Late November Sunset (Lynch Park)

Here's another photo from yesterday's walk at Lynch Park, here in Beverly, MA.  I find it difficult to capture photos of the sun, but this one seemed to work. Tonight I cropped the original image to get this composition.

Toward Sunset at Lynch Park

This afternoon, around 4 PM, we took a walk at Lynch Park, one of several waterfront parks here in Beverly, MA. In November in Massachusetts, the sun starts to set early, which is usually a drawback.  But it also means spectacular light shows for late afternoon walks.  

Those Scarlet Mountains (Acrylic Water Media)

I painted this last weekend.  This is one of my "Mountain Daydreams," landscapes painted from my imagination and my memories of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. This is 16 x 20 inches, painted with acrylic used with water on Aquaboard.  It is on display through December at Galatea Fine Arts, part of the "Fresh Forward" show of works by Galatea artists. 

Blue Sun, Red Mountains (Acrylic Water Media)

Here's another painting I have been working on.  This is 8 x 10 inches, painted on Aquaboard with acrylics.  This is how it looked on November 25, when I finished it.  I added more pale blue highlights on the mountains, made the blue sun a little darker, and added a purple wash to the sky.  On Sunday I delivered this to Galatea Gallery in Boston for the December show "Fresh Forward".  If you want to know more about Galatea Gallery, follow this link: www.galateafineart.com

Exploration in Purple (Acrylic Water Media)

Yesterday I finished this small painting that I have been working on.  This is part of my "Mountain Daydreams" series of landscapes painted from my imagination and from memories of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. This painting was almost finished, but I added some highlights to the mountains, changed the shape of the sun, and added a white wash to the sky.  This is acrylic paint used with water on 8 x 10 inch Aquaboard.  This was my first try using Aquaboard instead of watercolor paper, and I was very happy with it. 

Blue Sun, Red Mountains (As of Nov. 24, 2017)

Here's another small painting that I started yesterday. This photo shows a work in progress, acrylic paint on Aquaboard, 8 x 10 inches.  This is the second painting I have done on Aquaboard, so this really is an exploration.  As with my other "Mountain Daydreams" paintings, I am working from my imagination and from my memories of Colorado. To be continued. . .

Exploration in Purple (As of Nov. 24, 2017)

Today I went back to the painting that I started a couple of days ago (November 22). This is one of my "Mountain Daydreams," images painted from my imagination and my memories of the Rocky Mountains in my home state of Colorado. This is 8 x 10 inches and is my first painting on Aquaboard, so this really is an exploration. It works a lot like watercolor paper but the paint dries faster. Today I added a white glaze to the sky and more white high lights on the mountain. There is just a little bit more I want to do but I think I will finish this tomorrow. Meanwhile, I decided to seal the edges with transparent pale purple stain. (This is the shape of a canvas, but made of wood, with sides that are 2 inches deep.)

Seeds and Slices (Framed)

Here's another of the small drawings that I did a few years ago.  Last week I framed this for Open Studios at Porter Mill. This is 3 1/2 inches square, done with pen and ink. 

Exploration in Purple (As of Nov. 22, 2017)

This is the little painting that I started today. It is only 8 x 10 inches, done with acrylic used with water, and still a work in progress. This is an exploration because this is my first time painting on aquaboard instead of watercolor paper.  So far, I like it.  I am painting from my imagination, but as with my other "Mountain Daydreams," I am drawing from my memories of the mountains in my home state of Colorado.

Lines, Vines, and Dots (Framed)

A few years ago, I did a series of pen-and-ink drawings, 3.5 inches square.  Last week I framed  them up for Open Studios at Porter Mill.

Daydream with Hydrangeas (Framed)

This is the fourth and last of the small floral drawings that I framed last Friday. All of them are drawn from the imagination, created with Sharpie fine-line markers, and all are 6 inches square.  I was really pleased with the way these little drawings looked, and I took them up to Porter Mill for Open Studios.  

Late Summer Flowers (Framed)

Here is another drawing that I framed on Friday for Open Studios.  I drew this back on August 24.  It is 6 by 6 inches, drawn with Sharpie fine-line markers.

Flowers for Friday (Framed)

Here's another small drawing that I framed yesterday to take up to the studio.  This is 6 x 6 inches, drawn with Sharpie markers on paper, originally posted here on August 25, 2017.

Flowers for Dreamers (Framed)

Yesterday I framed up some small drawings that I did back in August. All of them are 6 x 6", flowers from my imagination,  drawn with Sharpie fine-line marker,  This one is called "Flowers for Dreamers," originally posted here on August 26. I really liked the way these drawings look framed.  They will be in my studio at Porter Mill for Open Studios tomorrow.

August Flowers (Revised)

I drew this back on August 23, 2017, and posted it that day. 

Today as I was getting ready to frame some small drawings for Porter Mill's Open Studios (this weekend), I noticed that the earlier version wasn't symmetrical enough for framing.  So I got out my Sharpies, tested the colors, and drew in another purple daisy. 

Green and Yellow Leaves

This is a photo that I took at Long Hill Garden just a few weeks ago, October 19th.  I liked the way the leaves looked in the late afternoon sun so I took this picture.  It's strange how fast the seasons change. Most of the bright leaves are gone by now.  Tonight I cropped the original photo to get this composition.

Indoor Garden (Fabric Appliqué as of Nov. 14, 2017)

Today the weather was gloomy and cold, ideal weather for working on this project. This is an "iron-on" fabric appliqué that I am making, using a favorite old tea towel as the background. Today I designed the flowers for the vines, and then added them at the bottom of the piece.  I am going to add more flowers and leaves to the vines.  I am considering adding a third kind of flower if I have room.  To be continued...

Red Berries in the Rain

It has been raining all day, and that made me think of this photo that I took in late October, at Long Hill Gardens.

My Dad in London (Posterized Version)

This is my father in London during World War II.  This image might look familiar because I posted it here before as a "rescued family photo" back on August 28, 2006. It was in my mother's old album, where she kept photos he sent home from overseas during World War II.  I like this photo with St. Paul's in the background, and so I did a lot of work to rescue it: straightening, cropping, retouching, etc. Yesterday I went back to this image and created this posterized version in Painter.  When I posted this back on 2006, I wrote about  my father enjoying his leave in London. And it looks like he did.  In fact, I don't think he traveled much except when he was in the army.  But I know there was a lot more to his war time experience than that.  What I think about now is that my father was a mild-mannered, peaceful guy.  But he left his brand new wife, his mother, his brother, and his sisters to do his bit to defeat the Nazis. I know he was scared during the war because he told me so years later when he was getting treatment for cancer. I think of his courage a lot lately, and his example strengthens my resolve to not stand idly by in the face of bigotry and antisemitism.  

Indoor Garden (Fabric Appliqué as of Nov. 8, 2017)

I finally had a chance to get back to this project today, a work in progress.  I am creating a fabric appliqué (with iron-on adhesive).  The background or base is well-loved tea-towel. Today I started adding blossoms and buds. I had a general plan for the composition, but am letting the flowers grow as they please.  However, I may need to make some adjustments for the sake of symmetry.  To be continued. . . .

Driving in Vermont (Digital Woodcut)

This is the third version of a photo that I took last weekend, this time with a woodcut effect added in Painter.  I took the photo from the passenger seat of a moving car while we were heading home from Vermont.  This is somewhere between Burlington and Montpellier.

Driving in Vermont (Posterized Photo)

This image began with a photo that I posted here yesterday, a picture that I took while we were driving in Vermont.  (We were headed south, somewhere between Burlington and Montpellier.)

I used Painter to add posterizing effect to this version.

Driving in Vermont (Digitally Edited Photo)

This is a picture that I took as we were driving home from Vermont on a cold, wet afternoon.  The location is somewhere between Burlington and Montpellier. Although I took a lot of photos in Vermont, I was often taking pictures from the driver's seat of a moving car.  It was pretty challenging to get an image I could use, especially with a lot of cars on the road.  There were only two cars in the distance in this photo, so I thought it might work.  But I had to do a lot to get there.  I opened the original photo in Painter and cropped out the dashboard and car interior.  When I had the composition I wanted,  a corner of the inspection tag on the windshield was still visible in the lower right part of the image, so I used some cut and past and digital pastel to fix that.  I also had to even out the color in the upper left corner because you could see the outline of the windshield.  Once I got that far, I also created two more versions in Painter, one with a posterized effect, and the other with a woodcut effect.  I plan to post them here over the next few days.

Road to Vermont (with Woodcut Effect)

Here is one more version of my photo of the road to Vermont.  For this one I used Painter to add a woodcut effect. I worked section by section to get the right amount of black and outline for each part of the image.

Road to Vermont (Posterized Photo)

Here is my recent photo, taken as we were heading toward Vermont. But this version has a posterized effect added in Painter.

Road to Vermont

We drove up to Burlington Vermont this weekend. Even though the leaves were "past peak", the scenery was great.  When I was in the passenger seat, I tried to get a few pictures as we drove. This is one of them. Tonight I edited the original photo to get this composition, and used the retouch tool to clean up some distracting cracks in the road.  I also opened the image in Painter and made two more versions with special effects, which I plan to post here over the next few days.

Pink Hydrangeas (OIl Bar Painting)

Finished two days ago, just in time.

Mom in San Francisco Train Station (Posterized Photo)

This image began with a snapshot that i found this morning. I was looking through a big envelope of old photos that my aunt sent me a few years ago. Most of these pictures are of my mom before she got married.  This photo is labeled "Ruth - SF. Terminal - Aug. 1940".  So my mother went to San Francisco.  I think the photographer was my mom's sister because I also saw pictures of her in Berkeley, California, labeled "Aug. 1940." I will have to ask.  Anyway, I love this picture of my mom, looking very elegant.  This morning I cleaned the image up a bit in iPhoto and then opened it in Painter.  I used digital pastel, color overlay, and selective posterizing to add color.  It is fun to imagine the colors. I like the result and its nice to feel like I am spending a time with her.  I am posting this today because she was born on November 2nd.

Pink Hydrangeas (Oil Bar Painting as of Oct. 31, 2017)

This work-in-progress is my oil bar painting as it looked on October 31st.  This is an 8 x 10 inch canvas.  My reference photo is posted here October 22, I picture I took of a branch of hydrangeas turning pink. On the 31st I was working on refining the shapes of the blossoms and refining the background.  Getting there. . .