The Garden

OK I didn't paint today, one more morning of fiddling about in the yard/garden/pond.
I do consider the garden to be a creative endeavor, so here's a couple of pics. I hope to get out this afternoon and do a painting, I posted a pic of the pond 'cause my paintings usually only show a very small part of the whole. A while back I was blog-tagged by Jo Castillo. I won't tag others but I have enjoyed reading the seven things that most people don't know on various blogs I visit...so Here's my list.

1. I secretly wanted to be a writer for many years and I have many journals and quite a few poems hidden away. I stopped journaling about 15 years ago, but I still write the occasional poem. I show them to no one.

2. I suffer from terrible vertigo, yet I love the view from tall buildings, mountain tops etc. When I went to Yosemite I had to lay down on my stomach to peer over the edge of half dome...still felt like I was going to fall, but the view was priceless!

3.I still harbor the thought that I should stop painting still lifes, landscapes etc. and spend the rest of my life only doing portraits and figures because I think portraying people is the noblest form of artistic expression.

4. I live in New Jersey because my parents and family are here, if they weren't I would surely move to the mountains of New Mexico. I love the sea, but the the southwest stirs my soul more then anywhere I've ever been.

5. I'm quite neat in my home and at the work place, but my paints and studio area are totally messy and disorganized.

6. I quite drinking in 1991, before that I spent ten years downing a bottle of vodka daily.

7.I have a bullfrog in my pond and I feed him worms and grubs out of the garden every day. You can see him ( sortof ) on the little island among the rocks in the top picture. I've collected frogs and toads all my life because my older sister called me "The Toad" when I was a little boy !!

Clams III

It's been a long haul since I decided to change the painting from it's abstract background. And to think it all started with an image in my head of two rectangles...This one sure took on a life of it's own, and I am sure glad it's complete. I could probably write pages more about this painting, but it's time to let the picture do the talking. There are still some minor corrections and a few more dots and dashes to add ...and a signature. I'll be entering it into the Noyes Biennial....Hope it's accepted!!
I've prepared lots of 5x7 and 8x10 panels so now I can finally get out and paint the garden before it's past it's prime.

Uncle Jonathan

My Uncle Jonathan and his three sons all excell at baseball. I have nary an athletic bone in my body, but I can draw baseballs!! My Aunt commissioned this illustration type drawing for Jonathan's 60th Birthday tomorrow. Happy Birthday Uncle Jonathan !!
9x12 pen and ink

Silenced Laughter

Every year the laughing gulls appear here in South Jersey around April. I love their laughing squawk. For me it is a harbringer of summer and days on the beach. Hearing it affects me like a beloved old song. Someone hit this poor thing in the alley behind the flower shop this morning. I carefully brought it home and did this quick sketch in oil. 16x20 canvas

Discarded Styles: From the Vault 1985

I used to work in this cubist type style on occasion back in the eighties when my painting was at it's lowest ebb ( wouldn't produce anything for months at a time ).
This Gazebo painting was done for a juried contest I saw in the paper. It was not accepted, I was crushed ( heheheh ). I did not intend for it to look like a church although that's what most people saw. Years later my Niece saw it and asked if she could have it, it has hung in her bedroom ever since. It's acrylic on masonite 12 x18.
I am deep into Mother's Day floral work this week. My client picked up the boat painting that was comissioned a few months ago. I realized after she left that I did not get a photo. Argh!! I'm very close to finishing the large Clams III painting. I've never spent so much time on a single work and I doubt if I ever will again. I kept thinking of all the other paintings I might have completed in the time I've spent ( 4 months ) on this piece. Look for a post about it after Mother's Day.

After the Beach ...work in progress

I was invited to enter a show at the Ocean City Art Center entitled " The Vanishing Beach Cottage" I spent a few hours driving along Ocean Drive; a scenic route that traverses seaside towns here in Southern-most New Jersey. I saw many cottages, though none on the actual beach. I found this humble little bungalow (on the beach) at 41st street in Ocean City. I was really drawn to the outdoor shower right off of the back porch. Outside Shower heads like that really strike a cord with my experiences of being on the beach as a kid. Anyway I took some photos then ran to the store to buy a beach towel, came back and took a few more..I ran out of light, didn't have time to sketch, felt wierd tromping aound on someones property. A neighbor was watching me from across the street with a suspicious glare. Ah the price of art. Here is todays effort with oil on a 9x12 panel. The photo makes the lines off kilter, but they look quite right in real life.