Alice

"Alice" Oil on linen, 18" x 14".  This is about the 4th or 5th day I have worked on this.  Tonight I think I spent about an hour working on the canvas, so maybe about 5 hours total.

Gracie

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"Gracie," oil on canvas.

This is my first painting of the new year, however I started the painting in 2011.  Gracie has been sitting behind my easel all this time, and has suffered a few minor spills of painting medium, coffee, and a tiny splatter of gesso.  She is painted on some of the remainder pre-gessoed canvas I bought several years ago at Plaza Art Supply in Bethesda, Maryland.  I have a whole lot of that canvas around, and as I have mentioned before, it gets taped to masonite before I start painting.  Not very elegant, but it is fast when I just want to start a piece just to paint something.

The palette for this piece consists of the following colors: Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna, Flake White, a very small touch of Zinc White, Ultramarine Blue, and Indian Red.

Self Portrait in Red Sweatshirt

I started this painting on Christmas Eve, and finished it last night.  When working on quickie personal projects like this, I duct tape pre gessoed canvas to a masonite drawing board, and stretch it later.  I have a bunch of canvas that I use just for this.  I keep about 4 different types of canvas in the studio all the time.  The finer work goes on a fairly heavy Belgian linen, and the big stuff goes on heavy canvas.  I have another linen that is almost like silk.

The palette for this piece is limited; Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna, Indian Red, Mars Black, Zinc White, and just a touch of Cerulean Blue.

Here is a brief plug.  My daughter got me really hooked on Spotify.  I have been rediscovering loads of music, and I spend more time at the easel.  Look out Sirius, you might get replaced.

Scratching The Brain

An old drawing and painting from a few years ago.  This was a piece that sat in my head for over a year.  I think about it now with winter on the way, and all of the other old places that I see everyday in West Virginia.  It is time to find another lost dream.

Late Night Donuts, and Sheetz Coffee

"Late Night Donuts" oil on panel, 5 x 5.

Dorothy and I picked these out late Saturday night, or maybe early Sunday morning after a trip to Sheetz for coffee.  The studio is pretty much a 24 hour operation.  Dorothy is up all hours, and I work evenings and sometimes until the wee hours.  I have a large commission to finish this month, coffee and the occasional unhealthy snack are brain food.  The powdered donut in this painting was my favorite part.to paint.  The places where the powder do not quite covering the donut is pink-purple and not the brownish color one might imagine.  Color relationships get very interested when you study an object closely.  The background is a very dark blue, almost black.

Painting Snack Food

Hostess Sno-Ball (RIP), oil on panel, 5 x 5.

This is what I sometimes wash down with turnpike coffee late at night.  The Hostess Sno Ball is one of those foods I wanted, but seldom got when I was a kid.  I like the look of them in the package, so inviting, and somewhat disappointing.  But late at night, on the way back to Maryland from Edinboro PA, I always grab one at the Pilot Truck Stop with a large coffee.

Corn Maze II

Here there is a bit more done to the piece, still though, lots to work out.

Corn Maze

Work in progress. Oil on linen, 18" x 24.'

Arthur Wayne Corle

A.W. Corle, oil on masonite.


In Memoriam (Easter, 1915)

The flowers left thick at nightfall in the wood
This Eastertide call into mind the men,
Now far from home, who, with their sweethearts, should
Have gathered them and will do never again.

Edward Thomas

Carnival Prophet, Angel On a V-Twin

Oil on linen, 12x14.

Renewal

This afternoon my daughter and I were out running an errand and drove to Boonsboro. I have not been down alt 40 since maybe March. I figured we would have a look at an old house I painted a couple of winters ago. The last time I saw it, the place seemed dark and kind of spooky inside. For years the same old rusty 1953 Pontiac sat out front, and someone seemed to be trying to make a go of it with the house, and the car. Some time last year, the people and the car disappeared. The old house was a wreck. So today, I was very surprised (and Happy) to see the old house was occupied and completely renovated. I was so surprised I drove past the house thinking that I must be looking at the wrong property. On my second pass, I could see a large screen TV on in the living room, the house was full of life again.

Here is a a short film my daughter Alice made of me talking about that house, and other stuff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRIf4S1es04

Chester C. Waller

Last April I came across a dusty old photo of a soldier, his dog tags, and a medal, in an antique shop in Edinboro Pennsylvania. The soldier's name was inscribed on the medal. A Google search turned up the life of Chester C. Waller, a physician and skilled surgeon from Vermont. He went to war in France in May of 1918. Before the war, Dr. Waller attended the Methodist Seminary in Montpelier Vermont, attended medical school in Burlington Vermont, and graduated from the Baltimore Medical College in Maryland in 1898. He had 3 children, his first wife died in 1911, a few years after his daughter was born. He remarried in 1913. From there I know little else about Dr. Waller.

The photo on the left is of Dr. Waller in profile, I found it while doing a Google search. My painting is on the right. I am still working on that. Some day I may learn what became of the good doctor and his family.

Centralia Fragment

Untitled, oil on brick.

A brick from a Centralia Pennsylvania home. Perhaps a knob that opened a door to a little sister's or brother's bedroom in that home. I can only imagine how many holiday seasons were enjoyed in that house. One has to wonder what became of all of those families that were forced to leave. All that remains are sidewalks that lead past empty lots, and beneath it all burns a mine fire.

Pencil Sharpener

"Pocket Knife" oil on masonite 6"x 8."

This was a pocket knife that belonged to my father-in-law. It is one of a few odds and ends he had in a small drawer at the end of his life. Judging by the wear, this little knife was in service for many years, prying open paint cans, splicing wires, or whatever else was needed to be done quickly. He liked to have first crack at most repairs around the house. The knife has been re-purposed as a pencil sharpener, and mostly spends time in my bag with drawing supplies.

Rick

"Rick" oil on Linen.

Been reading Huncke, by Rick Mullin. He has a very entertaining, and thought provoking blog, where he has but his life into incredible verse.

Mobtown Bobber

"Little Bastard" oil on canvas, 60" x 42."

This bike belongs to Tim Sneed of Baltimore, Maryland. Tim is a custom builder with a shop that is loaded with great old bikes and a killer old Seeburg jukebox. Here is Tim's shop.