Past couple days have been absolute perfection, weather-wise. Clear blue skies, mild, bright sun. Appropriate weather for this recently completed piece…”Beautiful Day” 30 x 40 o/c.
Spent a good chunk of time this Labor Day weekend finishing up a larger commission. When a commission starts with great buyers, great input, great subject matter, and a beautiful home where the resulting piece will reside, you have the perfect recipe for a successful piece. This larger canvas, done for a home in Dutchess County, NY, was super fun from initial discussions, through developing the composition in charcoals, collaborating on palette, and throughout the painting process. The barn is actually part of their stately property, and in addition to being the subject of this painting, a couple other pieces were inspired by it. “Northern Garden” 68 x 42 o/c.
Every now and then, buyers will send photos of scenes they’ve come across, that they thought I’d like to see as inspiration for a piece. I was sent a photo by a collector on Martha’s Vineyard, of a scene he came across in Upstate New York… “Upstate” 24 x 24
Latest completed commission, “Upcountry Dusk” 54 x 60. I love working with buyers who commission pieces for specific locations in their homes. Mocking up work to find the perfect dimensions for a piece is the first step, followed by developing the composition, and the palette. Then painting towards the finish line.
With a larger commission about to be started, I’m doing a couple smaller pieces to experiment with palettes that will be used in the final piece. This is one example. The composition of the commission is entirely different, but by doing smaller pieces with palettes that have been discussed, it gives the buyer a sense of what of the overall color will be. “Meadowstripe” 20 x 16 o/c.
Came across this scene years ago, somewhere on the Cape…I think in Chatham…and took a photo as reference for a future painting. Did a smaller piece based on this scene years ago, but came across the photo again, and felt it warranted being painted on a larger canvas. On the Cape, at any bay, cove, or harbor where there are boats moored, dingies lay scattered along the shores. They seem to belong to no one, and everyone, as if they’re communal vessels to be used to paddle to your boat, and then be returned at the end of the day. “Beached” 36 x 36.
A local farm alternates fields each spring, leaving some empty to sit out the season, to recharge, and to host whatever wants to grow there naturally. The others, which took the year off, are plowed and seeded. “Fallow Field” 24 x 24
New, smaller piece based on a scene out in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. “Lemon Sky” 14 x 14 o/c
New piece based on the Stage Harbor Light, in Chatham, MA (Cape Cod). I’ve seen this lighthouse many times, and painted it a few. It’s a favorite destination for many visitors to the Cape, built on a sand spit, and located as a beacon for boaters navigating the sandbars surrounding Monomoy Island. “Close to Shore” 48 x 48 o/c.
There’s a small meadow next to our house, which had been mowed a couple times a year by a local farmer whose family used to own the farm this plot of land was a part of. The farm sold, and the meadow is now left to grow, uncontrolled by the twice-yearly mowings. “Wild Meadow” 48 x 30 o/c.
