I still painted near the steps. Nothing serious because the car was close and the rain was slow to build into a down pour. But, what drama over water and sky! The sun popped for 10 seconds betwixt clouds and earth, a soft, muted, orange ball. I had painted everything except the orange streak, not expecting more than that. It was worth every rain drop…

“Where Oysters Hide”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

A quiet place to paint and contemplate. A stop to smell the roses. A beautiful place for sunset and sometimes making new painter friends. Even if they are only 5 years old…

“Sunset Squall”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I had no ideas of painting the ferry when I pulled up to the dock to check the harbor, weather and wind direction. But, there it was, begging for a portrait. Knowing it was halfway unloaded and I would only have it for 10 more minutes before departure I worked at fever pitch. Looking up I saw this slight glow on the belly of the squall line coming in. The next minute it was a full blown glow made more so by the dark of the impending squall. The boat set off as rain began sprinkling down. I moved to a nearby porch to finish up in the quickly fading light…

“Quitsa Strider”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

It was raining or misting all day. No chance of doing more than a set-up through the van window. Gray sky tried to give me some color at sunset, but barely a blush came through. I am grateful that fishermen like color in their lives….

“Dune Top”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This sunset was a gamble. I was going to do a still life at home, but happened to be passing this area and decided to lug my paints down the long path to the beach, just in case. The sand on the dune top had piled another 5 feet higher from the winter winds compared to my last visit in August….

“Walking the Dogs”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

It is hard to tell this was started half an hour before sunset. The light was so unusual. The south shore was already socked in with pea soup fog as it came north on its way to envelope the entire Island. This north shore beach was not engulfed until after I had finished painting and hiked back to my car. At that point everything suddenly had a thick, damp blanket laid over it. Not unlike how a glassful of icewater on a warm summer’s day has minute water droplets all over the outside. Everything became immediately moist and muffled. Driving home, next to a south beach, was wipers on, lights on low and driving very slowly. Any deer could have walked out in front of me and only as it was hit would I have known it was there. I was grateful my gear and I made it back home safe and dry…

“Mates for Life”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

These swans found me as I was wandering along this shore line contemplating what to paint . They floated from around the corner and seemed unconcerned with my activities of setting up. Of course it did help that I, well, we were in the lee of an ESE 6 mph breeze. The sun was cutting through the light cloud-cover and I felt toasty warm in just hat and vest for overclothes. As soon as I had the swans painted in position on my canvas the breeze swung to the NE, heading right at us. The birds swam on to another cove. I was grateful for my hooded parka in amongst my gear to get me through to the finish…

“Behind the Dune”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

A wonderful warm spring day found me up on a dune enjoying a favorite view. The waves lapped lazily down below while birds could be heard behind me claiming territory and calling mates. A jogger drifted past from on the beach exchanging pleasantries. And then I was alone with my paints and thoughts and the beauty of it all…

“Morning Bright”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

Continuing with my daffodil obsession, I found this orange cup by a neighbor’s stonewall. I couldn’t paint it where it was or I would have been found run over by the side of the road. So I cut and brought it home to paint outside on the east porch (in a vase) with this actual wall and view behind it. Plein air, sort of, alla prima for sure…

“Table Rock”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

If this glacial boulder was tipped just a little bit less, it would look just like a flat table top. It sits in 3 to 6 feet of water in the tide zone of the north shore, within splashing distance of Split Rock to the east. I took notice of it when I did the painting of Split Rock last month. I had to wait for another windless, overcast day to go back as I was after the shadow/reflection in front of it on the water. In the summer months the proliferation of plankton and other sea life would not give the same beautiful shadow water color as winter water does. Today was good until the fog banks rolled in, the water turned dark and I had to abruptly pack up…

“Fair Winds Ahead”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Architecture is more demanding to master than landscapes and I had two beautiful sunny mornings to work on this piece. For some reason, these compass points revolve about in the winds. It has always irked me that they are never correct each time I have painted this cupola. I got my ladder out and gingerly climbed up and over lattice and rose thorns to get to the set screws. A lot of good that did me as the rod the whale and all are supported on revolves mysteriously about with no set screws in sight. I had to quickly step back down and draw the points correctly before a gust moved them…

To purchase, please click Go to my eBay auction, Bidding starts at $100.00 US.

“Boathouse Talk”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

A truly gray day, a few days ago. This is always a nice place to duck into out of the wind, but the mist made it more complicated. Buds slowly starting to swell are incrementally changing their color shade. The wetness only intensifies the color values darker. My kind of drama in the landscape…

“Harbor Sunset”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

This is the first sunset with clouds which we have had in a while. I happened to be close enough to this large open sky to actually start the painting after the sun had set. It was a challenge to grab the correct colors while moving extra fast, but my past vocabulary of paint, although feeling shaky, held true…

“Over Misting”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This is a slightly different perspective on the Lighthouse because it was another paint from inside my van day. It was breezy and raw outside. Then the mist came in and shrouded the far shore. My windows became coated with millions of tiny droplets of water. It was time to finish and head home…

“Rain, Winter Mooring”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

I sat in my van painting during this windy storm. It was so windy, coming from the Northeast, that the rain hit all my windows except the windshield which was facing Southwest. What a pleasure not to have turn on and off my car to use my wipers. Aerodynamically, the wind was literally floating all the droplets over and around my windshield horizontally. So much so that, when finished, I jumped out of my car to put some gear in the back, thinking it wasn’t raining, and got drenched! I have been eyeing this pond skiff for a few weeks. Sometimes on sunlit evenings the boat glows with the reflected evening light. Today, in the rain with the wind tugging at it to loose its mooring, it really seem to put the whole day into perspective…

“By The Bass Stand”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Low tide was a good time to paint this special fishing spot. It helped to illuminate the mussel bed point with all the rocks at its best profile. It also accentuated the usually half submerged rocks in the mid-tide zone along the near beach. Plus a larger area of wet reflective sand was visible. I was lucky, too, that I was the lone vehicle in the parking lot at that hour and could park any way I wanted…

“The House Above”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

There was a cool breeze chilling me to the bone while I prepared this painting. But it was to the good, as I worked very quickly. Monet had his doggy sweater on, but he hovered by the car door anxious to get back into the warmth. (I’ll post a photo of him on my FaceBook page.)…

“North Shore Magic”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This is the closest sun sighting we’ve had in about 5 days. It never really came out, but it did paint the water for me. I was glad I stayed outside as long as I did to capture this moment. Monet wasn’t so happy. He had already headed back to the car with thoughts of warm dog food on his mind. He had his priorities straight!…

“Short Beach”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

Rain, snow, clear, rain, sleet, clear, mist… it was a most unusual day. The van was on for heat, off, on for wipers, off, on for defrost, off, on for wipers and heat. Let’s get out of here! I finally did get this painting done between all the monkeying around with the weather…

“Split Rock Calm Before Snow”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Instead of trudging a mile up the coast, I found a short cut which placed me very close to the object of my desire. Tide was low and getting lower. A higher tide and the beach path would have put me in white and gray oozing clay up to my ankles. As it was, the uneven beach shingles had me watching my every step. Rounding the bluff, there was Split Rock, up close and in my face. I had to continue past it down the beach for the best vantage point. Split Rock… the destination of walks and talks, fish and lures, lovers, beachcombers, fishermen…

“Low Tide, Squibby”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

After being off on family business and way too long away from my easel, I am back on Martha’s Vineyard and back to my Daily Paintings. It was a gusty day, but not here, below the cliffs. The sun kept things warm. The tide continued receding as I immersed myself in the joy of it all…

“Menemsha Race”, this is a Large size painting, 26 1/4″x 44″, oil on stretched canvas, unframed. $4250.00 USD

I have been rummaging around in my studio here in Texas preparing for moving and decided to offer a few of my private collection pieces for auction. I just can’t keep so many paintings for myself! I don’t have access to all my records down here, but I believe I painted this piece in 1997/98. I never thought I’d sell it and therefore never wrote anything on the back. It was created with palette knife and thick buttery strokes of paint on top of various flatly painted fields of blue and orange and pink. This tends to give it an impressionistic, pointillistic feel. It’s abstract, but reality based at the same time…

“Honor Guards”, this is a Medium size painting, 18″x 24″, oil on canvas, unframed. $3750.00 USD

Although reworked recently, this medium size painting was created in July, out on location. It was a foggy afternoon/evening. The light source was muted and unchanging. I
was able to work for much more than my 2 hour limit without fear
of losing my initial vision due to shadows moving. I have always
loved to paint tall daylilies and these were as tall as me. I could look
straight at them instead of down upon them, giving me opportunity to put in their landscaped background, the Polly Hill Arboretum…

“Bend-in-the-Road Beach”, note: this painting is 9″ x 12″, oil on canvas panel. $1250 USD

Note this is a 9″ x 12″ painting (larger than my normal 6″ x 8″)… This view is from the back of the dunes looking through the cabañas to the east at Chappaquiddick Island. I could not paint this now as they have cut a road through this back side of the dunes. I would be standing on a huge pile of sand looking straight down the road. This is part of the beachsand refilling project. Sand is dredged out of Sengekontacket Pond, behind me, and moved by pipeline to the parking area into piles. Front-end loaders fill dump trucks with sand from the pile. They drive down the temporary road behind the dunes and dump the sand in front of the cabañas a million dollars later. For reference, this is what the view should look like!…

“Squibnocket Valley”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

I discovered this view by accident a few evenings ago. It had been very windy with big surf all day. Wandering to a sheltered corner on this property, only visited once before, I came upon this wonderful landscape. If the water were not there, it would be a valley…

“Autumn’s Eve”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This may not look like a protected place from which to paint, but with a West or North wind it is. The sun was dodging in and out of clouds when I arrived. I almost didn’t see this glowing opportunity as it was clouded at first. I like to get out and walk a little to “feel” a vista. I take a few reference photos with my iPhone’s camera. They’re not the best photos, but good for reminders. I had done all this and was about to wander back to my van when I took one last look at the boat. The sun had broken through and the reflection on the boat was stunning…

“December Split Rock”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I had to follow a small creek out from the woods to the ocean to get to this beach. There wasn’t much breeze. The temperature was a cool 37º F. I was conscious of keeping my boots out of the water. I noticed first deer tracks, then dog tracks and, suddenly, barefeet tracks! I’m not certain they belonged to a swimmer. Definitely didn’t belong to a mermaid. However, there are those who still go in for a quick dip at this time of year…

“Off Season South Beach”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I am really getting into this cold weather painting mode. Once the location is selected, I bundle up to keep myself warm and to cut the winds. I set up quickly and start to paint. The coolness of the air is invigorating. It also causes me to work fast and to access my right brain, my intuitive side. There is no time for analysis, just action. No long drawn out thoughts of “what if…”, just enough time and warmth to do it and go home…

“Salt and Fresh”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Painting today was short, sweet and quick! It was about 37º f. with a 12 mph wind in my face. I could not have done it without wearing my gloves and snowsuit pants (plus hooded shell, vest and fleece). That makes it a record fall of painting without gloves until Dec. 6th. This time of year the sunsets tend to linger. The sun does not just drop straight down below the horizon as happens around mid summer. It eases over the edge of the earth at an oblique angle to the horizon and not close to 90º as in the summer. This gives us an infinitesimal bit more light and also amplifies the red end of the spectrum. In low light landscape painting, more red is usually a good thing!…

“No Rhyme or Reason”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Another rain drenched day, sitting in the van painting with wind howling all around. I caught most of this image on location. Then had to finish at home as the wind was rocking the van to distraction. It felt good to be out working, but not so good having to complete so much back in the studio…

“Winter Watch”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I’ve not painted this view in a winter version before. The colors, although subdued, are kind of exciting compared to the greens of the warmer seasons. All was going well until just before dusk. When the scene was getting darker and dimmer, for some reason, my canvas was getting lighter and brighter, in a bad sort of way. I looked around and a sodium vapor street light was just warming up above me. So I came back a second evening to finish without help of the street light…

“Bluebird Summer Rental”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

If I were a Bluebird, this is where I would hang my hat for the summer. Water views on two sides. Fresh water marshes on 3 sides. Open field with berry patches just over the stonewall behind. Nice neighbors all around…

“Water Flow”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This can be a good sunset spot from which to paint. At least on a night when there is some sun! It was spitting and misting this evening. I had to drive my van halfway down the path to be able to sit in it to paint and see the view. It’s always worth the effort though…

“Fair Will Be Here” , this is a Medium painting, 16″ x 20″, oil on canvas. $1850.00 USD

This painting is a 16″ x 20″ oil on canvas which I began in August. I had to do a u-turn when I drove by this. I love to paint hay bales out in the fields, but to have not only a tractor, but a red tractor in the field was just way too much for me!!! This was the scene 3 days prior to the set up of the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society Fair. In a “normal summer” this hay would have been cut and baled in July and this field only mowed at this time. Weather patterns don’t seem to be normal anymore…

“Evening Magic”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I found myself in the perfect place to capture this after-sundown painting. An unknown oysterman, just hauling in his catch and boat as the sun sank, gave me a half dozen oysters to take home. Just because we found ourselves sharing this moment on the beach!…

“The Janie Lee”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

The “Janie Lee”, in port during a blow, I was able to capture her likeness through the rain drops on my windshield. A shapely ship with deep flat black hull and great contrasting coloring on deck and over the sides. The grey of the day helped bring the few colors alive…

“Fit to be Tide”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

A boat still in the water this time of year becomes a rarity. A flat bottom pond skiff, painted blue, and still in the water is exceptional…

“Storm Light”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This painting required a windless day for me to be able to stand out on the observation area on top of the Gay Head Cliffs. I was also able to view the approaching rain storm behind me as it blew in from the west. But my vantage point did me no good. The rain came in faster than I had anticipated. I got wet while packing up my equipment for the hasty retreat back to the parking lot. However, it was such a great day and place to paint that I returned and did a second painting around sunset…

“Sunset Light”, this is a Large painting, 24″x 30″, oil on canvas. This painting has SOLD.

This large painting was inspired by one of my smaller canvas panels. I had actually first painted this scene in 2008 as an 11″ x 14″ image. I revisited it as a small Daily Painting in early July of this year, and then in September when I created this larger version. It is a rather timeless image…

“Boundary”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

A fall colored salt marsh on the south side of the pond. At a very high tide, this whole area of grass is covered with water. I love the absolute flatness of the marshes compared to the rills and rolls of the adjacent hilsides. But it takes the autumn colorations to really make them striking…

“Norwegian Would”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

On days when I have no idea what I wish to paint, this Lighthouse is an easy drive by to see if just maybe it would work. This day, it had the clouds hovering over the sound and behind the structure. Definitely good painting material…

“Marsh Meadow”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This salt marsh I pass by on the way to more favorite locations. Yet I always see it beckoning me as I drive or walk past. When the grasses in its meadow turn the burnt orange green of fall I can resist the call no more. The Great Blue Heron tires of hiding in front of me as I stand at my easel. He croaks his spooky call and slowly with majestic effort rises up and off to an even safer haven. The tiny deer tick slowly wander up the folds of my clothing to look for lunch, for I am on an active deer path. While swatting at the more persistant flying evil, I spot the slower climbers and pluck them off and into the oblivion of the dense jumble of undergrowth. And once again it is a joy to be out in this wild beauty…

“Cliff Walk”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Big rollers were coming in on the beaches after the high winds of the weekend Northeaster had passed. I found a spot from which to paint on the cliff top, yet in the lee of a nearby house. The beach below is full of double fist size rock and they rolled and tumbled creating a soothing rhythm as I painted…

“Shadows Fall”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Drama at the end of a day always strikes my fancy. The hardest thing is to know that it is coming and to place myself in a good location to take full advantage of it without being repetitious. Some evenings, I get all set up and the drama never comes. Other times I am just too late to capture it, or in the wrong place…

“Out And About”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Today felt like a rigid, structured day. What better subject to match my feelings with than a light house. The light has those soft curves to it and the contrast of black and white. While the house has all that angularness and sharp corners, but with the color complements of red and green. The landscape horizon with a tiny stopping point of sail and boat give a sense of the grandiosity of the reach of the light. And I feel better now…

“Autumn Eve”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Today’s painting was created out in 40mph gusts. My easel and I were tucked among some scrub oaks so as to soften the blows. This was a long sunset, by my standards. Meaning I had 35 minutes until I couldn’t see to paint. But the colors kept getting more spectacular in the sky and in the all around reflection back down to earth. I think I did it justice as I concentrated on sky first, water next and then land last…

“Something Fishy”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Sometimes the voice in my head says stop even when I’m not sure I should. But this is all I want to say with some favorite color combinations… why fight it?…

“Quiet Reflection”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

A quiet time and place to think and paint and drift off into….

“Fall Field, Dune”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Another beautiful looking day, yet cool and very windy. North winds shifting to East. I hid beside the edge of the woods to stay warm and to paint without the hands of the wind moving my brushes. Note to self, buy mosquito netting hat for evening painting…

“Day Lighthouse”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

It was a beautiful early fall day to paint the light. There were fleeting clouds passing by all afternoon. Not only did they act as background, but they also kept me from getting too sunburned. There were ripe blackberries in the bushes to eat when I needed a break. And the poison ivey was turning orange and red to warn me away from itself. I thoroughly enjoyed my painting time there…

“Red Beach”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

All the other row boats and kiyaks here were safely up in the dune grass while this little dingy was staked at the high tide line. If I stepped back two feet I would have started to trip over them. I chose to focus on this loner and also not focus on the vessels moored out off Red Beach, just to the right. The scene and the hour and the beach called for simplicity out of the complex choices offered and I obliged…

“A Beautiful Day”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This is a private, happy place. It has its own special sunset views with a formal, yet very Vineyard feel. I am glad that I may share this with you at the evening hour…

“From On High”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

In Chilmark, near the upper end of this Island, (read higher, altitudinally), there is a ridge which was transferred into the public domain. From there looking east on a clear day you may see Chappaquiddick Island and Nantucked Island beyond. It can be a spectacular view depending on clouds and sun. I painted from this spot last year, I think, and it never ceases to take my breath away especially towards sunset. With the right cloud formations the reflected sunset light is marvelous to behold…

“Boat Repair Shack”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

This was a nice sunny, out of the wind spot to paint from, until the owner drove up and parked his truck right in front of the buoy. Two hours later he finally went home and I was able to paint the channel and buoy. The clouds were great all day long, so the waiting actually allowed me to catch them with the high lights around each one as the day got later…

“Around the Sound”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I am back after a short break in my painting schedule. I will almost be up to speed with regular postings after about another week or so… Here is a favorite painting spot for capturing the day or evening, the sky, the water and reflections. Not necesarily all happening at once… just a great vantage point… Today I chose to put the sailboats in and left out the many car and passenger ferries which also ply these waters…

“Sky Light”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

In case you noticed, my paintings have not been as regular lately because I have been working on larger paintings for a small show in an intimate space. If you are on Martha’s Vineyard (or know someone who is) please come to my opening, Monday, August 17th from 5 to 7 p.m. at the West Chop Club Inn in West Chop, MA, just opposite the Post Office. My works will be there from August 13th through the 27th. If you cannot come to the opening, please stop in to view the works anytime from 8 am to 8 pm daily.

I was going to be good today and stay in my studio and finish up some larger paintings for a small show I was supposed to hang tomorrow. But… there was this incredible sky out all day with great thunderheads floating by, and the studio was hot and it was very humid and uncomfortable, and, and, I had to go do this new painting of these clouds. Just had to… Does that make me bad? Of course, it is now 3 a.m. and I am still working. And, no matter what, the dog I am sitting for a friend will bark at me asleep in bed at 7 a.m. to be fed… and I will feel, well, bad… There it is, bad. I am bad!…And it feels so good!

“Moon Before Sunset”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

This was a hard juggle. The colors change so quickly at this time of day, but I think I caught it all. I had to block in everything but the moon. Then I had to do the final adjustments. As the moon’s presence was revealed, I was counting on there not being a cloud bank along the eastern horizon to block out the first glimpse…

“Moon Path”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

I was floundering about trying to find something to paint this evening. It had been ready to rain all day and finally started to spit an hour before sunset with gusts to 30. I changed locations by about 10 miles and found, to my delight, little wind, no spitting and a few patches of fading blue above me! No time to think… grabbed my gear and raced out into this meadow. It was 10 to 8. Sun sets at 8. The sky just tipped into orange above the cloud banks. Grabbed the biggest brush and zoomed until I couldn’t see what colors were being laid down… 5 flattened mosquitoes on left hand, 4 on right… get that moon in… oh! the orange… the water… the path… the green… the car… done…!

“Fog Settles In”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

It was a warm day, but the fog made it feel cool. Even with the high humidity, the fog had a cooling effect when it touched you. The breeze had something to do with the cooling as well. It was actually pleasant to paint in and seemd to ground all the biting bugs. This was an added bonus around sunset time when this was painted…

“A Panoply of Sky”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

After poking around at a few different painting locations, I settled on this open sky spot. I was ever hopeful the sun would find an entry point in the clouds as it started to set. It got better than this, but then so did the mosquitoes and I hate using repellant…

“Rising Tide, Fog”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I went to the beach to swim and paint in the hot, early afternoon. After the swim and getting set up under an umbrella to paint, the fog started to come in. It was actually great, because it toned down the brilliant scene in front of me and kept me from getting too much sun. I still had to work on this piece back in the studio. The combined, water, sky and sand reflective light bouncing around in my eyes had my pupils shut down quite a bit while choosing colors and values. I was desperately trying to overcompensate for this effect while on the beach, but there is only so much you can do and still make it seem natural. Its when you bring it in and put the painting under the studio lights that the disparities stick out. And, after all, most paintings are viewed for the rest of their lives under unnatural/indoor lighting conditions…

“Dusk, Getting Clear”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Just as the weather may clear and you know that tomorrow will be a grand new day, so, sometimes, does life clear with the same intuitive future sense. And to be able to paint it and feel it on both levels at once makes for a truly wondrous experience. Such was mine on this sultry evening…

“Harbor Entranced”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

The sky these last two evenings has been so seductive for me. Vaguely blue cloud banks up against subtle yellow/orange back drops before, during and especially after the sun has left the horizon. The blue of the silhouetted clouds becomes an ungodly shade against the yellow/orange glow coalescing from the entire sky sphere above. And the etherealness of it all is so fleeting, almost uncatchable, bewitching me to no end…

“The Opening”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

Today was a beautiful fluffy cloud day until I loaded up the van to go paint. Clouds came in, wind picked up and I drove 20 miles for naught. Coming back home, I took a chance on this place. It was in the lee of the wind with a beautiful opening under the cloud cover. However, with my back to the darker clouds and my mind on my subject, they soon started spitting at me. I took it on the chin and worked until I was done, very quickly…

“Pond Pram”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I seem to be stuck on boats, or at least the colors of boats. This one appeared where there hadn’t been one last week. The sun had set by the time I found this and I painted extra fast because a cloud of moquitoes found me and then the sand flies. But I liked painting this in the subdued after light…

“Lagoon Landing”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I gave up on finding a spot to paint today. It was getting late and nothing was clicking wherever I drove, but the clock was ticking… Last month I painted everyday but 4. I could take a break if I wanted to. I went into the town landing to turn around and go home, but there was this boat…

“Dune Light”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

An hour before the sunset of a most rainy day, the clouds parted on the western horizon and the sun came out. It lasted long enough for me to find this dune and paint the yellow light on the sand before it went down behind a heavy cloud bank and finally set. Considering how wet the day had been, this was my gift to paint…

“Whiting Moonshine”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

I told everyone at the gallery opening I attended last night that I wouldn’t post any painting today as I planned to work on a larger piece. When I left, there was a crack in the cloud cover along the horizon and the sun popped through. It was my kind of sky drama, but I had left my easel in the studio. Racing home, I grabbed my gear and drove to a back road by the farm and set up shop next to the bee hives with this unobstructed view. It was 20 minutes to sunset and the foggy murk off the ocean had come in and obscured my sunset before I returned. But I am a painting junky and I started to work frantically to lock in the scene, just in case. Sure enough, the murk partially gave way to a warm orange glow as sun slid down to set. The bird were fluffing their feathers in the roost behind me in an old pine. A young skunk ambled by my bags as I worked. An owl glided by as low as the posts in the painting right in front of me. But I just worked on, and that’s when I saw the moon. It was my treat for hanging onto my vision. You just never know unless you are there….

“Evensong”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

Another late sunset painting. Paint the water, then the sky and last the landscape. The water and sky color will change the fastest at this time of day. The land will slowly follow suit. Green is the last identifiable color as the light gets darker and darker after sunset, just as I am the last identifiable mosquito candy as it gets darker and darker and I paint faster and faster….

“Storm Strike”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

The weather went from bad to worse, better and finally the darkest it could get without rain. Sunddenly the sky blew a hole in itself. This great lighting on the tops of the thunderheads shown forth and it started to send out thunder bolts. I was able to get it all in as it passed right beside me and it never rained….

“Shadows Lengthen”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

I was working on a larger painting today as the sky changed from grey to sunny. As it got near sunset, I packed it in and started to drive down island to home. I got to this view and gave myself the challenge. “You have painted this scene over fifty times in your life, but never with this lighting effect, nor so little time to paint it. YOU can do it!” Forty minutes later, cars with their lights on were passing me packing my paints up. I did have a head start though. I never clean my palette until I am home and the mixed colors from the first painting easily launched me into the middle stage of this painting. And I love sundown challenges!….

“Chilmark Spring” , this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

A beautiful day today with great clouds. Time to celebrate late spring in Chilmark, Mass….

“Morning Glory John Deere” , this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

Today I went for a late afternoon walk on a newly built and mowed trail. I found Simon from Morning Glory Farm just getting out of his tractor at the end of a long day of farm work. I walked with him to the other end of the trail where he had a ride waiting. On my return walk this is what I saw. An unplanned, unexpected painting, just the way I like them!…

“Sunset March”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

Today was a day at home. At sunset my cat and I walked out behind my studio and caught the last light as the sun disappeared between the barn and the corn crib. There was enough of a haze for the last half hour of sunup that I could look directly at it and not get retina burn. Kitz gave up way before I did. I found her in the dark by the studio door when I lugged my gear back in…

“Rains, Roads, Puddles”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

It was raining all day today. I thought I’d have to do a studio still life. I went in the studio and looked out at the barn and saw all these puddles reflecting sky where once was dry earth. The rains had made all the colors so much darker as they got wet. The contrasts of reflective puddles and dark grasses and black trees and brooding skies was rather intense. So I set up by the window and painted…

“Path To A Memory”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

Today’s painting is a view of an ajoining property to the ranch on which I live. It is for sale and will be a memory at some future date, as houses or oil and gas exploration take their toll on the landscape and wild life thereon. Right now it is pasture for the 50 head of cattle plus newborns which graze freely on both properties. It also holds memories of the oyster bed I found in the middle of the land when I was out painting 2 years ago. There were almost a dozen fossilized oyster shells scattered on top of the slope I was standing on…

“Coasting to Sunset”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 US

Another painting from the beach in the cold (gloves definitely on) evening light. It got even more spectacular after this. I posted a sunset photo of this scene on my page in Facebook for any of you who are on Facebook to look at…

“Place Called Squibnocket”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.

A cloudy windy day which cleared out just in time for us to do a cool (as in chilly) painting…

“Warmth of Summer”, this is a Medium painting, 20″x 30″, oil on canvas, unframed. $4500.00 US

This painting was started in August. I had just gone out on a dog walk and saw these clouds. I had to end the walk and grab my easel and paint this scene before the clouds disappeared. The poor dog never did know why the walk was so short…

“Cloud Shadows”, this is a Small painting, 11″x 14″ oil on canvas, unframed. This painting has SOLD.

“Still Standing”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 US

I am still pursuing painting antique barns. Here is another old Martha’s Vineyard barn. It has quite a pronounced tilt to it…

“Way Off Storm”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel.$500.00 US

The rain clouds cleared around us and my friend and I quickly painted the storms as they rushed out to sea…

“At The Main Gate”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD.

“Watertower, Spring Evening”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

“Silhouettes”, this is a Medium painting, 9″x 12″ oil on canvas panel, $1250.00 US

“September Dreaming”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Off Yonder”, this is a Small one, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Town Dock”, this is a Small one, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Boat House”, this is a Small one, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“Eel Pond”, this is a Small one, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel, SOLD

“The Evening Boat”, this is a Small one, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel, SOLD