Rain Walker

A pen and ink sketch from this morning. Walking in the rain and melting snow, saw a lone woman in black silhouetted against the misty background, tried to draw from memory.

New shed in new snow in new sketchbook

 The sun was low in the sky behind the shed, casting the front surfaces into shadow and creating rim lighting around the roof. The snow on the roof, while technically in shadow, had its own luminosity, collecting and reflecting the skylight.

 Time for a new Montanapolitancroptic sketchbook!

Here are a few from the old one that I hadn't gotten around to posting:

Another of those rocks from the UMass Sun Wheel. People gather there to observe the solstices and equinoxes.

At first I thought these guys were building a shed but it turned out they were carefully disassembling it. In any case, the light was very striking.

The former Amherst, MA train station. It's right down the street from the old Emily Dickinson place, which apparently was no accident - her family held a lot of stock in the railroad company.

Self Service Car Wash

I was initially attracted by the luminosity of the snow and white fence vibing off each other in the sunlight. As I was working I saw several people coming and going on the beaten path leading up the hill. I wondered if there was a name for such unofficial byways and thought that "via vernacula" would be a good one. I found no instances of "via vernacula" on the web but did find a couple references to existing terms: "social path" and "desire path." Results of searching on "social path" got about 50/50 "Did you mean 'sociopath?'" and a k-pop song of the same name. "Desire path" got more legit hits but had mostly negative connotations of environmental damage caused by lazy or impatient people bushwhacking across the landscape. Furthermore, "desire path' sounds like a route for a street car. Neither has the zing of "Via vernacula," so I am hereby nominating it as the term of record.

Backyard climbing structure

 For years I've been drawing and painting this climbing structure in our back yard. For some reason it always cheers me up, like a friendly little being looking back at me and reminding me of happy times with my kids. I've done it in different media and seasons, although with a predilection for snow scenes, and made it my avatar on line. Alas, all things must pass; the structure was falling apart and becoming an attractive nuisance, so today we had it taken away to be supplanted by a garden shed. Here is a little farewell tribute to a long standing muse.

Skue

You’d see upon the highway years ago
Serving as an ad hoc wall and warning
Old oil drums guarding worksites, row on row
Crudely painted orange stripes adorning.

Word was, they were provisioned by the Mob.
For this cause, perhaps, or one less drastic
A new, updated model got the job
A drum simulacrum of orange plastic

It retained the features of the barrel,
Public recognition not to squander.
How to call it in a cry of peril?
“Look out for them skeuomorphs up yonder!”

Now we see once more a new mutation:
Like a barber pole, a tower slender
Needs a taxonomic appellation
Perhaps I could tender a contender?

I rummage in my cluttered lexicon
My monkey mind, a whistling dwarf
Wielding his pickaxe, mines chthonic axons
Brings back a diamond: “Skeu-ecto-morph!”

Is there a point to this epiphany?
A private triumph over entropy.

Hartsbrook Farm

This is a scene I never tire of sketching. The geometry of all those metal roofs and the ever-changing light are always rewarding.

Watercolor, 4" x 6"

Clothesline

Another one from the Cape.

Oil linen panel, 10" x 12"

The light on the clothesline and trees was one of the first things I noticed on arrival. I did this in three sessions on site plus some little touches at home.

Propane

 The propane tank lurking like a submarine in the bushes caught my eye, along with whatever that rusty metal cylinder is next door.

Grass Spider Web (Precipice Pano)

Another take on the view from the precipice, this time in a vertical pano format to get in the entire sweep from the cliff edge beneath my feet to the horizon and sky. I noticed a bedewed grass spider web at my feet and was struck by the dramatic sense of scale created by this tiny spider setting up shop atop a 128 foot bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, the edge of the planet, and beyond.

Cape Cod precipice

 Our rental at the Cape was perched atop a 128’ bluff. I attempted to render the view down to the beach in a watercolor sketch. It was challenging to indicate the height and steepness. I did consider adding a Wile E Coyote silhouette at the bottom.

75th Annual National Exhibition of Traditional Realism at Arts Center East

Very gratified to learn that my drawing Rebecca has been accepted to the 75th Annual National Exhibition of Traditional Realism at Arts Center East.

Exhibition Dates: October 12th – November 2nd, 2025 

Reception/Event: October 12, 2025 1pm-4pm. Awards announced at 3pm.

Location: Arts Center East, 709 Hartford Turnpike, Vernon, CT 

 www.academicartistsassociation.org 

I’m totally chuffed  to report that my work will be part of the inaugural Hampden Gallery Triennial exhibition, Reflecting on the Past/Dreaming the Future, a featured exhibition of the Fine Arts Center’s fiftieth anniversary celebration. The exhibition invites viewers to reflect on the past, engage with the present, and imagine what is yet to come. 

Hampden Gallery

On view: September 12 – December 3

Reception: September 12, 5-7 p.m.

7th Annual Northeast Fine Arts Exhibition.

 River Valley will be included in the upcoming 7th Annual Northeast Fine Arts Exhibition.

Workshop 13

13 Church Street

Ware, Massachusetts 01082

Show Dates and Times:

August 23rd to September 7th, 2025

Fridays 4 to 7 pm, Saturdays & Sundays | 1 to 4 pm

Opening Reception  Saturday, August 23rd | 1 to 4 pm, awards at 3 pm

https://workshop13.org/

Reflecting on the Past / Dreaming the Future show

 More good news on the art show front -

"Farmall" and "PCC Memories" have been accepted for the upcoming show "Reflecting on the Past / Dreaming the Future" at the Hampden Gallery at UMass Amherst.

Exhibition Dates:

September 12 – December 3, 2025

Opening Reception: Friday, September 12, 2025, 5–7 p.m.

Fineartscenter.com/Hampden 

Summertime! show

"Sunscreen" and "Truro Breakwater" have been accepted for the upcoming show "Summertime!" at Art Center East.

Art Center East
709 Hartford Turnpike
Vernon, CT
artscentereast.org

Opening Reception: Saturday, July 5, 2:00–4:00 pm

Exhibit Dates: July 5–August 2, 2025

Gallery Hours: Thursday–Saturday, 1:00–5:00 pm

 

2025 Monson Art Council's Spring Art Exhibition

 Little Tinker Hill, Autumn 2024 will be at the 2025 Monson Art Council's Spring Art Exhibition

Unframed etchings, PCC Memories and Three Women for sale in the shop.

House of Art and Memorial Hall

200 Main St, Monson, MA

Weekends 5/10 – 5/25

12:00 - 5:00

Virtual Exhibit at Burnett Gallery

https://joneslibrary.org/1043/Virtual-Exhibit---March-2025

Monotypes

 I've been doing a bunch of monotypes recently. My procedure involves rolling ink onto a copper or plexiglass plate, scraping away the ink to create white or halftone marks, and running it through an etching press, printing onto dry paper. "Toast" also has some marks added to the paper after printing. 

Toast

Kafé Kafka

When I Take My Tiger To Tea

Shuffle

Rembrandt etchings copies

 I've been doing these little 3" high pencil copies of Rembrandt etchings. 

Christ Preaching

The Triumph of Mordecai

Christ Among the Sick

It's such a good way to really see into the work, from the large compositional elements to the tiny details.

Under Pressure: A Printmaking Exhibition

 My etching "PCC Memories" will be included in the upcoming show "Under Pressure: A Printmaking Exhibition," to be held at Workshop13’s ArtWorks Gallery, 69 Main Street, Ware, MA.

There is a flourishing printmaking scene in the area, so I'm looking forward to a great show.

Show Dates and Times:

January 25 - February 23, 2025

Saturdays & Sundays 1 to 4 pm

Opening Reception

Saturday, January 25th | 3 to 5 pm