I WORK EN PLEIN AIR, OUT IN THE COUNTRYSIDE… Welcome. I am back to painting again after a sabbatical that included a few pieces done for charitable fund raisers. I am continuing to make small, 6" x 8", landscape oils, but not every day. I am also working on larger pieces. Every time I finish a painting, I will place it here on my website. If you see something you'd like to purchase, email me. Thank you for enjoying my work and keeping me creating new pieces. Your interest stimulates and inspires me and has made me a better painter. Sign up for my emails and I will send you an image of each new painting. I love to paint and am happy to share my painting experience with you. Most of my work is impressionistic landscape oils, inspired by the beauty of the Island of Martha's Vineyard where I live.
“The Down Side”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $750.00 US
This is my third time painting at this location. It is a plateau south of Terlingua Ghost Town and higher up. At each drive up the steep and narrow switch back, I am always in awe that my front wheel drive van can make it up the slope. These are the peaks of the plateau capturing the last rays of the sun as it sets beyond view…
Long Draw Dry Creek
“Long Draw Dry Creek”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $750.00 US
I was out scouting around and drove up this dry creek bed. I turned around when I couldn’t drive any farther and there was this painting in front of me…
“To Croton Spring”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $750.00 US
Sometimes, out painting, I can turn around from where I just worked and there is another great scene waiting to be captured on canvas. That was my luck at this spot. While my ears were still on high alert for the rustling sounds of bears or cats, I raced against the dying light to the finish…
“From Croton Spring Rd.”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $750.00 US
After a few days scouting this section of the Park at different times of day, I took a chance that this rough, side road would give me the view I wanted. I actually had a couple see me painting and drive in to watch and photo me working. They then tried to buy this piece just as I had put the first stroke of blue on for the sky. Of course, $20.00 did not impress me… What did though was the bear proof food storage unit just behind me. My ears were on guard duty the whole time I did this painting. At dusk when I got in my van and drove out, I saw my first javelina, or peccary , standing near by. I was glad I was leaving…
“Mine Owner’s House”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $750.00 US
This was painted right outside my bedroom at the Terlingua Trading Company, in Terlingua, Texas. The house is in partial disrepair and now, partial rehab and is made out of adobe. For all of WW I and part of WW II this was not a ghost town but a very lively mining town. The prized mineral was cinnabar, which was smelted into mercury. This was used in detonator caps during the wars until about 1945 when mercury was replace by more modern methods. Most of the 2000 inhabitants left Terlingua at that point. This part became a ghost town, until the arrival of the hippies in the 1970’s and it’s subsequent revival…
“Santa Elena Canyon”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $750.00 US
I painted this in Big Bend National Park, an unbelievable place. This is the Rio Grand exiting out of the Santa Elena Canyon. The Canyon walls are over 1,000 feet high making this a most impressive sight. As I painted, all around me were different types of flycatchers doing their acrobatics as they sought tasty morsels flying along the river banks….
“Dove Road”, this is a Small painting, 8″x 6″, oil on canvas panel. $750.00 US
This is down in West Texas, about an hour out of Big Bend National Park in the middle of a 12,000 acre ranch. It is a record of the time of day and the exact place where I discovered I had a flat tire. I was very lucky that I carry a mini air compressor and was able to fill it to get me on my way. No one would have found me where I was. However, I did have to stop at the Border Patrol check point and do a refill to get me back to my hotel room in Alpine… And I awoke many flocks of doves as I drove back out of the ranch after sundown, hence the title…
“Cheese Farm Hay”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.
I found these hay rolls when I went to buy some hand made cheese out in the country…
“2009 Self Portrait”, this is a Small painting, 8″x 6″, oil on canvas panel. $750.00 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…
“Last Night”, this is a Small painting, 6″x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.
This is quite possibly my last Martha’s Vineyard painting as I will be packing and on the road for Texas from now until New Years. I may attempt a painting along the way, but sometimes the van has a mind of its own and just wants to get there quickly…