Blog

Start with four days of crisp, dry weather and a cabin in the woods. Add starry nights, a stream with rapids to lull you to sleep, vistas, forest trails, waterfalls, a swimming hole, and a great blue heron.... [...]

Getting up early to capture the fog over the Loyalsock Creek has become an annual tradition of mine. This is the scene at about 7:30 a.m. on a June morning. By 8:30 a.m. the clouds are gone and the mountains are clearly visible. This view is just beyond High Knob Vista, World's End State Park, Pennsylvania.   Painting was sold, but contact me for a reproduction. [...]

Sharing a common appreciation of beauty gave this day meaning beyond the paintings themselves. [...]

The striking contrast between the violence of slave life and the beauty of the Eastern Shore was on my mind throughout my trip and reminded me of the mix of sadness and awe I feel when painting battlefields (such as Gettysburg and Manassas). There is a feeling of simultaneously being pulled down (by the reality of slavery, war, and climate change) and uplifted by the beauty of the landscapes. When I paint I enter into a state of peaceful meditation and creativity, also sometimes referred to as "flow," that allows me to face all of it. [...]

On a four day painting trip to the Finger Lakes region of New York, I thought I’d be painting farms, vistas, and Skaneateles Lake, as I've done in the past. I didn't expect to discover a sunflower field and then be unable to pull myself away from it. [...]

If you are a fan of impressionism and haven't yet been to the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, Connecticut, you must go. Throughout both days I found myself wanting to go back to a time when artists would take the train, ferry boat, then horse drawn buggy to the boardinghouse of Florence Griswold to paint en plein air. [...]

At the end of the day, I knew there were more cherry blossom paintings in me and I was itching to try them in oils. Rain was forecast for the next week and the blossoms don't last long so I decided to try making studio paintings instead of working plein air. This isn't my typical way of working, so it was a challenge, but, having painted these trees many times gave me the confidence to try. [...]

While I’m painting, I forget all my troubles. It’s meditation with a paintbrush in hand. On a good day and with a little luck, I can make paintings other people can “escape into” as well. [...]

I spent a morning in the Netherlands, Spain, and France, courtesy of the Worcester Art Museum. I'd heard wonderful things about this museum over the years and finally made a trip there during my annual holiday visit to the Boston area. I'm eager to share a few highlights of my visit and perhaps inspire you to go. [...]

Have you ever been asked to close your eyes and picture yourself in a beautiful place? Where do you go in your mind? The place that often pops up in my mind is Black Moshannon State Park, an endless source of imagery and inspiration for me as an artist. [...]