DRAWING ON THE PAST...

There is no predicting where we will find ourselves at times. Yesterday, after whining about the absence of the muses, I found myself on an interesting path.

In the '80s and early '90s I visited many towns and cities in the eastern U.S. in search of material for cityscapes and townscapes which I would publish and sell, both retail and wholesale. I worked from photos and slides that I carefully cataloged, filed, and saved. Yesterday, as I began a series of small drawings from these files, it occurred to me that it would be fun to re-visit all of the places (through the photos) and create a new series of drawings documenting those visits.

What makes this of interest to me is that on many of those trips I was accompanied by one of several very dear friends who joined me for the company and/or to help with the driving. There were often times I would be hanging out the car window with my camera trying to catch a scene or building that could only be done from the road.

The more I think about this project the more interesting it becomes. It remains to be seen how it plays out.

The first 2 photos are from Paducah:


The next photo is from my trip to Charleston SC in 1988, accompanied by my daughter Amy.

BEEN THERE...DONE THAT

From the mid ‘80s into the early ‘90s I published a rather large (53) series of limited edition prints and posters based on my watercolors. These streetscapes, town and cityscapes, and architectural paintings represented cities and towns in eastern U.S. In a moment of nostalgic fervor I decided to photograph my remaining inventory to have for my personal files and to add them to my new website.

The towns and cities represented include: Wilmington, DE, Fenwick Island, DE, New Castle, DE, Odessa, DE, Philadelphia, PA, Annapolis, MD, Baltimore, MD, St. Michaels, MD, Arlington, VA, Williamsburg, VA, Cape May, NJ, Washington, DC, Boston, MA, Martha’s Vineyard, MA, New Port, RI, Atlanta, GA, Savannah, GA, and Charleston, SC.

Creating these images from dozens of photographs was both challenging and gratifying, but the real joy was visiting all of these cities and towns, often accompanied by a good friend. Each print holds cherished memories for me.


Newport, RI...12x28...$50.00


Philadelphia Skyline...13x27...$100.00


Stockton Place, Cape May NJ...12x37...$50.00


Victorian Sampler...12x37...$50.00


Summer's End, Martha's Vineyard...10x24...$40.00

WORKS IN PROGRESS

Yesterday, after several weeks of busy work and/or no work I found myself back at the easel working on 4 canvases. (I like to have 2 or more works in progress so when ever I get stymied on one or have to wait for drying time, I can move on to another.) Three are new pieces and one is a previous unfinished disaster I’ve decided to rehabilitate. Two of the new canvases are the same composition, painted with slightly different palettes - don’t ask me why because I really don’t know.

Today, The disaster!


Acrylic on canvas 24x48"
The painting is from a photo I took in NYC years ago, looking across the East River to Brooklyn, under the bridge. For a number of reasons it never "worked", meaning I couldn't do it. That was about 2 years ago. Yesterday I felt I knew what had to be done, and began resurrecting the painting by repainting the sky. The next step is to re-do the architecture. I will keep you posted on my progress