Greetings, thank you for stopping by.

I dabbled in art throughout my life. When I retired in 2012, my goals were simple. Painting and drawing were going to take up a significant portion of my time. I had recently remodeled a building at the rear of my property into my studio. That was where I was going to hang out. At the same time, I enrolled in the Botanical Illustration Certificate Program that is offered at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill. For the next three years I was able to take all the required art classes. These disciplines ranged from basic drawing, to Colored Pencil, to Pen and Ink, to Watercolor, to Acrylics, to Color Theory and Composition. I thought by taking all the classes I would discover one medium that I dearly loved and would make that my medium of choice. What I discovered was that I loved them all.

My intention for this blog is to use it to post pictures of my paintings so that I can not only track my work as it develops but share them with my friends.

Monday, August 29, 2016

Camden Light

Camden Light

In 1983, my wife and I moved to Maine within a week of getting married in Roanoke, VA.  In total we spent eight long, cold, winters in Maine.  For the most part Ilene survived them by spending time in her sewing room creating a new wardrobe.   I, on the other hand, learned to cope with the winters by engaging in outdoor sports like skiing and ocean kayaking which I did year-round.  

But, no matter what we did during the cold months to make life bearable, we lived for the summers and our trips to the coast where we took great pleasure in exploring the coastal communities and their many Bed and Breakfast Inns.  One of the first places we fell in love with was Camden, Maine with its picturesque harbor filled with tall ships on the weekends, and a great French restaurant, Le Casoulet, where we enjoyed Shrimp a la Grecque every time we were there.

It also was an ocean kayakers dream destination with several islands within an easy paddle.  My favorite was Curtis Island, the home of Camden’s lighthouse where I loved putting ashore to explore, take pictures and feast on a free lunch.  Many Maine islands provided excellent habitation for large oyster beds.  Curtis Island was one of them.  There was nothing sweeter than a lunch of a dozen or so fresh oysters on the half shell, still chilled from the ocean waters.  I also learned, that the wild rose bushes that bloomed on the cliffs just below the lighthouse were generally covered with edible rose hips.  With a knife I would cut them in half and core them leaving a pulp that possessed a sweet, fruity flavor with just a touch of tartness.  I used to think of them as my dessert after a great seafood lunch. 

This painting is a rendering of one of my many photographs of Camden Light.  It was taken from my kayak on the ocean side, which is the only vantage point from which this beautiful little lighthouse can be seen.

I have many fond memories of this island.     

"Camden Light"   SOLD
16 X 20
Acrylic on stretched canvas

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Thursday, August 11, 2016