Sometimes it’s important to strip away the clutter of life…especially when chaos is everywhere…and find a place where things are simple, quiet, and free of unnecessary stuff. This piece, recently completed, contained unnecessary stuff, which has been stripped away, to create an entirely different mood. “Tranquility” 48 x 48.

Everyone once in a while, a painting goes down a path it shouldn’t have…led by me,  and with good intention, but not-so-good outcome. A recent piece, “Late Fall” was such a piece. In the previous piece, there were two things wrong…the shadows were too much (almost looking like hot rod flames), and the foreground road never should have been included. Set on a new path, and completed…”Late Fall” (as it should have been in the first place) 40 x 30..

I’ve always loved the Yankee practicality that prevailed decades, maybe a century or more, ago, when farm buildings were built where they were needed, rather than where they might look best on the property. Today’s architectural site planning is largely aesthetic. Siting a property is about curb appeal, much less so function.

Came across this place in a small town in the Monadnock Region of New Hampshire. The barn was built at the crest of a hill, with a steep pitch behind it. Apparently built there to take advantage of the contour of the land that allowed easy entry and exist for farm equipment and animals. And building on the pitch instantly provided a sub level. Pure practicality. “Hillcrest” 36 x 36

This recent commission is out for approval with designer and client, and represents a good example of the process. My approach to commissions differs from others, as it works best when the desired parameters are few and broad…ie, reference to other works for palette, and other pieces for composition. From there…let the process be what it always is…and when the piece is done, hopefully everyone is happy. I have found that when someone likes the work, and hopes to have a piece that is of a certain size, or recaptures the qualities of another piece that may have sold, letting a piece come to life the way all work does works best. “Late Fall” 40 x 30

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