....speaking of Emile Gruppe in my previous blog...this is one of his paintings titled Clear Morning, Gloucester Harbor, ca. 1955. 30x36" Best known for his vigorous portrayals of the harbors and houses of Gloucester, Massachusetts and the rural scenery of Vermont, his art reflects his belief that “When a man paints, he expresses his whole life; what he’s done and what he’s experienced. If you are bold and outgoing, your work will show it.” His most prominent American teachers were Charles Hawthorn (Provincetown, Ma) and John Carlson (his most admired) . Gruppé is said to have painted every day, producing about two hundred oils a year ... multiply that by six decades!
Charles Movalli taught with very much enthusiasm and helped me greatly in my decision to continue my passion with painting. He is from Gloucester Mass. and was raised in an artist family. Charles was a contributing editor to American Artist magazine, for which he eventually produced over 70 articles on art and artists. Movalli also edited the three Emile Gruppe books: Gruppe on Painting, Brush Work; Gruppe on Color; and Brushwork for the Oil Painter. I believe I took 4 outdoor workshops with him. What a great teacher and human being! God Bless Charles!
A view of my art room...I have to do something about all my cd's since I recently switched to mp3's on an IPod... I'll have more room on the top shelf for stuff. I have to have music playing while I paint... or a red sox game.
One of the many views of this small Maine town that features a swing bridge...over the years it's been the subject for many painters. Locals call this area "the gut". Many interesting buildings in this sea side town. yr. 2004 `24 x 24"
A view of my old neighborhood looking out my studio window... the red brick building was the post office, until they built a new one down the road. yr. 2005 16x20 Oil Paint
While at a watercolor workshop in Ohio...I sneaked out my oil paints and did a oil painting of the Smuckers house of Smuckers Jelly fame. yr. 18x24" Oil Paint
This was a nice place to live... but the neighborhood was getting to me and I moved from here to where I am now. Just a little too big for a single man! . I couldn't afford a maid! Like Neil Young says in his song- "A man needs a maid" ha! 10x10" Oil Paint
This is a view of downtown Granville, Ohio... it's very close to Columbus Ohio. My wife, at the time, and I would occasionally spend a weekend here in Granville at the Buxton Inn. It was built in 1812, one of Ohio's oldest inns and served as a post office and stagecoach stop.The Buxton Inn has a reputation as a haunted inn.The ghost ofBonnie Bounell"The Lady in Blue" supposedly haunts the grounds, along with a few others! Unfortunately,we never saw her or her friends.
The old Wilson Feed Mill located on the Ohio Canal in Valley View, Ohio.This was the subject of many of my early paintings. This is one of them. On weekends plein air painters could be found around the area painting the old mill. My cousin married one of the Wilson girls. How about that.
An old painting of Newmarket NH I found... it was sold a while ago. I just came across it... found it on an old disc. The picture quality isn't very good... at the time I was using one of the first digital cameras, a Sony Mavica, that stored images on a floppy disc!
I keep looking inside this little watercolor doodle for some rhythm and movement that I may apply to a large oil painting. The right two thirds of the picture seems more interesting. As a whole, this picture needs a little balance.... a bit of symmetry is missing. That can be done in the final painting.
My expressionistic impression of the final game of the NBA championship series between the LA Lakers and Boston Celtics done in Photoshop while the game was being played.
"It came into existence because I had to paint it. Any attempt on my part to say something about it, to attempt explanation of the inexplicable, could only destroy it. " -Jackson Pollock
"I am nature"-Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock worked "from nature"....the nature of himself. His conscious mind propelled his energy and motion which resulted into his art...an expression of his nature!
Inspiring music to paint by ... David Llewellyn is a gifted musician. He writes and performs original work of the "new age" genre and has recorded many albums. This album, I believe, was released in the mid nineteen nineties. He has a newer CD of original material he actually sings and plays guitar on... check him out on ITunes.
I found a box of old cassette tapes that I recorded playing guitar and singing.I took some songs and digitized them using Audacity and made a CD of them. This is a photo that I took of myself and used for the CD cover. It is me at nearly the same age I recorded them.
Pen and ink beer labels that I made for my cousin Mike when he was brewing his own beer at home. These are pretty old ...possibly from the 80's ... I was going to have some printed up on sticky labels but decided not to. It turns out, Mike bought labels from a home brewing store. He liked the grinning skull label, titled: Death Beer. Then I lost interest.
