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“Eel Pond 1892″

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"

“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…

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

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"The Old Brickyard"

“The Old Brickyard”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel.

The Brickyard still has bits and pieces of its past strewn about. The smokestack is in danger of collapse. Yet it is the most memorable and visible remainder of times past. I wander down the dirt path towards it with images of my past visits in my mind. But I was unprepared for winter sun’s late, warm reddish light glancing off the edge of the chimney as I turned the last corner on at woods end. I positioned myself upon a western slope to capture this view as the sun went down…

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

“January Dune”

"January Dune"

“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.

“Pond Path”

"Pond Path"

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

I scouted this spot weeks ago, but hadn’t found a good and sunny day to come back until now. This is along the edge of a finger of Tisbury Great Pond at Sepiessa in West Tisbury…

“Cranberry Bog”

"Cranberry Bog"

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

I painted here in late afternoon light over two years ago. Driving by the other day, I couldn’t resist creating it again in morning light with the tree shadows rippling across the drive…

“Reflecting Pool”

"Reflecting Pool"

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

In winter, the beach is always changing. Sand comes in and piles way up above dunes and rock. Sand goes out and bares rock and clay. This visit it was beginning to hauling sand back out. A shelf had built up at the low tide zone and had caught a reflecting pool as the tide finished its course from high to low…

“South West”

"South West"

“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…

“Home Base”

"Home Base"

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

The good old days seem to have passed for these two brothers’ boats. However, they brighten up the winter harbor with their shades of blue and graceful lines…

“Cloud Break”

"Cloud Break"

“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…

“Shallow Berth”

"Shallow Berth"

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

I discovered this oyster boat when out on a Christmas walk. Tisbury Great Pond is so flooded with fresh water that it has been washing into the parking area. Normally this pond skiff would be anchored out past the grasses and I would be standing right where it is now to create this painting. Soon, I hope, a backhoe will amble down the barrier beach and cut a trench from the pond to the ocean. The great pond will drain out some and the tides will come in and bring more salinity to this brackish water. Then the oysters will have a better, saltier taste…

“Anticipation”

"Anticipation"

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

This is the first glimpse of the ocean as one navigates down to the parking lot before unloading and heading out the path to the beach. Whether for a walk or a swim, this view is relished in the moment of anticipation of what lies ahead…

“December Tree”

"December Tree"

“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”

"Cattails"

“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”

"Shell Fisher"

“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…

“In A Fog”

"In A Fog"

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

I came upon this scene one rainy, foggy day. The fog isolated the dory from what was usually a crowded background. That is what I like about fog. It can transport you from here to anywhere, by taking away all the local points of reference…

"One After The Other"

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

I was able to find another rose to paint in a friend’s yard. This time a tea rose and not a lowly climber. Cool nights have not yet put them into dead flower shock…

“The Naked Season”

"The Naked Season"

“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…

"Late Season Rambler"

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

The late rose season has been long this year. By now frost has usually had its way with any flowers still in bloom. Here and there in sheltered corners a bud or two attempt to unfurl their colors…

“Life Saver”

"Life Saver"

“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”

"Wind Swept"

“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”

"Slack Time"

“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…

“Far Meadow”

"Far Meadow"

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

I almost missed the color changes in these marsh grasses, as they turn from green through orange and gold then brown and silver. Soon enough, beside sky and cloud, the cool blue water will remain the sole enchanting dancer in the land and sea of winterscape…

“Pulling The Pots”

"Pulling The Pots"

“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…

“Moon Full”

"Moon Full"

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

I sort of knew where the moon would rise when I started this piece. But, I really didn’t. I hadn’t done a compass reading, nor looked at the astronomical chart. I was glad it wasn’t off in the pines to the right as I might never have seen it until too late…

"Quansoo To Nomans"

“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…

"Fall On The River"

“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”

"Evening Grazing"

“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…

"Quitsa To Menemsha"

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

Sometimes it is nice to get up high for a long, distant view of the landscape. Color this fall is not as bright as other years. The vistas have a mellowness to them as they fade into the winter softness of lavenders and grays and tawny browns…

“Collin’s Beach”

"Collin's Beach"

“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…

“Derby Fever”

"Derby Fever"

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

This is the 66th year of the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, www.mvderby.com . There have been fishermen and women all over this island for the last 3 weeks angling to be a winner and walk away with a new boat or truck. I happened upon this lone fisherman today trying his luck. There is nothing like a fish on your line on a warm beautiful evening with a gorgeous sunset to ice your cake…

“Last Light”

"Last Light"

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

I was back at this lighthouse finishing up a larger commissioned painting. When I looked up, I was forced into making this new painting. The reflective light was just too compelling to ignore…

"Evening Underway"

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

It may be fall in New England, but the mosquitoes are still in evidence. One got through my screen of Buzz-Off to drive that point home. Yet, this was the only thing to mar my evening out. It was so beautiful watching the sky turn from day to night, then having a partial moon illuminating the walk back to my starting place…

“Lookout”

"Lookout"

“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”

"Storm Brewing"

“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…

“Fog Rolling”

"Fog Rolling"

“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”

"Runabout Runaground"

“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”

"Lagoon Goldenrod"

“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”

"Lighthouse Beach"

“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…

“After Summer”

"After Summer"

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

It is always a bit sad to see the lifeguard stand empty, no one on the beach and fishermen working the shore and jetty. Fall seems to come too quickly with its riotous color palette and warm afternoons. But soon enough the colors will turn to grays and the air will chill…

“Crumbling Cliff”

"Crumbling Cliff"

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

I have not been to this beach for a few months, nor since the storm came through. It is amazing how much was eroded by the large sea and wind which swept past. I have gone back to view paintings I made on the beach in the winter of 1995 and the loss of cliff is really noticeable. It is like 2 feet per year in many places. Boulders I would paint next to then are in the surf zone now. It was great to be in the sand working with the sound of a heavy surf muffling all other thoughts until a rogue wave washed up around my easel’s legs…

“Back Dunes Trail”

"Back Dunes Trail"

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

This topsy turvy landscape behind the dunes and above the cliffs remains so intriguing to me. It appears as if giant dump trucks once emptied their loads of sand willy nilly on top of the cliffs. Then beach grass, little blue stem, poison ivy, bay laurel, huckleberry, blackberry and wind beaten and shaped oaks and cedars took up residence. Hurricane/tropical depression Irene came and dowsed all with salt water from the wave smoke below causing leaf brown out and early fall coloring over parts of the whole scene…

“Menemsha Creek”

"Menemsha Creek"

“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…

“Ocean Road”

"Ocean Road"

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

The sun was shining. Seas were calming down. Overhead swallows and dragonflies patrolled. A feeling of warmth overwhelmed my senses…

“Surf’s Up”

"Surfs Up"

“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…

“Rollers”

"Rollers"

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

Rain came down most of the day. When it wasn’t rain it was mist or drizzle. Radar showed there might be an hour window of just plain clouds, no moisture, toward the end of the day. I took the chance, scouting when I got to this beach using my iPhone camera to take photos. I went back to the van to get my paints and mull over the photos. No sooner was the door shut than it poured. I was able to manipulate the van into a painting position and worked until dark with the wipers on and off and on and off. It was a grand sea out there. Big rollers were continually pitched against the cliffs below, probably from the force of a nearing tropical depression. It was tempting to jump in, but for the fact that I was alone and the cliff stair was missing the bottom 2/3rds steps…

“Out To Sea”

"Out To Sea"

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

It was a cloudy day with an almost unnoticeable sunset. The dusk colors were delicate as the blue went into purple then darkness. When cars drove by with headlights on and it ruined my viewing, I knew it was time to quit…

“On A Clear Day”

"On A Clear Day"

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

I have a commission to do a painting of this lighthouse and decided to do a small one for my daily piece as well. As I was packing up for the night, the Coast Guard Station Chief came out (that’s his residence attached to the lighthouse) and introduced himself to me. He was curious to see what I had done all afternoon. Then he made me an offer I can’t refuse. He gave me his cell number and said anytime I’d like to come onto the grounds and paint to give him a call. I guess I will try to do one or two more from different angles later in the fall…

"G. H. Sluiceway"

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

Back in my watercolor period I painted in this area once. It felt so much better creating this scene in oils today. The paint just seemed to flow right off my brushes. After Hurricane Irene yesterday, all the leave are beginning to show subtle browns and reds. The vibrant greens of summer have turned in the space of a day…

"Brickyard Before Storm"

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

I have never painted here before. Almost 2 miles of hiking on a very humid day, uphill and then downhill one way with all my gear, seemed less and less like a good idea. Upon arriving at the look out point to find a nice breeze and incredible view, I allowed that maybe I had made a good choice. Walking back through the woods in the dark was another matter entirely…

"Goldenrod of Summer"

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

This is a different view of one of my often painted subjects. The goldenrod in the sunlight and the creeping shadows helped to make a quite dramatic contrast…

“Right Fork Path”

"Right Fork Path"

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

I managed to get to Edgartown to paint, but was not thrilled with my planned locations. So I drove around and ended up by South Beach. There was a bit of a wind, but it kept my not so favorite insects away from me. It was also nice to be up on a dune to watch the sun go down…

"Stars And Stripes"

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

My plan was to paint a boat in the Lagoon on the other side of the street, but the light was wrong. It was good to go on this side, though. With warmth with a pleasant breeze, it was the perfect evening to be out watching the harbor activity fade into night…

"Opening 5 Miles Out"

“Opening 5 Miles Out”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $550.00 USD

The day had been partly sunny and now partly cloudy. It was a tough choice of where to find the light right. I worked my way through 2 different wood lots until I decided on this long, distant view…

"Squibnocket Rain"

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

It poured rain most of today. I resigned myself to sitting in my van and painting a land or seascape. Not as much fun as standing outside and working, but another option. It rained all the way up on the drive to the beach. When I parked in a spot overlooking the surf, the drizzle stopped too. I was able to get out and work as the mist and fog ebbed and flowed along the farther reaches of the beach until it became too dark to distinguish colors, mine or the beachscape…

“Sunset Sail”

"Sunset Sail"

“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…

"Farm Pond Moon Rise"

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

I used my compass and the astronomy info from wunderground.com to figure out the correct direction for today’s moonrise. I checked with Google Maps satellite view to choose this location. My intuition told me it was a good place, but I just wasn’t sure about that stand of cedars on the opposite shore… The moon had its own plan and did not reveal itself until about 10 minutes after officially rising. At that point it was well above the trees…

“August Traffic”

"August Traffic"

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

I missed painting last evening’s thunderstorm. Toward sunset you could clearly see the anvil shape and some associated cotton candy shapes in front of and around the storm cell tower of clouds. I had to do a double check when I returned to the studio, but it was 60 miles away as the crow flies. Somewhere half way to Boston it was hovering and raining, but it was the only cloud in the northern sky from where I stood. I was hoping for more of the same as I drove to this vantage point today. There were one or two fleecy clouds but not the splendid shape I wished for. I did get a golden sky as the sun sank and a multitude of sailboat traffic all through the evening light…

“Sailing Camp”

"Sailing Camp"

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

I never know what to expect when I visit the Sailing Camp. Sometimes the vessels are all stacked up on shore and other times they are out on their moorings. They maybe close to the beach or farther out. This time 4 of the rowing, (I would guess), boats were all berthed down in the corner of the cove on one mooring. They were kind of playing follow the leader and trying to line up all heading into the breeze. Then one would get out of formation and would jerk the line attached to its neighbor and suddenly they would all do an about face…

"August, Mill Pond"

“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"

“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”

"Waiting"

“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”

"Tea Lane Barn"

“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…

“Setting Off”

"Setting Off"

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

(I have been having trouble with my camera and finally had to get a new one. Now I am just learning how to use different software to correct the images and to post onto the internet. I think all is under control again.) I had fun working on this piece over two evenings at Lobsterville. It is always a delightful drive up, and it feels like I am on another island when I am there…

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

A very windy afternoon, (30 mph, SSW), caught me off-guard without a plan. The head of Lake Tashmoo by the pumping station is always a safe bet but for a Northwind. This evening was no exception. Sailors had rowed in from their anchorage and unknowingly left me their dinghy to fashion my dreams upon. As I stood and painted, a mother mallard duck practically walked over my boots with 4 young in tow as she left the sanctuary of the spring pond behind me and waddled into the briny Lake…

"Fish Farm Fog"

“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"

“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"

“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"

“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…

“July Barn”

"July Barn"

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

Behind me as I worked on this painting were 2 baby raccoons. They were foraging among the Stuartia blossoms which had fallen from the trees in the grove. They kept a 30 foot distance from me, until I walked around behind the stone wall to try to photograph them. Their ears must be sharp because they were gone when I peeked over the top to where they were. I finally found one frozen behind a Stuartia trunk. I walked up to the tree and poked my camera around the side and got one good shot. Just like baby skunks, they sure are cute when they are little…

"Dreams To Come"

“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"

“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……

"Summer Dawn"

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

This was begun one June evening and completed July 5. I had only one visitor as I painted the first evening. It was the captain himself down to check the lines. This last time there were at least 15 or 20 people with ice cream cones and/or cameras wandering around the docks. Summer must be here…

"Night Light"

“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”

"Chilmark Hay"

“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…

“Magnolia Muse”

"Magnolia Muse"

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

I sketched this the other week but just could not finish it until now. The magnolias bloom, flower and fade so fast that I knew to go back to complete this would be pointless….

"Rearing To Go"

“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…

"Long Point Moon"

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

This was the last full moon I was able to capture about May 15th. It is hard to believe the landscape greened up in just one month, but it didn’t look like this on June 15th. This is on the glacier outwash plain, flat with a reluctant slope into the Atlantic Ocean…

“Summer Time”

"Summer Time"

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

I painted this scene in the winter, but I think I like this view more. Not just because it’s greener, but the light is warmer and softer in the summer season…

"Spring Beach"

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

I walked down the glacial path to paint in the woods, but the sea called. Ending up on top of the dunes wasn’t so bad after all. The breeze kept me bug free and the waning sunlight softened the early evening land and seascape…

"Magnolia Jungle"

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

Regularly painting for 5 years without much of a break, I am back to my palette after a month of not working. It was nice to not have the daily pressure of creating, but I did miss painting spring this year…

“Moon Tide”

"Moon Tide"

“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"

“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”

"Lagoon Shore"

“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…

"Spring On The Nest"

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

It stopped raining and fogging just long enough for me to find these swans and to paint them. I stayed far away because I know how territorial they can be. (One hit from their wing can break a man’s arm.) The one minding the eggs remained very still. The other mute swan was harder to paint as it was back and forth on full patrol…

“Aladoah”

"Aladoah"

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

Gray days are hard to color. Boats always seem to help brighten the view…

“Boathouse”

"Boathouse"

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

It was very windy today. This little cove was the perfect place to paint and keep warm as the sun and temperature dropped. It brought back pleasant memories of summers past and thoughts of summer coming…

"The Rose Roof"

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

This painting was started last year. I could never find the light I wanted to be able to finish it. This day I went up there as fog started lazily drifting in and I was able to combine my earlier vision with today’s reality (obviously the roses were from the earlier attempt). It always feels good to finish a painting even after time has past…

"Sun's Last Ray"

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

Scenes like this will soon be gone as the foliage unfolds it’s summer cloak and the grasses turn a greener shade. The excitement of a nude landscape will give way to fully realized, softer form. Working fast to ward off the cold will become longer, languid sessions at the easel…

"Wishing & A Hoping"

“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”

"From The Top"

“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”

"Tidely-Idely"

“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…”

"Meanwhile..."

“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.)

“Tide and Pool”

"Tide And Pool"

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

Amanda Malin and dog, Snoopy, drove me down from Melbourne to Cape Paterson to paint on a beach one day. There she, my brother and their children use to go when the boys were little. Besides being one of the closest southern capes to Tasmania, it also had some marvelous surf beaches for swimming. As the ozone hole down there causes bad sunburns, I slathered up with sunscreen and hugged the cliff shadow from which to paint. A slight breeze kept the green heads away, but wasn’t enough to rile up the sand from the cliff face onto my palette. The wind increased as I lost my shadow and I had to quit when I felt grit in the air. The now cool lamb chops Amanda had grilled before we left made for a perfect snack as I walked out to explore the volcanic rock slabs and tidal pools stretching out into the waters…

"Cape Schanck Light"

“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”

"Eucalyptus"

“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…

“The Bend”

"The Bend"

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

This was the third day I have spent down at the Bend farm painting. The first day was mainly exploring as it is partially surrounded by bush/forest. The second day I was on tenterhooks from sun-up onward as rain came and went. After finding a very ripe blackberry patch and having to run to a big old gum tree for shelter, I ended up painting this from inside the horse run-in shed out of the rain drops…

"Hedgeley Dene Gardens"

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

Back in Melbourne today and I found this wonderful public garden close to my brother’s in which to paint. Many dog walkers and curious children came by as I worked. But it wasn’t until my favorite Bull Terrier, Axle, came by with his master, Billy, my brother’s housemate, that I knew it was time for dinner…

“Beach Boxes”

"Beach Boxes"

“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…

“Lavender & Lime”

"Lavender & Lime"

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

Try as I may, it has been difficult to do any paintings this past week as my Australian and American family converges on Mt. Martha, Victoria for my nephew’s wedding tomorrow. I have had to find a quiet corner in the garden to do today’s painting…

“Candle Light”

"Candle Light"

“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”

"Carried Away"

“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…

“Winter Hibiscus”

"Winter Hibiscus"

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

It’s wonderful to have a flower pop in front of me unexpectedly. I was painting china in the hutch the other day. When I walked into the next room, this hibiscus stood out like a house on fire. I couldn’t wait to finish what I was doing to get to this blossom…

“In Doc’s Hutch”

"In Doc's Hutch"

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

Having not regularly done a still life, this was a challenge. In someone else’s kitchen where I never painted before it was even more so especially with them all watching me create. Luckily, I was offered a glass or two of wine as I worked and the painting flowed smoothly out from under my brush…

“Break Out”

"Break Out"

“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”

"Tide Melts Snow"

“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”

"Lightening Up"

“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”

"Approaching Snow"

“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…

“Corn Snow”

"Corn Snow"

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

I had been scouting this field from afar since before Xmas. Since hunting season slowed down I decided it was safe to traipse through the cornfield to paint this one un-mowed part. The farmer must have left it standing to feed any local wild life. I only spotted a snow goose flying inquisitively overhead while I was painting. A passing lone dog walker and his sidekick stumbled upon me from behind the cedars. After a friendly greeting and informing me that I was in a no trespassing/hunting field, I finished up and found my way back via a longer, snowier route to my van…

“Wash And Wear”

"Wash And Wear"

“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”

"Marsh Waters"

“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…

“Tidal Pool”

"Tidal Pool"

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

I found this pool as the tide went out. Started painting and within 20 minutes the pool was gone. Luckily I had sketched it in as I began. Thinking that it would disappear quickly, I was able to capture most of it before it was but a memory…

"Marsh Field Low Tide"

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

I pass these rents in the fabric of the marsh on innumerable occasions. This was the first time I explored on foot and at the very beginning of dead low tide. It is always enlightening leaving the car behind and exploring at human level and speed. I jumped down into this channel and was engulfed by the marsh itself. Sounds were muffled here. Just above the field grasses, marsh hawks hunted. Gliding low, up and down the tidal stream beds, they appeared startled upon finding me quietly absorbed in my craft…

“Mill Pond”

"Mill Pond"

“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…

“Bluebird Nest”

"Bluebird Nest"

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

The streaming sunbeams of late afternoon, belied the coolness of the day. A hot coffee and gloves soon led me to know I had nothing to dread. Oh sorry, that’s for another time…!

“Shuckin’ Pile”

"Shuckin Pile"

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

It was a blustery day. Not much outside activity due to rain squalls off and on. No sun, no shadows. I found this scallop shucking pile just before dark set in. I figured it was a fisherman’s day’s work, collecting and then shucking the bay scallops. Now it would be my day’s work…

"Holding Back The Sea"

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

A perfect, sunny afternoon to stand at the edge and paint the sea and cliff. It was cool, but with the slightest breeze would have been too cold. The colors were muted some in the strong, oncoming sunlight. No summer greens to play against the orange and rust of the cliff face. The blue of sky and water do double duty in winter months covering for the lack of the friendly green…

“Flow River Flow”

"Flow River Flow"

“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…

“Bee Quiet”

"Bee Quiet"

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

I was wandering around by my friends’ house on Tea Lane in some iffy humid weather. Back in the field near where the wild turkeys nest I discovered the abandoned bee hive. Looking like a bear had helped himself, the top enclosure was balanced on the brink of falling. It was a quiet evening’s work until the turkeys started chiming/clucking in before roosting. Taking off from 25 feet below their favorite pine trees, as a friend said, they sounded like bowling balls attempting liftoff…

"Some Enchanted Island"

“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”…

“Pepper Play”

"Pepper Play"

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

It felt good to change gears and work inside on a still life. I purposely tried to loosen up a little and not always have sharp, crisp, delineations between colors……

“At The Boulevard”

"At The Boulevard"

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

Working outside in the wet weather has not been fun. Finding places to work out of my car has also been a challenge…

“Poison Ivy”

"Poison Ivy"

“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…

"Light On The Backside"

“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…

“Two Cats”

"Two Cats"

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

A nice, almost windless, afternoon gave me a chance to set up out on Short Beach and paint this view. I had no expectation of finding catboats on moorings in this sheltered cove. At this time of changing seasons anything may appear around a bend in the landscape…

“Sepiessa Sunset”

"Sepiessa Sunset"

“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…

“Polly Hill Fall”

"Polly Hill Fall"

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

I had other ideas for today’s daily painting, but then again, so did the sun with its late season angle. I had scouted this earlier in the day for a future painting but came back again for today’s. I had been alerted that the 35 year old Magnolia Grandiflora, which Polly, Polly Hill Arboretum , had planted in the corner between the barn and shed in my painting, was taken down to be better able to repair the barn. It had surely outlived it’s place of honor there as it was hard to open the shed door much less the barn door without walking into a branch or two. Polly would have been happy to see the space opened up once more. It had been exceedingly difficult for anyone to do a painting of the barn the way the tree had covered over half of the front…

“Early Fall”

"Early Fall"

“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…

“Quitsa Fog”

"Quitsa Fog"

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

It was exceptionally drippy fog the other evening. So I sat in the van to paint this view. I could tell when the sun set as the fog became noticeably more yellow on the horizon. This gave the scene a happy warm feeling. Much nicer than the drab gray I had started out to paint…

“Growing Sweaters”

"Growing Sweaters"

“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…

“Still Evening”

"Still Evening"

“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…

“Wash A Shore”

"Wash A Shore"

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

I stopped along the way to check this location. There had been a nice, white pond skiff anchored out just off shore last time I drove by. It was too late to paint it then, but maybe it was still here. I couldn’t see it from where I parked and decided to clamber down the hill to check the beach. This little rowboat didn’t register with my mind at first as I was still looking off shore for the skiff. I am now glad I took the time to get down to the beach…

“Clam Point Cove”

"Clam Point Cove"

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

The sun had left the Cove as I started to paint. It was hidden by the hill which partially surrounds what must have been a glacier sink hole back in the ice age. The subtle glow from the lightly clouded sky over head gave a shadowless scene for me to interact with. Other than a Great Blue Heron and a lone Cormorant I had the Cove all to myself. I put my headphones on and rocked out into the dusk…

"Riding Out The Storm"

“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…

“A Goodbye”

"A Goodbye"

“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”

"Heaven Light"

“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…

“Shadows Cast”

"Shadows Cast"

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

A fun painting was this. The day was gray when I started. Past the halfway finished point, the sun broke in with evening warmth. I had to walk down the street a bit and mentally regroup to be able to come back and repaint with this delicious light. Life changes and when you are ready, you may, too.

“In This Corner”

"In This Corner"

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

Sheep are funny animals. I found this flock in a painter friend’s field, happily munching away. I set up my easel and started to work. One sheep looked over at me and immediately started to trot down the path into the next field. Bam! Suddenly a line formed out of nowhere as they all started to head out and away from me…!

"Shadows Shorten"

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

I was out the door very early trying to capture the late setting, almost-full moon. Finally at this west end of the island, I still couldn’t line it up with anything worth while without lying about it. (That means more than just using my artistic license!) So I stumbled up the stairs to the observation area to look out on the dawn fishing fleet down below and the moon as it fled towards N. Y. City. There, the lighthouse looked kind of cool all in shadow…

“Anniversary”

"Anniversary"

“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!!!

“Home Port”

"Home Port"

“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…

“Welcome”

"Welcome"

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

Luckily my friends’ store closed early tonight and I could set up in the parking lot to paint these gates. I have been intending to do this image for more than a year. My timing was right today, and only a few friends honked at me as they whizzed by. And oh, yes, a car did stop and a news photographer caught me in her lens while her husband disarmed me with small talk. Paint drying is big news on a Sunday night…

"Thunderstorm Aweigh"

“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”

"Power Boat"

“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…

“Sand Bar”

"Sand Bar"

“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…

"Through The Grove"

“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…

"Out Of The Blue"

“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…

"Late Bloomer"

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

I wandered about at the Polly Hill Arboretum this evening scouting for subject matter. I found only one bloom from the bigleaf magnolia cultivar. This is one of my favorite magnolias, Magnolia Macrophylla “Julian Hill”. The leaves are almost a foot wide and sometimes almost 2 feet long with giant blooms 18 inches wide! It was just past ripe and the weather had begun what would become a long, slow spitting contest which carried on through sunset. When I returned emptyhanded to my studio, I looked in my unfinished pile and found this magnolia I had started a while ago. The visit to the arboretum had given me the right idea on how to finish this piece…

"Storm Passing"

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

A warm evening on the harbor watching the sun out the thunderheads over the horizon. There was a bad downpour earlier in the day and the sky never recovered from the humid fogginess. It was a real surprise to find this illumination at day’s end. A pleasant surprise…

“Cliffs Above”

"Cliffs Above"

“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…

“Sunblind”

"Sunblind"

“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)…

"Quitsa Strider"

“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….

"Edges of Evening"

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

Sometimes I get to a great painting destination, but… The wind is wrong, the sun’s in a bad place, the clouds are there, something just is not right. I end up walking slowly about in large circular patterns. I make frequent, unexpected stops and take iPhone photos of unforeseen, unexpected views. Eventually, I become so spaced out that the perfect scene hits me over the head. I say to myself, “Why didn’t I think of that?” And I feverishly unpack my paints and try to make up for lost time. Life is good, again…

"Off Shore Gear"

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

Especially this time of year, colors change quickly down in the fishing village of Menemsha. Gear comes out of barns, backyards and vacant lots where it has been stowed for the off fishing season. Stacked up and reoutfitted next to the shacks and boats along the docks, the gear size, shape, and color seems in constant flux on its way out to the ocean deep. This is my favorite time to be down by the waters painting. The fishermen are usually up so early that none are around at the end of the day to disturb any of my newfound “still lifes”. None of the sport fishermen have put their craft to sea yet. So they are not parading past me in car and truck disturbing the peace. The tourists, if any are about, are all inside with their cocktails at this hour of the year. I am left with the ducks, loons and seagulls to squawk at our hearts content…

"Walking the Dogs"

“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"

“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…

“Loving Cup”

"Loving Cup"

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

I found this daffodil dancing in drizzle at the edge of a stonewall. I turned about and snipped it for this studio still life. I have enjoyed its cheery company on a very rainy day…

“Slices”

"Slices"

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

A little fun in the kitchen last night…

“Table Rock”

"Table Rock"

“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"

“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.

“Before Lambs”

"Before Lambs"

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

I had planned to paint the barn here, but… It was impossible to ignore these Moms, just days away from birthing. They were patiently awaiting dinner in the shade of the hay barn. Luckily the chore person was 2 hours late. They didn’t feel like moving much unless food was involved. This was fine with me…

“Over Misting”

"Over Misting"

“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"

“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…

“Pear Piece”

"Pear Piece"

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

It was not nice outside today… So I decided it was time for a still life. I had been saving these pears for just such an occasion. The fabric and layout fell easily into place, an unusual happening…

"Lucy Vincent Beach"

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

Funny… I left the house with visions of painting a barn in a field this afternoon… Oh well… I parked down by the beach, walked out to the surf and headed right along the cliffs. I just couldn’t believe how much erosion had occurred. I painted here for months in 1993. The cliffs were then right at these boulders, not 15 feet away…

"By The Bass Stand"

“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 Light In Snow"

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

I had to miss a few days of painting with this cold I caught. Today my cabin fever got the best of me. I preheated the van, bundled up and drove to the light to capture it in the snow from the driver’s seat. I didn’t realize until the daylight was fading that the snow would help illuminate the beams of the lighthouse. It was a pleasant surprise…

"The House Above"

“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.)…

"Split Rock Calm Before Snow"

“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”

"Low Tide, Squibby"

“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…

“Spring Magnolias”

"Spring Magnolias"

“Spring Magnolias”, is a Watercolor on Paper, size is 22 3/4″ x 15″, watercolors on Papier D’Arches, unframed. $1900.00 USD

Please note this is a Watercolor on Paper, size is 22 3/4″ x 15″, watercolors on Papier D’Arches, unframed. I have not offered any of my watercolors here before. I was exclusively a watercolor painter for about 2 decades before I switched to oils. I have a few left in my personal collection which I could bear to part with. This was done in the mid 1980′s at my friend Polly Hill’s before it became the Polly Hill Arboretum. I use to come in with my little Maltese, Chardy, and choose a spot to paint and set up camp for the day. Polly would roll by at some point in her golf cart and find us. She would laugh as the little Chardy would jump up and bark at her. Then she’d whisk us off for a tour in the golf cart of all her latest creations. Chardy was the only dog she would ever let in and allow to roam free on her property!

"Squibnocket Valley"

“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…

“Salt and Fresh”

"Salt and Fresh"

“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!…

“November Garden”

"November Garden"

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

It was such a nice, warm, sunny day after about a week of gray and wind and rain. I went out on the south facing front porch and could not find a reason in the world why I would want to be anywhere else. The Hydrangeas had been beckoning me for weeks to paint them. This was their lucky day…

"Cranberry Boghouse"

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

Having driven past this dilapidated boghouse innumerable times, I had never stopped to really look at it. For a few years a non-profit group, the Vineyard Open Land Foundation , has been clearing out and rejuvenating the cranberry bog behind the house. Thus the view has been getting more enticing to stop and paint. I photographed it one day last week to study the possibilities. It was the rain today which made me stop. The wetness had caused the whole foreground to intensify in color values. The contrast with the misty background tree row became much more intense than it is on a dry day. It being near today’s almost non existent sunset light pushed the colors that much more…

“Fit to be Tide”

"Fit To Be Tide"

“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…

“High Tide”

"High Tide"

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

To capture this view in my painting, I had to climb an outdoor spiral stairs to get to the roof deck on some celebrity’s house. Luckily, they weren’t home at the time as I was followed up the stairs by a Boykin Spaniel, an Australian Cattle Dog and an accomplished student painter. The availability of this view will not exist in a few more weeks. One of my contractor friends who is moving this house back from the face of the cliff below allowed me to do some works here before the move starts. I had scouted this view a month ago and realized it would only work as a morning painting with shadows still on the cliff face in the distance…

“Storm Light”

"Storm Light"

“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…

“Norwegian Would”

"Norwegian Would"

“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…

“Out And About”

"Out And About"

“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…

"Quiet Reflection"

“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….

“Light, Rain”

"Light Rain"

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

Today I started off with great intentions. The rain, however, had different plans for me. It brutalized the views wherever I went. This started out as a van painting through my rain streaked back window. As I was finishing and the light was ebbing, the rain stopped. I was able to throw open the side door and put in some final details which had eluded my vision through the rain. Finished, I walked out onto the beach behind me and took a few dark, evening photos for reminders of future painting spots. I stood, iPhone camera in hand, concentrating on counting seconds between lighthouse flashes so as to capture the red light flashing on. I smelled him before I was aware of him stepping across my boots to scurry on down the beach. A baby skunk!…

“Let’s Play Ball”

"Lets Play Ball"

“Let’s Play Ball”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 USD

This was a part of a larger still life I had one of my recent Oil Painting Classes paint. They were doing so well with the still life that I set up next to them and just painted this baseball…

“Fiddlehead Farm”

"Fiddlehead Farm"

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

I have been watching this view for two months, waiting for the garden to max out with flowers and vegetables. It is not often one finds a simple white backdrop for emphasizing the middleground. The weather was just a step away from rain. So there were definitely no shadows to accentuate or complicate the scene…

“Right at Home”

"Right At Home"

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

For a few years one could not get this close to the old brick water works building. The construction chain link fence has been taken down revealing a new painting opportunity. Of course, I had to take advantage of the situation complete with a friendly pair of Canada Geese! I am forever trying to get some red in my paintings and these old bricks in shadow are close enough. Red, the compliment of green, will always activate the greens in a landscape…

"You Know You Want It"

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

Temptation comes in many forms. These from Chilmark are the best…

"Shadows Lengthen"

“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!….

“Butter Up”

"Butter Up"

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

Today was another rain out day among other things. So I thought a still life appropriate. Except that the still life I wanted to do in day light, had to wait for night lights. A friend visiting the island was rushed to hospital emergency room and I had pick her up when she was finally discharged at 2:30 am. She is ok, thanks for asking!…

“Salut Dad”

"Salut Dad"

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

No, its not a typo/spelling mistake. Get your French dictionaries out to get this title right. My Dad loved stone walls and gardens and creating with each. He taught my brothers and me how to do it all from scratch. He would have loved to have this painting…

"Leafy Landing"

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

Another windy gray day to contend with. This was out of the wind and I didn’t even have to put any gray sky in, or didn’t you notice…

"My Ship Comes In"

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

It was too nice a day to not stop by the Harbor View light and capture a sail boat cruising by. Some sun, mild temperature and a light breeze was the perfect combination to entice a sailor or two out upon the waters. All I had to do was set up and start painting and my ship would come in…

"Chilmark Spring"

“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….

"More Fogging In"

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

Another day, another fog, what can I say? I started this piece and the fog was receeding. An hour later, I could barely see the second rock…

"Fog Rolls In"

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

Subtle colors come out on gray, rain threatening days. There are no sharp shadows, sometimes no shadows at all to truely define an object. Shapes become flat, seemingly without volumn. Definition has to come from other means on gray days…

"My Arabian Friend"

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

My friends’ horse, Binty, is living out her last years in a small protected south-facing hillside pasture. I enjoy visiting her a few times every year. She loves visitors and I try to remember to bring a pear or an apple for her when I know I am stopping by. She brings back old memories of our elder horse and donkey from when my brothers and I were young. I have painted Binty 4 or more times in the last few years. She loves to pose and with her white coat she always looks great in the late afternoons against the shadows of the woods behind her. Thank you, Binty!…

"Just Opening"

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

The rain has been so much lately that I have succumbed to cutting flowers and bringing them indoors to paint. As much as I want to do a landscape, it is just too cold and nasty to attempt today…

"Honey by the Meadow"

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

It was sunny earlier. Then it got rainy later. I was hoping to paint bales of hay being made, but the weather was too threatening for the farmers. The bees were not threatened and kept right on collecting nectar and pollen. They let me get pretty close before I got buzzed, but not stung. Then a slow gentle rain finally drove me off. I was just about through anyway…

“Tree Peony”

"Tree Peony"

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

I visited the Polly Hill Arboritum to find this flower. It was one of the last tree peonies that had not shed any petals yet. Usually, I get here later and miss all of this type of peony. It rained in the middle of my painting session, but I hid under my umbrella and it passed quickly by…

"Spring Waters"

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

There is something about the spring waters which give them a real blue green glow. In summer and fall they are a darker green and blue. In this painting the spring color is more noticable due to the relationship with the white of the buildings on either side of the water…

“May Fog”

"May Fog"

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

My first painting back on Martha’s Vineyard and it was almost fogged out. Mosquitos don’t seem to like fog, which was good for me!… .

“Magnolia Moment”

"Magnolia Moment"

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

I started out this rainy day to snip and paint another flower from my brother’s garden. But this freshly opened and damp magnolia stole the thunder from all other blooms around the house. Luckily it did not start to close until I was most of the way through the painting….

"Lavender Dahlia"

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

This is a study for a commission I am working on. I like to push the colors in one direction or another. I like this direction, but maybe it’s not right for the commissioned piece. Luckily, the person doing the commissioning will never look at these note here…

"Spring Morning"

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

For the last two days, when first I’ve walked into my studio I have smelled a most delicious, almost citrous odor. Couldn’t figure out what it was nor where it was coming from. This evening I went out to pick a wild flower bouquet to paint. As I was arranging it and turning on the still life spot lights to prepare to paint, I found the iris bud I had painted 2 days ago totally open in its full splendor. That is what had wafted out that wonderful scent and I knew I had to paint it now…

“First Iris”

"First Iris"

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

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, my iris I transplanted from an elder friend’s house last spring have started to bloom. I had no idea what color they were when I dug them up and am happy to find them white. The 50 mph winds beat up the first bloom pretty badly. So this is really the 2nd. Maybe that is the reason I found no flower beds planted here…

“Oriental Rug”

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"Oriental Rug"

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

A small daffodil sitting on the table with the oriental rug off in the background…

“Blush”

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"Blush"

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

I bought these Lilies a few days ago. They have been knocking me out with their delicious scent at night in my studio. Finally had to paint them so I can enjoy them back in the house. I assume they are some type of Stargazer hybrid as some buds only reach straight up and others open forward or down. They are not white as is usual, but a nice subdued creamy white…

“In The Bowl”

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"In The Bowl"

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

Some fruit I had to wait before eating…

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

“One Down”

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"One Down"

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

Today I got to set these pears up outside in full sun to get the shadows…

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"Crate of Clemmies"

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

Meanwhile, back home in the studio some still lifes are brewing…

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"2009 Self Portrait"

“2009 Self Portrait”, this is a Small painting, 8″x 6″, oil on canvas panel. $500.00 US

After an uneventful drive back to Texas (I photo-documented it on my Face Book page), I found myself back on the ranch with just oodles of mouse turds all over the house. The nice ladies at my local phone/DSL company put my account on hold when I asked them to turn it off of vacation and on. They got tired of hearing from me after 8 phone calls and just turned on the internet today a week later. I thought it appropriate to do a self portrait for my first Texas piece of the new year. I will be driving to West Texas to paint for the next few days and might not be able to get internet each day. But I will try…

“Light, Snow”

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"Light, Snow"

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

This was a hard one to capture, as snow was still falling when I went out. I did some work in the car and finished up in the studio…

“No Chocolates”

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"No Chocolates"

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

I over ate the chocolates last time I painted them. This time it was a pleasure not to have any chocolates to eat as I finished this piece…

“Last One”

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"Last One"

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

Sometimes the day just is not long enough to stand outside to paint…

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

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"Chilmark's Chocolate"

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

Around this time each year, Chilmark Chocolates shares their odd lots with the community. They do this by giving the post office chocolates to put out on the counter for all who come in to leave or pick up mail. Needless to say, it is my only favorite season to go and get my mail! After nibbling some there, I realized the full pieces would be a great still life and I could write it off as a business expense. Giddyup, I went straight over to the store and got 2 boxes to contemplate. Today’s painting, hopefully, is one of a series I will do while this miserable weather keeps me in chocolate, er, indoors… Thank you, Chilmark Chocolates!

“A Fig for All”

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"A Fig For All"

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

Today’s work is a still life. It was just too cold and windy to go outside today to do a land or seascape…

“Why We Are Here”

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"Why We Are Here"

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

The surf was the only thing which looked paintable to me today. It was another gray, overcast and windy day…

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\"A Pear Aficionado\"

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

Today’s painting is of my friends’ horse who I like to visit every year. The horse has a real sweet tooth for pears and luckily has a pear tree right in the middle of the pasture…

“Fisherman’s Lane”

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\"Fisherman\'s Lane\"

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

Painted down on the docks on a great morning last week…

“Way Off Storm”

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\"Way Off Storm\"

“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…

“Four Figs”

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\"Four Figs\"

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

It’s fig season and I have wanted to do a fig still life for a while. I was able to create a nice natural lighting situation and had fun with the soft, western window light coming in on my subjects…

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\"Rolly Polly\'s\"

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

Rainy day still life by the light of the window…

“Lily Life”

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\"Lily Life\"

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

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\"Three Macintosh?\"

“Three Macintosh?”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″ oil on canvas panel, $500.00 US

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“Petunia Power”

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

“The Queen Rose”

“The Queen Rose”

“The Queen Rose”, this is a Large painting, 39.75″x 39.75″ oil on canvas, SOLD

This is one of my large flower series paintings. I usually do 1 or 2 per year… “The Queen Rose” was painted in a straight, direct painting style as opposed to my pointillist style.