Out with the old, in with the new…

This is my last post of 2012, and at the risk of sounding maudlin, it seems appropriate to express thanks for the good things 2012 provided, and hope for  a prosperous, healthy, and fun 2013 for all my family, friends, galleries, and collectors.

Though it came right after Christmas, New Hampshire did see it’s first significant snowfall this past week, perfectly timed to provide a reason for me to put to use the one gift that tops my wishlist each year: ragg wool socks from L.L.Bean. Strange, perhaps, but as time passes, I find there are a few things I look forward to each year…the first snow of winter, and my Bean socks…and something new to try in the studio.

This year, I’m going to try out Winsor & Newton’s Oilbars, as I’ve been checking them out for a couple years, thinking they’d offer the drawing quality of pastels, with  enough oil base to keep within the scope of painting. I’ve been pushing forward on a series of paintings about trees—more landscape-oriented than normal—and I know they’ll be the need to get some cross-hatching lines in there, so these bars will (I hope) prove themselves useful. I’ll post some new work later in January as this series evolves.

As for 2013, I’m looking forward to a show at Powers Gallery in Acton, Ma (sometime late February, early March), a show in Richmond, VA at Red Door Gallery (this show had been scheduled for this past November, but was pushed back to the spring), and at some point, I’ll be heading to Bainbridge Island, WA for a show at Roby-King Gallery, across Puget Sound from Seattle. I’m told I’ll love Bainbridge, as it has some of the same qualities of Martha’s Vineyard, where Kim and I lived for three years pre-family. Could the westerly-pointing flying pig on our cupola be a harbinger of a west-coast future? We’ll see.

So, with fresh snow, fresh wool socks, and a fresh outlook for 2013, Happy New Year, and may it be a great year for all of you!