Throughout this past month, I’ve completed a number of new seascapes, many of which are now on exhibit at Sheldon Fine Art in Newport RI. In addition, I finally completed "Peace at Dawn", now shown on my "New Pieces" page. Another very long project completed in August is the painting "November Light". After two years, and letting the piece sit for long periods while working through other paintings, I was beginning to doubt I’d ever complete it ….. but its finally done and I hope to get it posted among my many other new paintings for this past month. Currently, I’m working on a larger seascape, a small wave study, and a 24x48 mountain stream.

My main project this month is a painting of Grey Towers. Built by Gifford Pinchot, the first head of the U.S. Forestry Service under Theodore Roosevelt, the estate is now owned by the Forestry Service and considered by many to be it’s birth place. This September will mark 50 years since the estate and mansion were deeded to the Forestry Service, and dedicated as a historic site by President John F. Kennedy. The painting is in honor of this event, to be celebrated at Grey Towers on September 21st.

I enjoyed a recent trip to Hawk Mt., PA.  It has been a long time since I've studied distance in landscape.  This excursion has reminded me of its possibilities.  The distant ridgelines and open rock vistas provide an ideal context for painting the atmospheric effects of the summer sky.

I spent this past weekend exhibiting in the Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Festival in Philadelphia. Although Friday was hindered by rainfall, Saturday and Sunday were great. Pictured is a shot of my display, and another picture of the painting I worked on during the 3 days of the show. Using a basic line sketch sitting to the right of my easel, I was able to get this small study nearly complete. As the various layers dry, I will be fine-tuning it over the next couple weeks.

After dropping off new paintings at Sheldon Fine Art in Newport RI., I spent the next couple days exploring the surf. Both days were stormy and foggy, but the waves were powerful. Although it lacks dramatic lighting, I like the fog. In misty weather, the rocky coast seems more natural and wild. The blue-green color in the rising waves has already inspired new work. I’ve just begun a couple new surf paintings based on these observations. In addition, I’m continuing work on a couple commissions and a forest waterfall.

Its always encouraging to see how my paintings are displayed in a home setting.    This painting, while on exhibit at Sheldon Fine Art in Newport RI, was purchased this past season.  The new owner was kind enough to send me this image. A close-up of the painting can be viewed on the "New Pieces" page.

My mind has finally adjusted to the changing season. I’ve given up on one last good snowfall ….. now its time for forest greens, and of course, the sea! This time of year, forest waterfalls and streams lack the emerald greens that make them such vivid inspiration for painting. But the water flow itself, better lit due to the lack of a heavy leaf canopy, can still provide wonders. I have two forest stream paintings underway, as well as a few seascapes. I’m looking forward to visiting the coastline soon over the next few weeks since I need a good long time to watch the surf and regenerate.

With a fairly consistent snow cover, it’s been easy to find inspiration for  painting  snow scenes. I’m still waiting for a decent accumulation that will fill the tree branches. It seems that our last opportunity missed us and dumped on Connecticut instead. It’s a shame that weather conditions producing such wonderful scenery can also produce a lot of misery. Skiing has been good, but I’m eager to get out into the woods after a heavy snowfall.

I have three snow scenes currently underway that I plan to complete over the next couple weeks. In addition, I’m making progress on commissioned work and a couple large seascapes. One of these is a 36x70 study of the surf at dawn. I've been working on this for nearly 8 months now. It’s progressing very slowly due to many other pieces in the works, but I’m determined to step it up and complete it before the spring.

Although my painting has focused on commissioned work this past month, I explored the effects of bright morning light through a breaking wave. This study was completed on 24x48 stretched canvas and is now on exhibit at Sheldon Fine Art in Newport RI for the holidays. In addition, I have 3 other seascapes underway as well as a snow scene. Even though I look forward to the inspiration of fresh snowfalls, an art trip to Newport RI this month has filled my mind with more ideas from the rocky coastline.

I saw a couple originals of the 19th century artist William Trost Richards at a Newport art museum. These paintings were new to me and I was driven to revisit the site of Richards’ coastal home at Ft. Wetherhill State Park, RI. The rock formations here inspired a wealth of his paintings and I too find them fascinating. I anticipate a lot of sketching ahead from this location.

With the re-opening of the Shawnee Gallery in Water Gap PA, I have placed a collection of my landscapes there on exhibit. This includes limited edition prints of the Delaware Water Gap area. More of my Pennsylvania landscapes can also be viewed at the Morgan Gallery in Blakeslee, PA.

As we progress through the changes of autumn, I’ve been working on completing a large autumn scene begun last fall. I had set it aside as spring and summer seascape inspiration flooded in. But now, I hope to complete it before winter snow arrives. A couple weeks ago, I completed "October’s Gold" 30x30. This should be appearing on the "New Pieces" page soon. In addition, I have a 3 part series underway to study birch trees (in winter snow, spring greens, and autumn gold). These will be long vertical paintings measuring 15x30. Finally, as always, I have a number of seascapes in process. The surf always displays new views, lighting, and dynamics to explore in paint!