This piece was done as one of two compositions for a recent commission. The location–a beautiful rural road in Chester, Vermont–is typical of the beautiful landscapes the state is known for. “Vermont Dusk” 24 x 24
It’s easy to see how Vineyard Haven, on Martha’s Vineyard, got it’s name. As one of the two primary docking harbors on the Island (the other is in Oak Bluffs), Vineyard Haven was clearly, hundreds of years ago, seen as a place of safety and protection for ships and boaters. As you pass East and West Chop, and enter the harbor, the seas subside immediately. The homes along the harbor roads are, themselves, protected from the harsher climate of the more sea-facing parts of the Island. This old home, on East Chop, has undoubtedly seen countless ships, boats, schooners, and ferry’s enter and exit this beautiful harbor. “Haven” 36 x 24
This pastel study for “Autumn Lake” (commissioned oil) is now available through the pastel gallery. Click here to view pastel gallery
Prior to beginning a piece, I work out composition and lighting through quick charcoal sketches. I do quite a few of these, and am often asked if they are available for purchase. They are, and have been added to my online store, along with prints and pastels.
To view the online catalog of charcoals, pastels, and prints, click here or the image below:
This old farm sits a couple miles from my house. Just before we moved to town, this was a working farm…the fields across the street were well maintained, planted in the spring, harvested in the late summer and fall, and between the house and barn the owners ran a humble, but popular, farm stand. Over the years, the farm passed from owner to owner a few times, each time, the look of the place shifted from working farm, to dormant farm, to it’s current condition of near abandonment. The area where the farm stand once stood is now empty, and the prominence of the role the barn played in its more active years seems less. Everything passes from phase to phase, but there is always beauty in the time between. “Interlude” 40 x 24
As you sail into Vineyard Haven Harbor, two land masses welcome you…the first (if coming from Woods Hole) is West Chop…an exclusive section of the Island with stately old seaside mansions dotting the shore. The other is East Chop, which similarly is home to some of the Island’s oldest and grandest summer places. But East Chop differs…some of the old summer homes there are more humble. Still magnificent homes, but smaller and more weathered, having endured decades of battering winds, sea spray and sun. On a recent visit to the Vineyard, I took a drive along the shore road, East Chop Drive. While many parts of the Vineyard have changed since the almost 30 years since I lived there, the coastal cottages that still sit on on the shore, looking over Vineyard Sound, have not. “East Chop” 20 x 20
While driving around my small section of Cape Cod (in the “Dennises”), I caught a glimpse of this old shed/garage, tucked backed a bit from the main road. It is part of an old, quintessential Cape Cod farmhouse…now preserved in the historic district of South Dennis. It was a perfect Cape Cod summer day, with late morning light that raked across the landscape. Grabbed a reference shot, and attempted to capture the essence of the place, the light, and the day itself. “Summer Day” 24 x 24
I came across this scene quite a few years ago, in Bridgehampton, Long Island. The expanse of meadow behind the barn looked like a scene from one of our inland New England rural landscapes. But, behind the distant row of trees, the land met the sea…giving the sky that pale blue look you often see at the ocean. “Island Meadow” 64 x 30
Years ago, I lived for three years on Martha’s Vineyard. It’s there I met my wife, and together we lived in almost every town on the Island…summer/winter transients, moving from rental to rental. We left the island occasionally, by ferry, and on return trips, as the boat slowed into Vineyard Haven Harbor, you could see the familiar light at East Chop…It’s light rhythmically broadcasting it’s presence on the bluff. I was back on-Island recently, only for a couple hours, and minutes before the boat shoved off back to Woods Hole, I visited this light. Located on the East Chop section of the Island, it still stands, but is fenced off, blocking access to the benches I used to sit on, as a break, during one of the many bike rides I’d embark on. Not sure why access is now denied to this little grassy spot of the Island, but despite whatever the cause or reason, the light itself stands as sturdy as I remember it. Still a landmark to boats and ferry passengers. “Beacon” 24 x 24
I recently helped my daughter, Lily, on an assignment for a drawing project at her art school. The assignment was somewhat vague, and far too wordy, for what I gathered to be the core message… “identify what you love, care about, or are interested in, and paint it”. It was based on the premise of “locate yourself”. To me, that meant “picture yourself where you’d like to be, and draw it.” My pieces start through observing a real place, and then modifying it to be a place I want to be. This latest piece is such a place: “Atlantic Sky” 48 x 48
