Lime Hollow

     I finished this today after working on it for a full three months, which is the longest I've worked on any one piece in a long time. It's 28 x 21 inches and is ink wash on paper. It's a spot in Lime Hollow where a lot of kids go to summer camp in my area.  The kids take branches from the forest floor and build structures up against the trees.  There are the remnants of one such structure at the base of the front left tree and I was interested in the way the morning light was illuminating it and some of the trees around it. 

2 Pears, a Fig, and Raspberries

    This is my most recent still life and I'm kind of excited about it.  I think it has a more precise look to it than the others and it seems I was observing more carefully.  I like how the cool tones of the fig play off of the warm tones in the painting.  I've never painted raspberries before but these are from my garden and for me that's as good a reason as any.  This is 12 x 16 and painted in oils.

3 Figs and a few others

     The figs are still calling me.  This is 6 x 9 inches on a handmade canvas panel. They are tricky because they change a lot from day to day.  I usually get about 3-4 days to work from them. 

     I'm also posting a few other paintings that I started last Spring and finished recently.

2 Jonquils 11 x 14 inches

 2 Daffodils 12 x 16 inches

Three Pears With a White Dish

This is 11 x 14 on a gallery wrapped canvas

Two Pears and a Plum

This is 8 x 10 on a gallery wrapped canvas.

Two Green Bottles and Two Pears

    I finished this last week.  It's 16 x 20 and the largest still life that I've done so far.  I was thinking a lot about the complimentary colors red and green while I was setting it up. I also liked that the two green bottles are almost the same color but not quite.

Some Views of the studio

Here are a few views of my studio set up for visitors on the Ithaca Art Trail.  Its open again this Saturday and Sunday from 1-5 each day.

Jonquils

     I painted this a few months ago while the Jonquils were still in bloom.  Jonquils and daffodils are two of my early Spring favorites.  I started several larger daffodil paintings in the Spring also, which I hope to resume in the Fall.  These Jonquils are in a glass that was intended to be a shot glass.  I really like the shape and thought it would work well as a vase for small flowers.

     

Old Maple on Scofield Rd

     I've passed by this old Maple many times and it's always caught my interest but I hadn't seen it as a drawing subject until one day this past Spring when I saw it as an embrace.  I love this tree!  This drawing is dedicated to my Dad who passed away in March at 89 years of age.

Magnolia

This is a Magnolia that I saw at Buttermilk Falls State Park a month or so ago.  I really liked the soft light that was falling on it.  It's painted in sumi ink washes and  I didn't use any quill pen hatching on it as I usually do because I wanted to keep it very soft.

Myers Park Summer Morning Wins People's Award

     I'm happy to announce that my painting "Myers Park Lighthouse Summer Morning" was awarded the people's choice award at the East Shore Festival of the Arts.  Thanks to all that voted for it!
     One of my favorite things about living in Lansing is all of the beautiful places to paint.

Two Bosc Pears

The shape of the pear on the right reminded me of a large curved drop of water, and I was interested in how the color of it contrasts with the pear on the left which is more fully ripe.  I might do some more paintings later on which explore the color variations of pears at different stages .

One more ink drawing

So here is another ink drawing that I've been working on.  It's the same tree in the post from a few days ago and It's from a photo I took in Central Park several years ago.  In this drawing I was interested in how the drawing would look if I made it much darker and with lower contrast than I usually do. With this ink wash technique the dark colors have a velvety, matte finish which I like.

Some new ink drawings

 Central Park Tree 30 x 22 ink on paper 2013

 Storm  12 x 8 inches ink on paper 2013

Tree Harness 2013  14 x 10 inches 

Salt Point Cayuga Lake, Finger Lakes New York

     I have been painting and drawing a lot recently but haven't posted in a while.  I've been doing a lot of ink drawings and I've been experimenting with drawing people in Sumi ink washes.  It's totally new to me to use this material  to draw anything other than botanical images and I don't know yet if this is a diversion or a new direction for me.  I'm not ready to post them yet.   For now this is a painting I just finished to enter into the East Shore Festival of the Arts.