Portrait of Connie.

Ava

"Ava", 12 x 16 in. oil. This is a model from our Wednesday night portrait painting group. I painted her live but this is from a photograph done in the studio. We paint for about 2 and a half hours which is enough time to get a good likeness but to do a finished painting it takes me much more time.

"Walking with Nordick Poles" is an oil painting that I recently revised for the WAAL show at the High Road Gallery in January 2013. I was not satisfied with the painting and made some minor changes to my face, jacket and edges. This is one of my early attempts to use loose brush strokes in the background. It is 12 x 16 in. I have been using these poles because it not only helps with my balance problems but I can walk much further.

This is painting I finished after returning from Scottsdale AZ. I used a reference photo I took on the Aztec trail. It is an oil, 12 x 24.

This is a painting I submitted to the Worthington Area Art League show in January 2013. It is from a photo I took several years ago of a Race for the Cure in Grove City.

This acrylic painting is titled "Alina painting Carmen", of course inspired by the Carmen painting we purchased last year by Alina Maksimenko. This was entered in the Motorist Mutual show in January 2013.

This painting was inspired by the "Carmen" painting. The model is a good friend.

This is a small painting I did for the Motorist Mutual show in January. My purpose was to show vivid color.

I painted this small painting last week. You can easily see the influence of Maksimenko's painting that we purchased. I wanted to post this painting to record my initial departure into a more colorfull abstract style. The figure is a reference photo from Croquets Cafe, a free website for artists to practice sketching the nude figure. This is an oil 9 x 12 in.

The artist is Alina Maksimenko, a very talented painter from Ukraine. This painting is titled "Carmen", an oil 54+ x 19+inches. Connie and I purchased this painting from R.E. Welch gallery in Seattle WA. I love her use of color and abstract qualities.
 I am currently moving toward painting in a more loose style, using colors I like and feel. I will continue to paint figures and post my new work here. I would like feedback on my work from anyone who cares.

Virginia

Virginia is a pastel painter in our Wednesday night painting group. We meet every week in the Peggy McConnell Art Center in Worthington. This is a group I value for the ability to get out of the Studio and mix with other artists.

Backyard Relaxing area

We have a very quite backyard that is both quite and private. We have a large field to the East, about 7 acres I'd guess, and a good distance on the West. Across the road in Pleasant Township is a working farm. I love the country with it's clean air and only five minutes from a small shopping mall and only twenty minutes from metropolitan Columbus with all the culture and football be need.

Connie in Her Garden

This is what my wife Connie loves to do whenever she has time, work in her garden.

I painted this person after visiting Daytona Beach FL. Across the street from our hotel was a 50's era diner where we ate breakfast every morning. Good food and people.

Gary

I have known Gary for over 20 years. He cleans for my wife and I. He was my wife's custodian when she was a building principal. Gary and his wife are raising their two granddaughters. I gave this painting to Gary for his long service of work.

Oil ;painting "Nine Umbrellas"

Nine Umbrellas 16 x 30 in

This is painting from a photo taken by my wife Connie while in Seattle, WA.

Back Again.

I confess I spend most of my free time painting and neglect this blog. I do not feel I have a lot of people who miss the blog much. I don't know a single soul that keeps in touch. That's my fault. Like they say, if you smile most people will smile back. Same here. The computer literally sucks all your spare time if you let it and begins to infringe on you productive time. It is addictive. I spend time looking at other artist's web sites and follow some blogs. I am a student, always will be. I like to experiment with my technique. I am not interested in staying in place. I enjoy the different, the new. Yet I seldom show any of this work. I usually keep it to myself. I plan to have a web site soon where I show my current work. Then I can play with this blog, show some of my fun stuff. Even remark about the creative work of others that I discover. I also have some opinions I need to express about instructive art videos that are out there. Often a really good artist puts out a lousy video simply because the production company or directions make some bad decisions about the way the artist is presented. Having spent some time as part of a motion picture unit with Rockwell International and being around a quality crew of people, some of their production values rubbed off on me. I will highlight the good, the bad, and the ugly videos. I have seen quite a few. Remember, I am a student and always seeking to learn. Some very talented artists are not so good at teaching. And as I said, production often ruins a good video. "Sound" seems to be a big problem with many. Camera angles, poor planning in general. It pains me to see some of my favorite artists in a really bad video. Just as anyone can call themselves and artist, anyone can say they are video production experts. Same with workshops. Good artists who can't teach art. I have taken many workshops. Some are so bad it is painful.

Kenya Street Boy

Oil 9 x 12"

Pushing Off

Oil 18 x 24"

These boys were in a canoe down the road apiece from Norman Rockwell's old home in Arlington, VT. I stood above in a covered bridge I had been painting in plein-air all day last year.

Dnini Woman at Market Place

Oil on canvas 24"x30"

I used another of Connie's photos for this unique scene

Connie with Masai women in Kenya 24 x 30 Oil

While on safari in the Masa Mara Connie got to visit a Masai village with several others from the mission group. They were greeted warmly, given necklaces to wear for their time at the village, and invited into the circle to join the brightly dressed women. They learned much about the culture and the way of life. In the center of the village, just in front of this painting, the lifestock are brought in each evening for protection from predators. The houses seen in the background of the painting are small and indicate the number of wives in the family, as each wife builds and maintains a separate house. The number of gates/entrances indicate the number of families living inside the village.

Still Life of Fruit

oil 11x14

Stll Life

Stll Life #5-3-10

February Sunset

Oil study 10in x 16in

"This is a view I've painted several times. It is across from my home and studio in Pleasant Township. In the winter most sunsets are beautiful. I am familar with the scene so I had little trouble using a photograph for reference.

Connie in Kenya
Review of 2009


Life is great and this year has been a milestone, tough but very rewarding in many ways. You can look below to see the highlights of my artwork and the shows that I was part of. You will notice that my art came to a halt at the end of August. That was because of a major operation on my cervical vertebra on September 10. More on that later. The last oil painting I did was August 28. It was an outdoor painting of the Russell Page garden at the Columbus Museum of Art. I was in great pain and could hardly finish. It was sold by the CMA at an auction fund raiser. I was in surgery the day before the auction and missed the fun. For those of you who want to know the details of the operation read on. The rest of you can skip the next paragraph and go to Connie's trip to Kenya in July and the paintings it produced from her great photography.


The Operation: I haven't painted since the operation on Sept. 10. The operation was a along standing problem I have had with my neck, shoulders, and recently affecting my walking and stability. Vertebra #3,4,5 and 6 were redesigned so to speak. I wore a hard collar then soft up until just a week ago. I expect to begin painting, a few hours at time, until I am up to speed again. I thank everyone for your prayers and good wishes, especially the quilt ministry of First Community Church who gave me a prayer quilt with prayer knots tied by 88 friends which touched me very much. The FCC staff was always in touch with me from day one to see if I needed anything.





Connie's Trip to Kenya: Connie went to Kenya in July with a group of 14 people from First Community Church and three others. One of the church missions is the Rafiki Orphanage outside of Nairobi, Kenya. The orphanage is for children whose parents have died of AIDS. A sidetrip to London, a week in the Nairobi area with the children and staff of Rafiki and the street children, and a three day safari provided her with many photographs as well as a life-changing experience. The poverty, lack of clean water and sanitation coupled with the amazing spirit of the Kenyan people provided lessons in life that can't be realized any other way. I painted several of the scenes, prior to my surgery, that give a picture of Kenya through her eyes. The Masai woman, the lady in the square in Nidiri, and the painting of the boys of Rafiki wrapped in their quilts give just a glimpse of the experience. She has requested a painting of a landscape from safari...a scene with one lone tree in the distance...as a memory of the beauty and magnificence of the Masai Mara area. Although the numerous sightings of giraffes, lions, hippos, elephants, zebras, gazelles, all kinds of birds...along with one heroic leopard...were mind-boggling, that one tree somehow stuck with her as a symbol of the Kenyan experience. Hopefully in the next six months you will see that painting on the blog!

"Quilts for Rafiki Boys" Acrylic on canvas 18 x 24 in

Children at the Rafiki Aids Ministry Orphanage outside of Nairobi, Kenya, receive new quilts designed and sewn by members of the Quilt Ministry of our church, First Community Church. The quilts not only serve to keep the children warm during the cool Kenyan nights, they also brighten the dorm rooms that the children call their home. The painting, taken from one of my wife's photos, shows four boys receiving their new quilts during a June, 2009 visit by FCC members, including my wife, Connie. Barb Davis and Ginny Culver, two of the quiltmakers, were there to distribute the quilts and later see them displayed in the dorm rooms.

" Masai Woman" oil 16x20 in.

This painting was accepted for the first annual Laumeister Fine art Competition at the Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, Vermont. A well respected artist, Albert Handell, selected "The Masai Woman" along with another painting, "Paints and Brushes" shown below. The announcement said it was a very high calibar show and hope I am proud to be selected as part of the show. To be sure, I am.

This painting is from a photograph taken by my wife Connie, who was in Kenya this summer. It is one of a series of paintings I am doing of Kenya scenes including the Rafiki orphanage, the Ndiri square, and a Safari on the Masai Mara. The trip was a mission of First Community Church, which supports the orphanage for children whose parents have died of AIDs.

The Laumeister Fine Art Competition will be held September 19-November 29, 2009. Award winners will be announced by Mr. Handell at a reception October 24. First place: $4000, Second:$2000; Third: $1000.

Comfort Zone oil 18x24"
This painting is of our two rescue cats who are such playmates and a comfort to each other

Carrage ride-Mackinac Is. MI oil 16x20

Grand Hotel-Mackinac Island-MI oil 9x12

Plein-air, finished in studio

Green Apples acrylic 9x12

Vermont Covered Bridge
12x18 oil $850
This is the covered bridge in Arlington, VT located in front of the old Norman Rockwell home. It is about the same now as then. This is the actual view of the kids diving off the side into the river just as they probably did when Rockwell lived near there. It looks like a Saturday Evening Post cover. The NR home is now a bed and breakfast and his studio is currently being turned into the same.

Original and Giclee

Blue Ben Counter

Famous Diner in Bennington, VT
Org: 18"x24" $ 2000 Giclee:$225

Orcas Island, WA
12"x16" oil

Bass Harbor
Light House

"Paints and Brushes" oil 9x12 in

This painting was selected along with "Masai Woman" for the first Laumeister Fine Art Competition. Show date: September19-November 29, 2009. Selected by Albert Handell.