THE DAILY INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE #9

Two glorious industrial scenes pulled from my imagination, both are pastel enhanced clay mono types.  Each measures approximately 15 x 30".

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #54 OAK PARK IL

Yesterday I finished this painting - one of my favorite buildings in downtown Oak Park.  It is the latest addition to the growing Oak Park Portfolio.

 

Watercolor
aproximately 15x15"

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #53 Drawing on clay

Today's urban landscapes are drawings on clay mono types.

Fells Point in Baltimore

Big Red inspired by the piazza in Greve in Tuscany

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #52 PHILADELPHIA DINING

After hot dogs and Philly cheese steaks it is time for some finer dining.  I don't know if these establishments from my days in Philadelphia are still around.

China Town

Old Original Bookbinders

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #51 PHILLY CHEESE STEAK ANYONE?

Let me start with an apology to all  Geno's fans - I have never had their cheese steak and have never painted their store front.  My Philly cheese steak experiences have been limited to Pat's, which I have painted several times, and Jims on South Street. 

Pat's

Jim's

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #50 PHILADELPHIA

It's time to leave Cape May and head back to Philly, looking at two paintings from the mid 1980s.

Broad & Snyder in south Philly

Levis hot dogs on Fifth St.  long gone

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #49 CAPE MAY HOMES

Since Thanksgiving Day usually means going home, I am posting 3 Cape May homes.  Yes...we are still in Cape May.

Happy Thanksgiving

CM Green

CM Blue

CM Pink

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #48 ANOTHER DAY IN CAPE MAY

I am not ready to leave Cape May - having too much fun remembering the town and its wonderful architecture, both elegant and funky.  I have no idea if many of these places are still there.  Hopefully the Lobster House has survived.

Cape May Antiques

Cape May Lobster House- diners served on the boat

What to do with an old bank

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #47 GRAND HOTELS OF CAPE MAY NJ

It has been a long time since I've visited Cape May, so I don't know if all of these grand ladies are still there.  I suspect they are, knowing the towns love and commitment to all things Victorian.  These paintings were done in the late 70s and early 80s.

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #46 CAPE MAY NJ

It should be obvious by now that I consider any painting without a barn or farm an urban landscape.  Today we leave Boston and travel to the most southern reaches of the Jersey shore to the Victorian town of Cape May.  I spent a lot of time photographing and sketching in and around the small town, and one of my favorite places was the back bay area.  Every year there seemed to be some new unpretentious enterprise cropping up.

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #45 HARVARD

I went to Harvard, or at least near Harvard.  I see no reason to leave Boston after only one day, and I really enjoyed walking around Cambridge with my sketchbook those many years ago.  All of the drawings were done on the spot with a Parker 45 fountain pen.

The Harvard Lampoon

Oxford Ale House

Entrance to Harvard Yard

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #44 BOSTON

It's a short drive from western Massachusetts to Boston, a city that has so much meaning for me.  Yesterday I posted a painting of Cambridge UK; today one of my posts will be a drawing from Cambridge, MA.

Boston from across the Charles River

Beacon Hill

Cambridge

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1976 – I was 37 years old and the country was celebrating its Bicentennial. Amy was 11 years old, Beth 7, and Sara 5.  My medical practice of 5 years, which had been a source of unbridled pleasure and satisfaction, was beginning to lose its luster, as my mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing began to gradually decline.  Unknown to me at the time, this was the beginning of a journey that would take me to places I never could have imagined.

State law required all physicians to complete a number of continuing medical educations hours (CME) in accredited courses every two years, and I was registered in an Oncology review course at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.  I arrived at the conference hall for the 9 a.m. session, and was confronted by an all too familiar CME environment: a large hall with tables set up in rows facing the lectern and a large screen, and smaller tables on the sides of the hall with coffee, tea, and water.  Each registrant was given a syllabus with a daily schedule lectures and an outline of each presentation, along with a pad of paper and one or more very sharp pencils.  The lights were dimmed, the first slide projected on the screen, and the speaker began to read…directly from the slide, the same slide that is in the syllabus.  It takes less than 10 minutes for the sleep inducing boredom to set in; this is the last place on earth I wanted to be on that day, and after 30 excruciating minutes I got up and walked out, and did not return for the remainder of the 3-day course.

I walked back to the hotel to get my canvas shoulder bag with my faithful Parker 45 fountain pen and sketchbooks, and set out to explore the city.  And explore it is exactly what I did, walking through every section and neighborhood of Boston over the next 2 days.  On the third day, I took the train across the Charles River and experienced Cambridge and the Harvard campus.  I loved every minute of every day; quite remarkable for someone who was not fond of traveling and sight seeing, and dining alone.  It was more than just the visual delights of the city’s e urban landscape that captivated me; I was experiencing an incredible sense of being centered within myself.  Everything was as it should be in my small world.  I was doing what I was intended to do.

Those three days in Boston 36 years ago were to mark the beginning of an incredible journey, taking me through the most intense years of my life.  Four years later I would make the decision to leave my practice and pursue a life as an artist.

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #43 COMING HOME

Today we will leave Italy, stopping in Cambridge, England before returning to a small village near the Berkshire Mountains in western Massachusetts, and the town of Shefiield.

Cambridge UK   Watercolor

Berkshire Village   print   10x24

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #42 ONCE MORE IN ITALIA

This will be the last day in Italy - at least for a while. But I'll be leaving with a flurry!

5 1/2 Arches - clay drawing

First dinner in the apartment

Sienna Wash - Acrylic

Via Clavature - watercolor

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #41 Bologna Italy

We will be in Italy at least one more day, looking at the streets of Bologna.  The first painting shows Cafe Napoli, one of two restaurants located a few blocks from my apartment, where I enjoyed several meals.  The second drawing was inspired by a block of buildings I passed frequently on my daily walks, and captures the look of the cities streets.

Cafe Napoli

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #40 VIA FAMILIGA

I've had fun creating my own Italian streetscapes inspired by my time in Bologna, all named after family.

Via Renzulli

Via Sarafina

Via Spartaco

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #39 IN ITALIA

I should have known better than to go into my portfolio of Italian drawings.  It is difficult to move on to other places.  But since this is my blog and my facebook page, I can stay here as long as I want.  Besides, I am shameless and readily admit that I love these "clay drawings".

 Via Ferrucio in Castellini in Chianti

A view from the piazza in Greve, a village in Tuscany

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #38 The delightful towns of Italy

It was bound to happen.  There is no way I could post just two paintings from Italy, and move on to other places.  I'm hooked, which means the Daily Urban Landscapes will now be coming to you from the "old country".  Most of the paintings are mixed media drawings - pen, ink, markers, and acrylic - on clay mono types printed on assorted fabrics and paper.

 Dinning out in Castellini in Chianti in Tuscany

Via Garibaldi in Parma

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #37 the Urban food market

After hanging around the alleys and backsides of the urban scene it is refreshing to walk around to the front, and what can be more refreshing than fresh produce. Below are two of the many food markets lining the tiny streets in the old section of Bologna, Italy.  The first is a watercolor, the second a mixed media drawing on a clay mono type.

THE DAILY URBAN LANDSCAPE #36 Behind Williamsburg and Paducah

Not all backside views are dismal and cluttered.  In Williamsburg VA they can be quite elegant.

 While in downtown Paducah the emphasis is on utility.