In Cape Cod looking along the shoreline as the tide rolls in and the sand disappears below the surf.
Before the ocean seas horizon,a lone sail boat drifts, as the sun burns off the morning fog.
As the sun sets upon the Atlantic coast, the towns silhouette appears and a lone fisherman reels in his catch of the day.
A gentle rise in the sand, a seperation in the shrubs, a path to the edge of a bluff that over looks the Atlantic across to sandbar where Race Point Light is a beacon, not just for ships, but the whales that are there to feed.
On the east coast on these rocky shores of the Atlantic stands this beacon of hope to travelers.
An overcast day, walking the pups on the beach, a small pool of water stands still and is reflecting the figures, whos cares have went out with the tide.
A cool suuny day, January in St. Augustine Florida. This can be any beach where nothing stops the thrill seeker and adventerous.
Two years ago we were in St Augustine Florida and they were celebrating 450 years of history, when I took a reference photo to do this painting. It is the oldest european settled town in the country. It was settled initially by the Spanish. Most if not all of us (our ancestors) immigrated here at some point. This is indeed what made and continues to make our country great!
The Chicago Lighthouse on Lake Michigan, where tall ship, 'The Windy' sets sail for yet another adventure.
A cool but balmy morning in St Augustine, Florida, these gulls are in flight formation for destinations unkown.
A friend modeled for this piece, where freedoms are expressed in relation to a trip out east in Ptown.
A hot summer days end, the rolling of the tide, light reflects off the surface or is it an Abstract with a horizon line? You to decide.
Over the Atlantic two birds fly across the sky, high above the rolling sea, in a vast endless 'Blue Haze' while a lone boat sails on.
It's early spring and another day's closing. Will their be a tomorrow and what will it bring? Breath it all in and be here for it.
St. Augustine, Florida where the North Atlantic Right Whale calving grounds are and many species of sea turtles nest. It's a new day and all things are possible.
One persons sunrise is anothers sunset. One persons seascape is anothers abstract.
A foggy morning walk, the sky, sand and sea merge and the couple disaapear over the horizon
St. Augustine, Florida, where whale and sea turtle are born. Stay here high upon the pier and you may just be lucky enough to see one pass by.
Watching the sun rise over the Atlantic. There's no better way to start the day.
Spring 2017~ We were out east on Cape Cod to do some whale watching and see the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale. The ocean was teaming with an abundance of food and sea life, it was amazing. These majestic giants are at a cusp of survival. On our way back we stopped at Nauset beach, where I saw this person sitting on a rock, staring out at the sea, hoping to catch a glimpse of this vanishing creature. A serene and pensive moment.
Blue on blue, a monocromatic study of the sky, sand and sea with a single bird skimming and reflecting off the surface.
Love, loss and grief, the memories are with us in many forms.
Inspired by the ocean, beach and sky, but is it a seascape or an abstract? Well that's for you to decide. A gentle, serene and peacful piece and place, to be sure.
First light of the day, a heavy fog, a salty mist sprays off the ocean, a gulls voice echoes and the two figures meet or do they simply pass each other by.
Saw this scene and it brought back memories. A summer day, all the wonder of the ocean, the beach, the possibilties and what I could create, with just a bucket and shovel inspired by the world around me...my imagination.
Imagine walking along the Atlantic coast, nothing but the morning light, the sound of the surf, the salty mist and a lone seagull squacks out a single note.
A sunny spring day at the beach. Listen carefully to the sounds: ocean waves, the wind, and the birds above.
End of the day, where shadow and light meet.
Several miles out of town, on a sunny day, when the tides out, here's what can be seen looking along the peninsulas end. The pilgrim monument towers over Ptown, as a symbol of freedom sought, from oppression and tyrranical rule, as we did when it was first colonized.
Beyond the dunes silhouette, a horizon line, and the morning sun burst with all things possible.
The Atlantic ocean and sky as the sun begins to set on a steamy day or elements of design; point,line, shape, form, space, color and texture, you decide.
At days end, in St Augustine, Florida, several Brown Pelicans fly along the ocean shores. Break it down in to its essential design elements, an abstract or perhaps a hidden message, uncoded.
Sunrises over the Atlantic and a large 'Flock of Seagulls' pass overhead. A good day.
The day begins or perhaps is ending, the tide rolls in and rolls out, today is another day.
This is the fifth season these wonderful birds have visited the pond behind our home. A mated pair of Sand Hill Cranes come every spring, have 1 or 2 chicks and raise them over the season. We've become quite familar with them, photograph them often and they seem like family at this point. This time of year they begin their flight training, for their migration south, until hopefully they return for yet another season.
Chicago has a Tall Ships event, off Navy Pier, regularly and it's very own 'The Windy' that tours the Chicago, Lake Michigan area giving historical tours. On one occasion I was out on 'The Windy' and captured several images ship to shore the Sears/Willis tower to John Hancock, with Chicago Lighthouse in the foregroundand Navy Pier off to the right. 'Chicago Is' my kind of town.
Off the coast of St. Augustine, Florida, in the Atlantic ocean there's an evolving dedicated group of surfers. Combing the beaches, you can find them just before sinrise until right after sundown when surfs up, they're catching a wave. This surfer was catching his final wave of the day.
All the anticipation and hopes of catching that ultimate wave and riding it, but alas the surfs have subsided. The tides are rolling out and he'll try again tomorrow.
What sometimes looks to be the sun setting is really the sun rising. The day opens and it closes, one on to the other, just be there for it and take it all in.
The warmth of the sun, a light breeze, the salt of the ocean mist, the sound of waves rolling in on the beach, he's lost in thought and daydreaming of some great discovery that his days explorations have revealed. Then a voice calls out, it's his mother and today, in this moment, all is well with the world.
A simplified and direct approach, conveying an ethereal silhouette, as the sun beams across the ocean casting a shadow on the sand.
Rushing down the beach, he waits in quiet anticipation. But hurry now, time is fleeting.
Out at the beach on the Atlantic Coast, just taking it all in, the sights, sounds, smells, and thoughts. A gull lifts off and I remember a story from when I was growing up, “Johnathon Livingston Seagull,” I presume and am inspired.
A dense fog engulfs all land, water and sky are bearly disguishable and a lone boat, bob’s gently in the sea as the sun disappears somewhere in the mist. Alone, a sense of Isolation begins to set in, but you are present and realize you are connected to the ubiquitous all.
We left Hyannis on the Cape, upon the Steam Ship Authority, car, dogs and ourselves all aboard, headed toward Nantucket island. The seas were slightly choppy and a light drizzle fell as our 2 hour tour ended pulling into the harbor. The rain stopped, clouds began to disapate and as we got closer the shoreline full of houses , sail boats leaving the harbor appeared, and Brant light circa 1746, stands as sentry to welcome us our arrival.
The Atlantic coast, St. Augustine Florida, the beach is marked North Atlantic Right Whales and a variety of endangered sea turtle migrate, and populate along this area. It’s also an area where you can catch a wave when the tides swell. This surfer stands looking out into the vast sea searching for a wave or maybe something else, you decide.
Out at the very tip of Cape Cod, at Race Point, you can sit for hours taking in the sun, the sand & the sea, most times I've been out there you can see pods of whales from shore as they pass by feeding.
Last year, April 2017, during a road trip we stopped off at Nauset Beach on the Cape. There was an elderly woman sitting on a giant slap rock on the beach. I did a painting of her gazing out upon the sea, entitled 'The Whale Watcher'. This year, May 2018, we stopped off again and there she was, only this time she had already enjoyed her time on the beach and had begun her ascent , walking back up the trail, to the cliffs that oversee this area, the beach, the vast ocean & sky. Just another day in her life, but a moment captured for me.
An amazing veiw from cupola to deck, atop the whale museum, on Nantucket. A foggy and misty day, the grey day seemed well suited to the buildings and homes, 100, 200 years or older on this spring day.
Out at the point, just hours before dusk, a peaceful moment captured, as the tide gently covers the beach, clouds are still, a slight fog bank rolls in off the ocean and several cormorants fly along the shore line.
Exploring Nantucket island, Brant Light still stands as one of the oldest harbor sentries in the country. Just off Cape Cod, I imagine, days gone by when the harbor was full of tall ships and whalers. Now the lighthouse stands as a beacon to our nations history and a welcome sign for those who dare to explore and discover it.
About 6am at St. Augustine Beach, off the Atlantic Coast, a cruise ship passes the horizon and a small flock of pelicans are out in search of breakfast. An amazing and abundant amount of colors flicker, dance in my eyes, and the day begins.
We discovered this place, for ourselves, over 15 years ago, on a Lake Michigan Circle Tour. Once we arrived at north end of the lake we decided to drive across the U.P. There we found the Picture Rock National Shores, between Munising and Grand Marais, 'Along Gitche Gumee', that's Lake Superior to you and me. It's translation from its Ojibwe Indian name, means "the shining blue sea water." It quickly became a favorite place to go to, toward the end of summer when it hosts an art & music festival. So much beauty, so little time.
Between the 50 mile stretch, from Munising to Grand Marais, MI, along the Picture Rock National Shores, the many hiking trails lead to an abundance of, forest, falls, cliffs & beaches. One such area and adventure has 'Kayakers at Miners Beach'. I’ve been painting this are for over 15 years now.
On Lake Superior at Grand Marais, Michigan, the waters can become as violent as an oceans and fits the criteria for being a sea, except it is not a salt water body. One evening we went out to the edge of the pennisula to watch a storm roll in. The clouds were pitch black, the winds had picked up and the waters behind us were crazy turbulent. The clouds were moving fast, north toward us, but just before they reached us the blew off to the east, the rest of the evening was clear and the waters raged on, leaving me full of awe.
A day at a time, the sun rises and sets, be there for it. As an artist the medium is the message of our interpretations. We translate our visual and emotional response via the medium to convey our experience and to share it. For me there is nothing more sublime then a sunrise/sunset, one long meditative breath, inhalling deeply, exhaling slowly, in a heartbeat.
U.P. Michigan at Grand Marais on Lake Superior, there's a small protected harbor where by, as stormy as this body of water can be, this area is relatively safe. The morning broke after a storm and here's the calm.
One time, about 5 years ago, I was out on a whale watch off the tip of Cape Cod. There was a pod of about 20-25 Humpback Whales. They are an especially smart and social specie of whale. They often, swim, feed, and breach in groups of three or so. On this occassion they were firing off and breaching, across the horizon, 10, 12 & 2 O’Clock, one after the other. This painting is based on my first photo capture of a whale breach and my excitment of being there.
As the day begins to come to a close, the tide swells, & one lone surfer slides in on wave to shore. St Augustine Beach Florida is a year round haven for beachcombers, sea turtles, North Atlantic Right Whale & surfer dudes, & dudettes catching a wave.
About half way between St. Augustine Florida and the Kennedy Space Center along the eastern coast, we discovered this harbor. Late afternoon, when we arrived, it was teaming with exotic birds, dolphin & manatee. Toward the end of the day, as the sun began to set, all became quiet, as the hussle and bussel of the day, settled down ot this ‘Quiet Harbor’.
It seems where ever we go, there they are, the sea turtle, a favorite of my sisters. A few years ago Cape Cod Harbor was teaming with an abundance of food, drawing an abundance of sea creatures to feed, even the sea turtle. St. Augustine Beach Florida is a nesting area for these creatures. Earlier this year, 2019, we were in Key West and stopped at the aquarium, where several of them have been rescued, rehabbed and set back to sea. This one had been rescued several times from ship strike & fishing lines. That kind of tenacity deserves recognition.
High upon the dune crest in North Truro, Massachusetts you can see for miles and miles. Beyond the dunes, the shrubs, the road that leads to Ptown, the cottages, & the Atlantic, the view, a scene awaits, while the fleeting light is captured in a moment, in our imagination.
One evening, we ran down to the ocean to watch the sunset. Cause that’s what one does, to catch it setting upon a vast horizon. In this case , it didn’t so much dip below the horizon line as it sunk beneath the lavender haze , wafting up into the sky. A truly stunning color and light show to behold.
25 years ago, when I moved here, there was a farm across the street from my home. Every year, in the fall, during the harvest and soon after, an enormous flock of crows would fly over descend on the field for food. The angle of the light this time of year, the crispness of the air, makes for a fantastic array of colors, textures and movement.The West Nile virus took out the Crows and the farm is gone now too. But I remember and it's exhilarating to me
St Augustine Beach along the Atlantic coastline of Florida teams with beach folk for miles and miles. All day long you can find those sun bathing, otheres swimming, & surfing, still others playing frisbee, beer pong and of course, builders of castles and other dreams for this is where ocean meets land meets sky, all seemingly endless.
It’s March 2020, St. Augustine Beach, Fl. is open to swimmers, surfers & beach combers….and some catching rays.
Early spring, late April, We were out walking the pups, camera in hand. A most ethereal landscape revealed itself by way of fog, light and color. I captured a wonderful photograph of it then went about translating it in oil paint. Here’s the result.
I paint plein air, from imagination & from photographic references. In this case I had taken 2 photos. One of the 3 guys having an afternoon swim & the other at the crack of dawn. I merged the images into a painting that suggests, either dusk or dawn, any ocean & sky, plus a more ambiguous nature of the people wading out to sea, to capture the essence of being.
See the light before the color.
Chicago is that toddlin town for me. From sailing, boating tours & the beaches of Lake Michigan, to the many concert venues, play & opera theaters, to the great museums, clubs & restaurants. Let's not forget the awesome art galleries! On some lists it's the #1 dog friendly city in the country & awalk on Navy Pier will prove that. Chicago leaves an impression each & every time we visit.
I've driven past this golf course many many times over the 25 years I've lived here in St. Charles, just off route 25 and have often thought about painting it. So now I have. We're having a record number of days in the 90s & a fair amount of rain, so everything is lush, including the St. Charles Country Club.
We all have a favorite spot. a space that just feels good. For me, its at the beach, the sound of the surf, the smells, the sights, as I look beyond the horizon.
A mid fall morning, at a place I walk & visit daily. The air is crisp, and the sun has broke just above the tree line. The angle of the light, creates a glow, across the field and if you look closely reveals 4 Sand Hill Cranes in flight traingin, lifting off to the south.
Most see the color, but if you look for the light, the true colors reveal themselves. Sitting at the beach at sunset, the ever changing light, reveals a the colors like non other.
Our pups love the beach. Out in Ptown’s at Herring Cove after a long run and play, this ones catching some rays and napping.
Along the Atlantic Coast of Florida, from St Augustine to Key West there are several species of sea turtle that try against all odds to survive. If it’s not a battle against nature then its one against man’s shipping lanes, fishing nets or pollution.
This work was created live on video, demonstrating my en plein air from photogragh approach. Watch for it on youtube, facebook & linkedin.
We were at Starved Rock State Park, Il. earlier this fall, 2020. I captured a photo of an area deep within the woods. I recently decided to translate it into a painting, based on line, shape, color & texture. This is the context from which I worked on this piece, painting the painting.
Fall 2020, the field across from my home provided the subject for this still-life artwork. Some had been sun dried other were in full bloom of their season. All the color, texture & patterns needed to create a wonderful composition.
Hiking and biking the shoreline along any great body of water, seems a meditative endeavor to me. The sights, sounds and smells, keep you earth bound as you look out upon the vast seas horizon.
It was a great day out on the sea, it’s now the end of a day sailing and your racing the sun for land, but no worries your compass will get you there in any event.
To the average eye, it’s a overcast gray day along the Atlantic coast. But if you look closely for the light, it reveals the color that exists there too, as a lone person walks along the shoreline.
The Wind, Water & Sky. You set your sail and go with the flow.
Sometimes white looks like the sunsetting is really the sun rising, the light and shadows of our mind revealed in images.
Morning rises up over the treelines, for a flicker of light in a fleeting moment a lone hummingbird feeds.
A tropical getaway, an 'Island Paradise' for some, a place in the mind for others, a serene and sacred space for us all.
A large open field, a cornstalks on the right create the passage as the trees off in the distance assure there’s room to roam. The 2 pups walk as they’ve done hundreds of times, the lush grasses that have been driven upon more than a few times. The blue sky, with a single glowing & billowy cloud assure us that these two ‘Pals’ will have lots of play time.
There’s nothing like watching a sunrise or sunset, just being there for it, a day, a breath, a thought.
The MCA Museum of Contemporary Art is just across the street from the Water Tower. When I saw on this occasion I knew I just had to paint it.
The deep blue sea, the darkness of an undersea world, as illuminated by the flickering light from above. A place where representational meets abstract in the recesses of the mind.
This brought back memories. When I was growing up, my father's parents, my grandparents had a very large front yard too. Rose bushes in the front of the house, below the windows, 2 climbing roses covered a working water pump turned into a wishing well & all along and lining the driveway, were hundreds and hundreds of tulips. There's lots of photos of my sister and I, toddlers, walking the field one Easter, mom & dad in tow.
It’s early spring 2021 about 6:45 a.m. and the suns peaking above the horizon line at the nearby park. The light was intense as it beamed across the field.
Almost a decade ago, the first few times we went to Ptown, we stayed at the Breakwater Motel, ocean side. At low tide we liked to see how far we could walk out upon the sand. The ocean can be an ever changing and violent scape, on both sand and sea. However, when it was calm, it seemed you could walk out forever and sometimes, every now and then, the water would cut you off, creating a temporary little island shelf. You could set up for awhile, sit in a chair, walk the area, play in the water and mostly, just bask in the serenity of it all.
Maroni Beach along Cape Cod . A place we like to frequent on our way to Ptown.
One of the many trails in the U.P. along the 55 mile stretch of Picture Rock National Shores.
Munising Falls is one of the many natural highlights at Picture Rock in the U.P. Michigan.
This is a forest preserve, 'Tekakwitha' by my home that I've been walking for over 26 years now. his spot is just before the a wood bridge that crosses a ravine that used to go to the nature center. The nature center was taken down about a decade ago, after the 08' crash, because being deep in the woods, the recently homeless were breaking in seeking shelter. A few years prior to it's removal, I had painted both the bridge and the nature center. I still walk the paths and time marches on too.
Between the recent 2020 Monet exhibit at the Art Institute Chicago and my long time love of Van Gogh, the Irises in my front yard provided a need of my expression, spring 2021.
*The plight of the whales of the world are a cause near and dear to my heart. The many species along the eastern seaboard and particularly the North Atlantic Right Whale have a special place for me, as I've been following them from some of their feeding grounds, in Cape Cod, Massachusetts to their calving grounds around the St, Augustine, Florida, for nearly a decade now. If you've followed me for a while you know my meaning. After 2 recent documentary watches 'Entangled' and 'The Loneliest Whale', both excellent, I've decided to donate the total proceeds from the sale of this painting to Center of Coastal Studies Provincetown, as I've seen them in action numerous times and have even participated in an entangled whale rescue. Message me for further info on how to purchase this painting and help to 'Save the Whale'.
I do a morning walk and evening walk with mu pups all year round. The primary area we walk is the park across the street from me. It’s about a 1 1/2 figure 8 walk depending on how you navigate it. The county forest preserve has done a great job of replanting the natural wildflowers of Illinois in an effort to bring back the birds, bee’s and butterflies. The prairie flowers were especially lush and colorful, summer 2021. Here my expression of it.
A Plein-Air approach from a photo, most often alla-prima, has a direct matter-of-factness about them. I do an annual visit to Cape Cod, paint & get lots of references and photos for paintings. In 2020, with the covid pandemic, I cancelled our trip. Some friends that live there had poste some photos of them out at Race Point, at the end of the cape, which is a great place to whale watch from land and the inspiration for this piece.
We had boarded the Steamship Authority Ferry leaving Martha’s Vineyard about 2 miles out, as the sun began to set for the day. It was September 19th, 2021 and the Harvest Moon had begun to rise. Luckily I had my camera with me a captured a beautiful scene of the the moon rising near an edge of the Island, one which had homes & a lighthouse a top the bluff. When I got back home, it was the first painting I created on a large canvas. Here are the results…enjoy.
A little restaurant called the CANTEEN, in Ptown Massachusetts. Here’s the view from the back patio while waiting for our Lobster Rolls & Roasted Brussel Sprouts.
We stopped at a state park that’s peninsula ran out upon Lake Erie. It was overcast with a slight drizzle. It’s amazing how much light & color can be seen if one looks for it.
We had stopped in Rochester New York, picked up a NY style pizza and headed to the Empire Trail with the pups. It runs along the Erie Canal and has many foot bridges that cross it. Here’s one that caught my attention. The green glow of the trees, the reflection in the water, the lily pads floating a top the water on an overcast day of grey.
The Pilgrims Monument, was erected in Provincetown MA. a reminder of our early roots, our history, the intention, the reality, its cost. Today it stands as a beacon of hope and a safe haven for people of belief systems of diversity, acceptance & respect, from here & around the world.
A live potted plant, sunflowers in this case, in my backyard, was the inspiration for this piece.
You take me to the beach, so let me take you there too.
A walk in the woods where a stream with falls runs through it if fall. So much to see, think and experience on a nature walk
Flagler Beach, A little place along the Atlantic coast. Another person enjoying the view told us, that just the day before he watched a North Atlantic Right Whale, mother and calf, play in feed in these waters, for 45 minutes or so.
While in Key West I recorded the sunset from Mallory Square, one evening. When I got back home, I got out a #30” canvas and went to work. It was difficult to decide which colors to lay down as they changed rapidly over 20 minutes or so. I ended up blending a transition between the more cool and warm tones. Here is the results.
When we arrived in the early evening, before sundown, the moon hung over the Atlantic & when we left the sun had began to rise over it. I had taken several photos and videos of each event as they happened, then blended them together on a single canvas as I experienced them. I’m so grateful, for every day I’m given.
When you wake up at 4:30am with a title in your head, you say…I know what that looks like…and paint it.
At the bottom in green, is a map of the country of Ukraine. Each of the sunflowers within it, symbolize the Ukranian people in the areas that are being heavily bombed. The area with the most sunflowers is the capital city of Kyiv, that has taken some of the heaviest shelling, and where an artist friend was in hospital when it all began. He has been fighting for his life since. The single sunflower symbolizes Volodymyr Zelenskyy, its most brave & courageous president, standing his ground and leading his people.
It will be available at Proud Fox Gallery & Frame Shop, where a dozen or so of its artists will be making a stand and offering their artworks as support of the Ukraine. Proceeds from the fundraising event, will be donated to UNICEF USA, Children's Campaign.
Kick off your shoes, walk down to the beach and watch the sunrise, paint it if you can.
The period of the evening when twilight takes place, between daylight and darkness. The soft glowing light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon, caused by the refraction and scattering of the sun's rays from the atmosphere
The serenity of the beach, the quiet sounds of the waves rolling in as the birds, seagull & sand piper alike , spend their time looking for breakfast.
I love painting the colors of a partly cloudy overcast day. It’s amazing the colors that display & make themselves known, when you search for the light. We stopped in Erie PA. and headed for the Presque Isle State Park, on Lake Erie, and went walking about the peninsula in the slightest drizzle. I took lots of photo references, the one that got away had a Great Blue Heron in it. Back at home I took a photo of a local one and added it to the painting.
5 pelicans fly in formation, high above the sea but not far from land in search of breakfast, I’m sure.
We had went to see Carol Burnett at the Chicago Theater, a fantastic show. As 3500 people, including ourselves poured out of the Sold Out show, I took a couple photos to reference for this painting.
One of my nieces recently graduated from college and has set a course This image of her riding a horse in her new home in Georgia best captures both her confidence & bliss. Here’s my translation into paint.
There’s things we see & other we do not, sometimes even when we’re right on top of them. This ariel view of a a boat floating on the water with a whale just beneath was to convey that notion. There is a Polynesian saying:
'Standing on a whale, fishing for minnows.'
This scenic little spot is at the end of Cape Cod...the view from Herring Cove beach to Race Point.
I walked up the Pilgrims Monument to get an aerial view of the harbor & town from above. As I have a fear of heights, it was somewhat of a challenge to walk up the 252-foot-7+1⁄2-inch-tall
stairway and then look out the windows below. But I did it and it was good! Here's what I saw...
I first visited Provincetown Massachusetts about 10 years ago and discovered among other things it had a huge art community. I took lots of photos of the artists painting in the Dunes that overlook Herring Cove. I too have painted, written and been inspired by the area and people, as well. Since that first visit I've learned that Artists, writers, poets and actors have been flocking there since the early 1900's. The creative minds of Charles Hawthorne, Hans Hoffman, Robert Motherwell, Eugen O'Neil, ersenst Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock, Anthony Perkins, de Kooning, Rothko, Tennessee Williams, Edward Hopper, E.E. Cummings, Max Ernst, Norman Mailer, my guy Kurt Vonnegut & the list goes on and on, Bohemia, where the creative thinking types have been hanging out for over 100 years.
We have a pond behind our home where these three Sandhill Cranes hangout. I've been thinking about painting them, again, for weeks now...so, today, it is done. .I am so grateful to be able to observe & live side by side with these sentient creatures...this morning I acknowledged out loud that the parents always flank the chicks, not only for protection, but love.
Inspired by this lyric~… The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where, who knows where
But I'm strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother ~The Hollies
The intense Cape Cod light in fall, beans across the beach at Race Point…the people and a single seagull are in shadow, a silhouette.
My morning is a visual orchestration of color vibrations & this is my spectrum…yet I wonder if we’re on the same frequency…See me, feel me, touch me, heal me.
An artist friend posted a photo of him peering over the Glenn Ellis falls in Jackson NH., I knew I had to paint it, translate it into my language. We had driven to Mt. Washington and the surrounding areas ,on our way back from Acadia in Maine, many years ago, but hadn’t painted the area yet.
The fog rises at the break of dawn, the light is diffuse, but the colors burst forth setting the stage for a few end of the season sunflowers.
Here's an example of subtle simplicity, expressing a misty fall morning, with boats on the water and a fog rising.
I love Chicago & the Land of Lincoln, I grew up a fifteen minute drive from downtown Chicago & we visited it often for events, such & the like…I still do regularly, even though we’ve moved, a bit further out into the burbs & country. The cultural diverseness and the arts has always beckoned me there, my 2nd home. This piece came together as more of a statement, ‘Along with the sunshineThere's gotta be a little rain sometime.’ Our lives are mostly a view, a perspective, an attitude & choices, so grateful to be here for all of it.
What a beautiful creature. One joined us at the pond, along with the Sandhill Cranes & and a Snowy Egret, this past summer, but this GBH was on the Fox River, near our home.
One one the oldest lighthouses on Cape Cod, in the country, is situated on this property, initially commissioned by George Washington, 1797, the original structure has been rebuilt and moved back 500 hundred feet from the 125 foot tall cliff it currently sits on .
see website blog Art, Nature & Soul #70
A man and his dog walk the Breakwater unto the Atlantic. It’s extremely windy day and they’re about 2/3 the way out, at low tide, so they stop and look upon Ptown & the Pilgrims Monument off in the distance and what a view it is.
A boy, his dog & pup awake for another day as superhero’s, but breakfast first.
Most recently we saw a fantastic production of “Sound of Music” there, but we’ve also seen Grease, Tim Conway & Olivia Newton-John there, to mention a few. A great suburban venue.
One of our favorite haunts out east. Center of Ptown, stands this symbol, a sentry, a tower, a monument, a beacon of liberty & equality.
We were driving through quaint village of Wayne, Il. last Sunday on our way back from the Art Institute when off to the south I spied 2 riders and a walker in the field, off in the distance. I quickly grabbed my cell and I got a couple photo references. Here’s my painterly impression.
When we were in St. Augustine Florida in 2020, I painted these 3 , kicking back on the beach, people-watching. Well, watchers are also watched on a beach. I took lots of references for future paintings while we were there, as I always do. I recently shuffled through and found this one and gave it a go, in paint, on canvas.
A new indoor music venue that we had to check out. Iggy Pop at The Salt Shed, March 10, 2023…absolutely phenomenal…
We were on our way home after seeing 'The Life & Deaths of Alan Turing' at the Harris Theater. A clear blue sky, I captured the photo of Millennium Park as we drove past. I felt it a really goof photo and thought I'd paint it, although I feel the subject really lends itself to a more illustrative approach or maybe the photo was enough.
Marconi Beach on Cape Cod was the inspiration for this piece and yet it can be almost any beach , so lay down in the sand & make yours
It’s not often I scrape off the paint. But this started as an elaborate interior scene that went all wrong. After scrapping it off I tried to turn it into an abstract on grey background. Still not happy with the results, I then ran across this photo reference, a FB friend had posted of a raccoon sitting in the bottom of a garbage dumpster. Knowing I had a great color for the background I sat out building & scraping together with palette knives a heavy impasto rendition of this little rascal.
I captured a photo reference from a cliff that overlooks the road entering Ptown. I wanted to capture the faltering light & the glow of the color on its surroundings. Where all things are possible, my happy place and the lights incredible, taboot, even as it dims.
A nearby park
The potted sunflowers on the table in my backyard provided thisinspiration.
It's amazing the color that shows it self even on a grey day if you're looking..
Inspired from a FB friends photo. For more info on this piece refer to Art, Nature & Soul #77 on my blog page.
Along the Fox River , here in the far western suburbs, is a lighthouse that sits on the banks, as a bit of humor to warn any sea going ships that ‘lands ho’…there’s also a windmill off in the distance, as well as a Japanese garden within walking distance. In any case the view is wonderful and the occasional Great Blue Heron swoops down and glides across the water too.
There’s all sorts of parks and forest preserves around us, a dozen or so, that we walk and hang with the pups at. Here’s a little spot in Geneva along the river called, Bennett Park, we’re apt to picnic lunch it, here.
One of the many venues in Chicago. On my top 5 list. The Aragon Ballroom or Brallroom as it’s been nicknames over the past few decades.
We were headed downtown when I saw these billowy clouds hovering over the city. I said Don quick take a photo, but he didn’t, so I had to paint it while driving in….ha, ha, just kidding 🙃 Growing up I lived in the burbs, about 16 miles out you could see the city on a clear day. That’s how flat Illinois is … lol
I’ve always wanted to learn to sail. Here’s what it might have looked like had I in my teens.
This time of year the light shifts & lowers as it , with ever changing color, sweeps across the tops of the forests & meadows in this sleepy little town.
On our way off the Cape, we've got in the habit of stopping off at Nauset Beach in the morning. About 7 years ago we happened upon an older woman, mid to late 70's I'd say, sitting on a massive rock at shoreline before the tide rolled in. I painted her as such. A triple nor'easter wipe out the cliff and it had to be modified and redesigned. A year or 2 later I saw her again there, only she was walking up the new path up to one of the over hang to the cliffs. I painted her then too. We haven't seen her there since covid. This year we again stopped, it was early morning with grey skies and a light drizzle. We stayed at the top of the cliffs that overlook the beach, tide was in and beach mostly covered in water, as a storm, hurricane watch was in effect. As I watched I looked over to the homes a top the taller cliffs. I imagined she stood a top the cliff looking out on this world, this day. Here's my vision shared & homage to that woman of Nauset Beach.
We were headed out on whale watch when I spotted this scene developing, as a sailing craft headed out of the harbor, leaving Ptown in the horizon, featuring the Pilgrim Monument center.
A FB friend was in the Caymans with his Bois and posted a photo at the beach. I took it translated it into my language.
The fall, when the angles of the light begins to change, creates a wonderful opportunity for capturing a wonderful color display, such was the case in this scene.
One of my most favorite venues in Chicago, the Chicago Theater. I recently met someone who used to determine the placement of cell towers. He took a photo from the roof top of the Chicago Theater. Here's my translation.
The seasonal changes in the flora and fauna at a place I frequent on a weekly basis. The light and color at this time of year just twinkle and glow with the angle of the sun.
2023 was the year we went downtown to the Goodman Theater to see Charles Dickens, ‘A Christmas Carol’. I photo captured a scene modified it to my vision and translated it into a wonderland of paint & canvas image.
I discovered this sanctuary, about 30 years ago. At the time Lindsey Bates was the minister. She was featured in a documentary film called 'A Secret Love'. Here's the, OUR MISSION STATEMENT
The Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva is a diverse, welcoming community which endeavors to make its Covenant a living reality. We provide religious education and opportunities for spiritual growth. We encourage individual and mutual responsibility as together we work to be a liberal religious voice in the community and a force for compassionate social justice.
There’s several lighthouses on Cape Cod, Here’s one you can reach on a nice hike.
This is the park, near my home, I walk daily. Even on the greyest, foggiest & frostiest days, the colors are there, if you really look and seek the light.
An area off Cape Cod we frequent, usually on our way back. I’ve done several paintings off the area, as it has some unique qualities I adore.
This is the area the pups and I walked out to this morning, so I could get a photo reference to paint. I softened the glow of the light to create a vibrating halo effect. It’s winter miles west of Chicago, here in the midwest January, .
An FB friend posted a photo of the water evaporating off Lake Michigan in Chicago, over the past few days of - degrees. It was an awesome photo of the water, snow, ice & clouds that I decided to translate in to paint.
This is near the entrance of the park I walk daily. In the morning the suns behinds us, but in the evening we can watch the sun go down. Sun up and sun down, it’s a day in the life.
I love to search out & find the color, even on the grayest of days.
I was in downtown Chicago, about a month and a half ago, one evening. This is what I saw and how I see. It was breathing, alive & happening.
I took this quick pic of a friends/ clients / collectors pup and decided to give it the Sperry treatment, 😀so fun
It felt as though we had just witnessed an emerging new form of art expression here last weekend when we saw Sufjan Stevens “Illinoise” performed.
With yesterdays 74 degree high in February, I felt inspired to paint a midwest summer. Whatever will come out of me now,with 50 degree drop in temperature in less than 12 hours?🙂Stay tuned 2-28-24
St. Augustine Beach, Florida 2024 during spring break. The tides high so the beach is covered in beach goers and land, water, sky and the people all become one.
It’s St. Augustine Beach, Fl. and we ran out to the beach to watch the sunrise on a grey day just before we haeded back to Illinois.
We found this oasis at Fort Zachary Taylor, at the corner where the fort and picnic beach areas merge. My first thought was Henry Tuke Scott, I have to paint this. Working title, "Boys on the Rocks, Make Mine a Double" haha
This is one of the many many parks we hop around to with the pups. It's Bennet Park, Geneva Il. looking north down the Fox River. This past winter 2024.
Sometimes you need go no further than your front yard. Such is the case here, painting and waiting for the irises to be in full blossom.
It was out 5th time seeing the Decemberists live, another live streaming & our 3rd time at the Salt Shed since it opened in 2023. Live music is an awesome thing.
We had been at the Aragon Ballroom twice in June 2024 in about 4 day timeframe. Once to See Jacob Collier, then to see Orville Pech, both fantastic high enbergy concerts. Here's my homage to those expreoiences.
The Illinois prairie wildflowers are blooming like crazy lush this year, here at the park We walk daily.
A meditation on peace, love & light.
I had wanted to paint a nocturne and the field across the street provided ample inspiration for this piece.
A friend took a photo of a Bald Eagle perched overlooking the Fox River, so I decided top translate it into paint.
One of my most favorite places in Chicago. I am inspired.
My eldest neieces 3 children provided ample inspiration for this blissful summer day and those childhood memories.
I love watching the sunrise & set upon the waters horizon line. The vastness of the plain and the amazong colors are uniqur everytime, beyond the immense serenity of the moment, it also provides me with a hush as I ponder the awe & wonder of being.
check out my blog Art, Nature & Soul #90 for the backgroud story on this piece/
We had went on a boat tour of Chicago, when I got this photo capture. One I had decided to translate into paint. On Lake Michigan both a beautiful & treacherous body of water.
Watch for an upcoming post & blog for the backstory on this piece, Art, Nature & sSoul #91
I had painted a northbound in front of the Art Institute Chicago in June. The lion bronzes had been cleaned up over the last year or so and it seemed they were posing for me, so a southbound on Michigan Ave. was needed as well.
The John Hancock Building with the ferris wheel in the foreground on Navy Pier as observed from a boat on Lake Michigan provided ample inspiration for this piece.
A great little place with a view, to stop for a lobster roll, some fried pickles and a beer, even on a grey day, out in Ptown & thats MacMillan Warf in the distance.
A bit of Spanish & Peublo history ourtside of Santa Fe. One day I set up and painted it. There were "Danger Rattlesnake" signs thoughout. I suspect they were more to keep people from removing the structure, but you do never know, do you?
One of the natural areas we visited while in Santa Fe NM. It was a more rugged climb then anticipated and I had decided on going full contemporary impressionist with the translation into paint.
This is one of several places we hiked while in the Santa Fe New Mexico area 2024. I had painted the Nambe Falls while there and this piece in the home studio. Whether or not I'm plein air painting I strive for a more direct approach with a sense of urgency.
The pond behind my home provides a lot of inspiration. I sometimes wish that it faced the pond and that I had a balcony that overlooked it. Then I’d paint it more regularly in a Monet succession of seasons.
Between a conversation with a birder in Santa Fe NM regarding the honored Raven, a trip down Canyon Road through the art galleries, the approach of October & the harvest, & my long love of the Raven or Crow spurred my inspirarion to create this fusion of thought and ideas, allowing the abstraction of filtering light. The title is of course a reference to Poe and his poem, The Raven.
I was out doing my morning walk with the pups, trying to decide on what t o paint. I had just been to the Copernicus Center to see a concert, took some photos. Post election I looked around at this gloomy grey rainy day and thought, Paint it. so I did. Then thought, “I always like walking in the rain. so nobody can see me crying.” Charlie Chaplan
About a decade ago, I was out on one of my first Cape Cod adventures. Early one morning we were packing up and getting ready to head back home. We walked out to the beach to say our good byes to the ocean and it was covered in a dense fog. I got my camera and took about 20 photos. When I got home I began a series of paintings entitled meditations. I painted about a dozen pieces, had several exhibits around the Chicago area in which many were included. Most have sold over the years. This morning I ran across the photos I took and was inspired once again. The vibe is a bit different than the first ones and I hope you enjoy this one’s too.
An overcast day as we near the forest preserve on a mid fall day provided the inspiration for this piece. A flicker of color & light.
Pratt Wayne Woods in Wayne Il. one of our spring /fall haunts, makes for an inspirational place to paint.
One of my nieces was at Big Sur and one of the photos inspired me to translate it into paint and emotion.
It’s a live music venue we go to at least once a year, sometimes more. Most recently it was a blast from the past to see Tommy James & The Shondells.
The park I walk with the pups everyday, provides an wealth of inspiration all year round.