Heirlooms and Pansies

This is an older piece from a few years back. The pansies had just come into season and this old tea cup from my grandmother had all the colors of the pansies on it's hand painted sides. The book to the left is a favorite from my childhood. I think it was originally my fathers and all the pages have turned yellowish brown. The book was a compilation of short stories about amazing animals that did good deeds and rescued it's owners - I believe the title was "Call of Courage" or something like that.

Pears and Onions?

For some reason, my two favorite items in the produce section are pears and onions. They seem like complete opposites, but when they're put side-by-side, the colors harmonize so well. Now this might be only me, and perhaps you think I'm crazy, but each have special qualities that are just dying to be painted.

Maybe Tuscany

No, I've never been to Italy, but dream about it every other day. This painting is pulled from a few sources and some thin air. I'm trying to train myself to say as much as possible with as little paint strokes as I can - not because I want to knockout a painting in an afternoon, but because I really want my work to be as pure and deliberate as possible. This painting is heading in the right direction by that means, so I was fairly happy with the turn out. Grapes anyone!

After the French Toast

It seems like about every Saturday morning I'm making french toast for my son and wife (who am I kidding - it's for me). I was able to save a few eggs from the mixing bowl one day and paint after breakfast. It seemed like it was getting a little boring/"country" so one of the eggs decided to mix it up and think about jumping. Hopefully it adds a little movement to a still life.

Allentown Art Festival

Every summer in Buffalo a few streets get closed off for the weekend for the Allentown Art Festival. It's an amazing site to see 1,000's of tents and exhibits lining the streets, with many more thousands of spectators checking out all of the amazing work. There is music, food, and people painting - it would be hard to find a better way to spend an afternoon. Each year they have a poster contest and the winner gets some cash and the pride of seeing their work all over the city. This is one of my two entries from a while back. It didn't win (the judges didn't know what they were talking about . . .), but I think it blends design and painting together, and was a real step out of the box compared to the "folk art" that is usually seen. Check out the festival site here

NextWave Booth

I just got back from Las Vegas a week ago where we assembled the first NextWave Wireless corporate booth at CTIA Wireless (huge wireless industry event). I was privileged enough to work with Sparks (the builder) and come up with a great design - both functionally and aesthetically. Most of the credit goes to Sparks, but I was able to create all of the graphics and overall feel. As well as the presentations and videos that went on the 10 displays. Check out NextWave Wireless here

Pumpkin!

This is one of my favorites. My wife and I went to a pumpkin patch and searched through the fields for the perfect one. I stole some random brush and twigs from around the property and set the painting up that night.

Plein Air Barn

This is a great set of barns and fields near my parents house. The owners had an amazing vintage house with wide plank floors and a few horses roaming in the fields - you just stepped right back in time.

For the Dinning Room

This painting was done on a Saturday morning in late Fall. I just saw a few paintings and pictures of ballerinas the week before and felt the urge to pull something together from a few sources and memory. It's definitely not the most "spot-on" anatomically, but the mood and brushwork was right where i wanted it. The painting is now abiding in a beautiful gold frame in the dinning room of a patron and friend.

Love the Summertime

It's getting warm again in New England (today is 70!), so it seems like the perfect opportunity to show off some of my paintings of last summer. Just about every week my wife, son and I make our way to the town of Milford on the coast of Connecticut (It's about 15 minutes from our house). I always bring the camera along and it seems like everywhere I look, a great painting is waiting. Below is a painting of a dinghy on the coast and a ship yard near the beach that we walk on. I hope it's a short Spring for all of us, I can't wait to slip into some shorts and sandals.