Pot with oranges

Oil on canvas, 6" x 6"

I'm heading out for Washington DC tomorrow so won't be posting until after Jan. 1. See you then.

Order's up-sold

Oil on canvas, 6" x 8"

Bundled up, catching up

Oil on canvas, 6" x 8"

Another New York scene- a chilly spot to read the paper, but he was dressed warmly. I was pleased with the way the green/gray/lavender color scheme worked.

Park here- sold

Oil on canvas, 6" x 8"

Christmas certainly has a way throwing a monkey wrench into your plans. Last week was a busy one, and the time I spent in the studio produced mostly wipers. I made up for it over the weekend, though.

This painting is from a photo I took the last time I was in New York. And by the way, I've passed the one year mark as a blogger! I'm so glad I've been doing this- when you spend most of your time alone in your studio, having the world see and comment on your work is really a trip. Happy holidays to all.

Hawaiian shirt-NFS

Oil on canvas, 6" x 8"

It's taken a little while to get back into my routine after doing the Foundry show, but now I'm back.

View from Bold Point-sold

Oil on canvas, 12" x 12"

I've really enjoyed doing landscapes in this square format... I'm sure I'll be doing more.

Sailboat at sunset-sold

Oil on canvas, 6" x 8"

Warren waterfront 3-sold

Oil on canvas, 12" x 12"

Morning , Pawtuxet village-sold

Oil on canvas, 12"x12"

We slept on our friends' boat one night and it rained heavily most of the night. The next morning I woke up to see the sun streaming across the landscape with the storm clouds still passing through. I grabbed my camera and took a bunch of photos before the sun could get swallowed up by the clouds that were left.

Pawtuxet sunset-SOLD

Oil on canvas, 12" x 12"

Pawtuxet is a quaint little village south of Providence. A river runs through it, with a waterfall (which disappears at high tide), ending in a very protected cove at the edge of  Narragansett Bay. This painting is from a photo I took last summer.

A lot in a small space

I was asked how I can fit so much in such a small space. I guess it's my background as a greeting card illustrator. I spent about 10 years painting everything from Christmas trees to witches to teddy bears, and they were all painted same size, i.e., approx. 5" x 7". Above are a couple of examples of my work. Not everything was so detailed; a lot of my pieces were much simpler. They were all painted with gouache. You just need a good pair of glasses and brushes with a good point to them.(:

The valet

Oil on canvas, 6" x 6"

He was waiting to park cars. She was waiting for her friends...

Summer evening on the hill-sold

Oil on canvas, 6" x 6"

I enjoyed painting the pretty pastel colors on this one, a  nice change from the dark interiors I've been doing lately.

Where'd they go?

Oil on canvas, 6" x 6"

I saw this guy sitting by himself, minding his friends' beers... Were they out smoking? Maybe the ladies" room? Don't know...

Are you serious?

Oil on canvas, 6" x 6"

Last week was so busy, between teaching, Thanksgiving, and getting ready for the Foundry Artists show, I didn't have much time to paint. Hope to do better this week. 

If you're in the Providence area, the Foundry Artist show opens Thursday night and is open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday for 2 weekends. There's a link on the sidebar. Come check it out. I'll be there the last couple of hours every day of the first weekend.

I've been tagged by Kelley MacDonald, aka Betty Crocker Jr. This means I'm supposed to tell 7 interesting facts about myself and then tag 7 other bloggers. It seems like all I ever do is paint, so coming up with 7 things worth posting is difficult. Here goes:

1. I used to work as an in-house greeting card artist and probably hold the world's record for most greeting card illustrations done in the shortest time (20 in one week). (They were all loose watercolors)

2. Some years ago, Chicago started a fad by creating large fiberglas cows and having artists paint them, then display them around the city. In Providence, home of Hasbro toys, this morphed into large fiberglas Potatoheads. I am responsible for creating Edgar Allen Poe-tatohead, delightfully illustrated (if I do say so myself) with images from his short stories. Poe lived in Providence for a while, so I thought it was appropriate.

3. I'm the middle of 5 kids, and since I 'm sure none of my siblings read this blog, I think it's safe to say I was my parents' favorite.

4. Next June we'll celebrate the 25th anniversary of our wedding and first and only house purchase.

5. I've traveled to roughly half of the lower 48 states, missing the deep South and midwest.

6. Foreign countries I've been in- Mexico, Canada, England, France, and Russia.

7. Next trip, right after Christmas- Washington D.C. (We'll be home long before the inauguration.)

Now for my tags: 

Janice Thurston

Jonathan McPhilips

Kathy Hodge

Kellie Jobson

Carol Schiff

Derek McCrea

Jason Brockert