"Farmall" won the 2nd place award for graphics in the 5th Annual Northeast Fine Arts Exhibition in Ware, MA. First photo shows the scratchboard in situ; beneath it is a classy metal plaque reading:

Northeast Fine Arts Exhibition

2023

2nd Place Drawing/Graphics

"Farmall"

Also on display is "Sunscreen," hung high on the wall, so I didn't get a good shot over people's heads. There was a great turnout at the opening and lots of good artwork. Stop by if you can.

Show Dates and Times:

September 23rd to October 8th, 2023

Fridays | 4 to 7 pm

Saturdays & Sundays | 1 to 4 pm

Workshop 13

13 Church St

Ware, MA 01082

 Railroad crossing signals on Wason Ave, Springfield MA. A couple more attempts at a scene I did back on August 30. That one I touched up at home with corroborative detail from memory and photo; these are all done on site. The first one is from today, I'm pretty happy with it. The second one, from two weeks ago, was actually going OK until my water brush blorched diluted ink all over the place. It's a good exercise in getting the scale and proportions down.

 Cori, Zoe, and Shed Roof on display at the 30th Regional Piedmont Art Show in Somers, CT.

It's a nice show - check it out if you're in the neighborhood.

Show hours

Sept 21 - 22 12:00 - 4:00

Sept 23 - 24. 10:00 - 2:00

Sept 28 - 29 12:00 - 4:00

Sept 30 - Oct 1 10:00 - 2:00

Piedmont Hall

604 Main St

Somers, CT 06071

 Sketched this tree in watercolor today. It was up hill, so my eye level was roughly at the tree's base. The second pic is what I got down in 45 minutes or so on site. It was hot, and the watercolor dried instantly. Not sure if all my subsequent overworking made it any better.

 "Cori," "Zoe," and "Shed Roof" have been accepted for the 30th Regional Piedmont Art Show in Somers, CT.

Cori got a Merit Award.

Cori

Pencil, gouache on toned paper

12" x 9.5"

Zoe

Pencil, gouache on toned paper

9.5" x 9.5"

Shed Roof

Oil on panel

10" x 12"

Opening reception

September 17 2023 1:00 - 3:00

Show hours

Sept 21 - 22 12:00 - 4:00

Sept 23 - 24. 10:00 - 2:00

Sept 28 - 29 12:00 - 4:00

Sept 30 - Oct 1 10:00 - 2:00

Piedmont Hall

604 Main St

Somers, CT 06071

RR Crossing signals

RR Crossing signals on Wason St, Springfield, MA.

Pen and ink, ink wash, touches of white ink

6" x 4"

5th Annual Northeast Fine Arts Exhibition

 "Sunscreen" and "Farmall" have been juried into the upcoming 5th Annual Northeast Fine Arts Exhibition in Ware, MA.

Sunscreen

Pastel

13.5" x 24"

Farmall

Scratchboard

9" x 14"

Show Dates and Times:

September 23rd to October 8th, 2023

Fridays | 4 to 7 pm

Saturdays & Sundays | 1 to 4 pm

Opening Reception

Saturday, September 23rd | 1 to 4 pm

Awards, 3 pm

Workshop 13

13 Church St

Ware, MA 01082

Railroad bridge and power plant

 Back to the river view with railroad bridge and power plant, this time in watercolor. The second pic is what I was able to get in about an hour on site, blocking in the main shapes and noting the ripple patterns on the water. The details were added later from memory.

A Vermont Farm

 Rooting around in the dusty archives I came across this early landmark in my artistic career. "A Vermont Farm", pencil on lined notebook paper, done when I was in fourth grade and probably should have been paying attention to long division. It won first prize in the 1962 NSA (yes, that NSA) Children's Art Show.

Railroad bridge and power plant on CT River

 Another depiction looking south from the North End Bridge overlooking the Connecticut River in Springfield MA. There were dark and light clouds scudding across the sky and plenty of atmospheric haze at ground level. My usual practice is to try to keep the lights and dark separate, with paper tone as the middle value, but this time I tried scumbling the white gouache over the dark ink wash to indicate the haze in front of the distant trees. I used a similar approach to suggest the water, which had still, reflective areas interspersed with opaque ruffles.

Railroad Crossing

Pen and ink, ink wash, white ink

4" x 6"

Connecticut River levee

 While my daughter and her entourage were selecting her wedding dress(!) I went out behind the shopping mall in search of something to sketch. Satellite imagery had shown that the mall backed up on the Connecticut River, separated by what appeared to be a strip of rough grass; on the ground this turned to be a very high levee, which is a good thing as the river has been running high and there has been a lot of flooding in the area. Anyway, I went ahead and did this watercolor of the levee and the line of darling violet flowers shining in the sun against the dark tree shadows.

Access road

 I revisited this access road in a wooded area I had sketched back in May, now with even more intense light and shadow in the shimmering heat. I could feel the sun burning my sandaled toes, so I didn't stay very long, and finished it at home from memory and photo ref.

New Sketchbook

 Process pix from the making of a new Montanapolitancroptic sketchbook, along with a few faves from the old one.

 

Portrait of my father

 I did this portrait of my father when I was in art school, circa 1976-77. The only way he would consent to sit was if he could continue to work at his desk. So it's a much more characteristic picture of him than if he'd been posing for a portrait. It hung over his mantlepiece for many years.

Power plant and railroad bridge

 Another sketch of the power plant and railroad bridge as seen from the North End Bridge in Springfield, MA.

Pen, ink wash, and white gouache on toned paper 4" x 6"

Long Point Light revisited

 I reworked this sketch of Long Point Light after an artist friend exhorted me to give the water more of a sense of depth and distance.

Watercolor 4" x 6"

Railroad Bridge and Power Plant from the North End Bridge with smokey haze.

I did this this morning, trying to get the effect of the wildfire smoke and haze. We didn't get anything like the photos of NYC, but the exaggerated atmospheric perspective was unmistakable. There was more of a orange cast to the light than comes out in the photo.

Watercolor, 4" x 6"

Sunset over Provincetown

 Last sunset over Provincetown for this year.

Watercolor 4” x 6”

Atlantic Spice Palettes

In what has become an annual ritual we visited the Atlantic Spice Company in Truro, MA, and after purchasing a few items I went out to draw the pallets by the loading dock. Unfortunately, just as I was getting started, a large UPS van pulled up and blocked my view. Fortunately, I had taken a reference photo. However, when I tried to reconcile my initial sketch with data from the photo, it didn't always jibe, so there are discontinuities, similar to when stitching software can't figure out where the lines match. It does convey the general feeling, though.

Ptown Haze and Long Point Light

 From last night and this morning:

PTown Haze

Watercolor 7" x 10"

In the evening the Provincetown skyline can become engulfed in mist against the scattered light from the setting sun. Although the inner details are completely obscured, the top edge is quite sharp, revealing tiny silhouettes of houses and trees against the sky. The bay takes on a bright metallic sheen, maddeningly difficult to pull off with watercolor.

Long Point Light

Watercolor 6" x 8"

From where I stand in Truro, the Long Point Lighthouse is a minuscule white rectangle on the horizon, but very prominent against the dark water and the long flat spit of land it sits on. I did a watercolor previously that emphasized its tininess against the enormous sky; this one zooms in to give more equal treatment.

WIP oil panels from the Cape.

Neighbor's Fence, Late Afternoon

Both of these will receive more attention when I get home. They each represent several possible treatments and I'll have to find a way to resolve them. My main interest in the neighbors fence was the geometry and the very orange late afternoon light. The thing is, it's difficult to paint the effect of intensely colored light when the canvas is being illuminated by the same light - it has to convey the impression of the colored light when it's seen under a neutral light.

Breakwater Waves

Oil on linen panel

6” x 8”

I've done the rock jetty a few times before; this time my focus was more on the waves and ripples generated by the interference of the jetty in the surrounding water. I worked on it over two days, one of which was much windier than the other. Besides the wind, I had to account for the tides and the changing light. I attempted to catch the tide at its lowest point, with the sun full on the upper facing rock surfaces, creating dark caves underneath.

Pano view of Provincetown and Long Point Light

 Pano view of Provincetown and Long Point Light from the beach in Truro. This was a challenge to try and fit a very wide angle of view into a small sketchbook, and chance to put the hidden thread double page spread feature of my Montanapolitancroptic sketchbook through its paces.

 This morning this large log arrived with the tide. Had the local crabs petitioned Poseidon for a king?

Pen, ink wash, white ink, white gouache on toned paper.

4" x 6"

Clouds coming in over Long Point Light Station, Provincetown,MA

Watercolor 4” x 6”

Sunscreen

Pastel, 13.5" x 24"

The etching I recently posted was based on this pastel painting, which is in turn based on a little sketch I did of a scene observed at the beach circa 2009.

Van Horn Park Peninsula

Pen and ink, brushpen, inkwash, white pen, white gouache on toned paper

4" x 6"

The second pic shows the block-in I did on site before filling in details and shading at home.

Sunscreen

Etching 21/2" x 4"

I did some etching way back in my school days and always wanted to get back into it, but didn't have the space or money for a full sized press. I recently acquired this adorable Open Press (about 3" x 9" bed) and started investigating non-toxic etching techniques.

 I took a workshop at Zea Mays, a world-renowned center for non-toxic print making, and have been experimenting with etching using BIG ground, ferric chloride etchant, and Akua inks. I've been able remove the ground and ink using a mixture of Bon Ami powder and soy sauce - no volatile solvents. You still have to take reasonable precautions with the ferric chloride, but it's definitely safer for you and the environment than the traditional acids and asphaltum ground.

I made a vertical etching tank from a Mrs. Meyers hand soap container with a slot cut to lower the plate into the ferric chloride by a length of packing tape.

This etching used a combination of hard ground, soft ground and drypoint techniques as well some scraping and burnishing where I screwed up.