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.
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“Chappy Ferry”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.
The weather was cold and windy for this painting. When I went out the next day to finish it was off and on rainy. Had to sit and paint from my car both days, but at least I was warm…
“On The Boat”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.
While wandering about on the north shore of the island, I came upon a marshy area which was off limits to deer hunting. As I don’t have any hunter orange to wear, I have been exceedingly careful during the 2 weeks of shotgun season to stay in and around any of the town areas. This exile from the larger wooded and open areas and wilder shorelines has helped me reevaluate points of interest I have been to and painted before but have never fully explored. This particular spot looks right out onto the ferry run and into the hole between Naushon Island and Falmouth, known as Woods Hole. It is a treacherous passage for motor and sailing vessels as the tides suck through the narrow channels between Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay, with rock edges and ledges constricting the narrow channel even more. To make it a bit more challenging for a boat, ferries lumber into and out of the port there almost every hour all day and into the evening darkness with little room to maneuver should an errant ship be in the wrong place at the wrong time trying to fight through a tidal surge, foul tide or heavy breeze. The title of this piece is the message most texted, emailed and/or called to one’s island family and friends after a long, white knuckled, car or bus ride racing through all sorts of traffic to get to the ferry on time. Drivers have been known to drive at 90 mph from NYC most of the way to Woods Hole, MA so as not to miss the last boat across, and you know who you are…!
“Harbor Moon”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.
At different times, I have sailed by, walked by, driven by, gotten close and moved afar to view this black hulled vessel. The large shape and oh so dark a black is not a color subject I would normally choose. But the mystery of ship drew me to it. I chose an evening with a falling breeze and donned my winter gear to keep me warm in the cold of the shadows as I worked. The ticking time bomb of the leaving light kept me focused and working fast. Painting from top to bottom, as I got to the details of docks and boat, the moon unexpectedly appeared. While it climbed the heavens as I moved my paints, I held my breath for fear my time was up and it would disappear before it reached it full splendor just about the eastern cloud bank…
“Chocolates”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. $750.00 USD
I have not done a still life in a long time, but I have been eating chocolates. This time I had some pieces to spare. It was also nice to be working in the warm studio for a change, too.
“Signs Of Fall”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.
I almost missed this painting opportunity. I love the views in the fishing village of Menemsha. Concentrating on the boats in port and their respective docks and gear, I almost didn’t see the colors of the far shore. It is full of a patch of rosa rugosa, locally known as beach rose. Usually a full, deep green color with red/pink or white roses, it opens its blooms early in spring. The scent, mixed with the aroma of the sea salty air, is a heady nose full of the summer to come. This particular stand had all turned a rusty yellow orange, stacked one atop the other marching up the hillside. On this bleak cold, almost snowy day, they were a welcome warming sight to behold…
“Distant Dunes”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.
Out of the breeze in a sunny location with Africa just over the far dunes (thousands of miles away), I studied one of my favorite trees. Its leaves, I thought, were brown, in reality were a dark shade of red. As the sun popped in and out between the clouds, the leaves turned on and off from illuminated red to a duller red/brown…
“In The Autumn”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.
The temperature has been dropping along with rain and leaves as the color of the land slowly changes from greens, reds, golds, oranges, browns to lavenders and grays. The setting sun, although moved from north of west to south of west still casts its charm upon the unsuspecting evenings. Drab views attain a golden radiance at this hour, mostly unsurpassed in summer months. Sights, unseen in green, now come slowly forth as the backbone of the ridges, hills and vales appear. As we dream about our gardens past, the season shifts and we are thankful, once again…
“After The Hurricane”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.
I began this image 2 days after hurricane Sandy rolled by. I returned a few more times during similar lighting conditions to finish it. Got caught up in the storm which came in on the tail of the hurricane. Contracted a bad flue which appears rampant in these parts. Now here I am 10 days later, finished…
“Pot Of Gold”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.
I painted this almost 2 months ago. It somehow never felt complete. It haunted me from my studio easel for weeks. After Hurricane Sandy, I realized we all need this rainbow, now. I set about pushing and pulling the space more with extra darks and lights in the foreground greens and yellows and shadows. I also had to adjust the sky near the horizon to give it a more stormy feel. After all that, the water needed to be lightened, too. Now I think I can find that pot of gold…
“Along The Way To Squibnocket”, this is a small painting, 6″ x 8″, oil on canvas panel. This painting has SOLD.
The glacier left Chilmark a roly-poly landscape full of kettle holes, drumlins and clay and rock. The boulders, rocks and erratics have been put to use as split granite fence posts, foundations and chimney stones. The most visible of all uses are the stonewalls. Some farmers would have fun in the winter months with sticks of dynamite. They would blow up the larger boulders to make more manageable for walls and jetties. Walls like this one, high on a hill, were made with spaces between the stones to accommodate the gales and keep the walls still standing. It also did not hurt that it cost few stones to make the walls. If you were a rabbit, raccoon, otter or muskrat you would also appreciate the porosity of these boundary markers…