2010 Winter Series #8 ~ Window scene

6"x4" Miniature Original Watercolor
$275.00 ~ SOLD

This little scene was from the B&B we
stayed in when in Great Barrington, MA.
It had been cold and snowy. Here is what
I like...you have this wonderful still life
and yet out the window is a winter scene.
Its like two separate paintings in one!

I cannot tell you how much I am enjoying
painting right now, it is just flowing off my
brush. Below is the finished painting I used
as part of my glass painting demo...
I set up a still life trying to show clear glass
and colored glass.

Framed 14"x18" "Bordeaux"
$700.00 SOLD on 2/7/10
You can click over the paintings to enlarge them

2010 Winter Series #7 ~ Farm in Winter

4"x6" Miniature Original Watercolor
$225.00 Contact the studio

I enjoy the study of the light a moon
casts over snow. On my computer this
came out a bit more grey the actual
painting is more bluish. I took the photo
several times and just could not get it
perfect...

It was a pretty quiet day here. I had a
few errands to run and painted. Linda
had show apps spread over the kitchen
table again and that consumed her day.
This is our last free weekend, shows start
next week. Spread the word, I am returning
to CBA in Lincroft, NJ!

2010 Winter Series #6 ~ Icicles

6"x4" Miniature Original Watercolor
SOLD

I simply wanted to try this... icicles.
It was a challenge. I knew what I wanted.
Approaching evening and this wonderful
glow on the icicles hanging from the porch
roof.

We had a care plan meeting for my Mom this
morning. She is doing as well as can be expected.
Spent some time with her. Then back home to
paint. I had this icicle idea in my head and could
hardly wait to get started. In the afternoon I had
a student stop in to look around and then I got
right back to my icicles!

2010 Winter Series #5

6"x4" Miniature Original Watercolor
SOLD

I want you to view this painting and feel the
cold air. The full moon lights up the field
but I want you to shiver! I totally enjoyed
painting today.

Below is the sketch I did first, this is often
my custom. To draw the idea first in my
sketch book. Sketches are never for sale,
they are for my personal growth.

Next is a little snapshot from my lecture
last night. I think it went well and I hope
everyone enjoyed themselves.

Glass study ~ wine glass

4"x6" Miniature Original Watercolor
SOLD

This wine glass will be part of a larger
painting I am working on for a
demonstration in painting glass.
No white paint was used, pretty good
for watercolor.

Most of my morning was used taking
my brother-in-law to the Baltimore
Airport. I was back at my drawing
board by noon. Also had my 1st track
meeting...it's starting soon!!
But for now I must focus on my glass
demonstration. Hope to see you
tomorrow night...Lititz Library, 7pm
FREE!

Glass study ~ blue bottle

4"x6" Miniature Original Watercolor
SOLD!

I am working on material for my up coming
"Glass Painting" demonstration. I want
to have a few pieces for display. I took
this pretty blue bottle from Linda's bottle
tree collection that is in our garden in summer.

You are invited:
Glass Painting demonstration
Tuesday 1/26 held at the Lititz Library
at 7pm ~ free!
Lititz, PA

Tea Cup ~ After the luncheon

5"x5" Miniature Original Watercolor
SOLD

A bit more contemporary subject for me
but I like to experiment. I owe this
challenge to my daughter. My favorite
part is the reflection of the napkin in the cup.

I am blogging early because I am taking
my lovely wife out dancing tonight. We
are headed to Pottstown to the Sunnybrook
Ballroom for some 50-70'S music. All this
fun stops shortly when my weekends are
spent showing.

2010 Window Study #3

4"x6" Miniature Original Watercolor

$250.00 ~ Contact the studio

An expanded view of yesterdays window.
Adding the landscape changes the whole
perspective and feeling. I love the missing
letters in the window. Notice the reflection
of a passing truck? I have been working on
my winter trees and that "it could snow any
minute" sky.

My topic tonight is finding a spot to paint.
Every artist is different. I personally can
paint anywhere anytime. I usually paint at
art shows so people can watch. For that you
need to be secure in your craft. At home I am
lucky to have a studio but frankly I get bored
and lonely in there! Even with a radio and TV.
I often find myself moving into the rooms that
Linda is in. Even tho she is not usually bored or
lonely! When she is in the house I can be found
at the kitchen table. That's where I was all day
today. As you can see... I am spread out all over
the table. Linda had been working on the laptop
but the bike magazine is mine, for when I take a
break. No excuses like needing north light. I paint
where the painting might be hung. Granted
watercolors are more portable but never let the
lack of perfect conditions keep you from painting.
I enjoy the noise of family life around me,
reminding me why I am painting.

Photo of the artist hard at work!

2010 Window Study #2 ~ Pottery in a window

6"x4" Miniature Original Watercolor
$225.00 SOLD

A few weeks ago I was in Great Barrington, MA.
I stopped for gas and this scene was across the
street. A large show window with big pottery
vessals. I liked the way the snow was piled up
against the building and a few dead plant stalks
poking up. I plan to paint this again tomorrow
in a large view.

I almost let this milestone pass without observing
it. Actually Linda is the one that pays attention
to this sort of thing. While she was gathering the
years paperwork and boxing things she mentioned
that I started my 4th year of blogging, that means
I blogged for three years!
Here are a few rambling thoughts...
~Thinking how fast three years have gone by.
~In the beginning I was obsessed with how many
people were even reading my blog, now I don't pay
any attention. But comments and questions still
mean a lot.
~Sales still thrill me, I love when the eBay auction
has some real bidding.
~ When the painting does not sell I still feel a bit of
rejection, questioning what is wrong with the piece.
Its funny how that happens even after all these years
of painting, a tiny bit of insecurity shows up.
~The only downside is selling at a much lower price
than I think they are worth, considering the amount
of time I spend on them
~I always say there are endless subjects to paint and
even now I do not struggle with ideas.
~ Looking back over my body of blog work amazes
even me, and this is just the mini paintings.
~I still actually like it, in a very odd way it has become
part of my day.

2010 Window Study #1

6"x4" Miniature Original Watercolor

SOLD!

I love windows! I am always studying how
they look and feel. This is from my walk
around New Castle, DE. Some sort of
cornucopia filled with flowers.

I actually got out on my bike this afternoon.
It felt soooo good! I have a case of spring
fever, I know it is way to soon to feel this way
but I do. Even with show apps spread every
where it is also time for Linda to do the end
of year stuff. Thank goodness it is not my job.
I feel for the artist who have to do it all by
themselves. It takes a different kind of mind
to balance the accounts to the penny!

Holiday Series #17

4"x6" Miniature Original Watercolor
SOLD!

This is the last holiday painting! I did two
as special requests and my client took this
one. I feel I am ending on a high note, this
has a wonderful warm feeling to it.

Last night we went with friends to see
Blind Side. What a wonderful movie.
It moved me... I highly recommend you
go see it.

My Show Schedule continued...
I talked about jury fees, so now we are down
to booth fees. Your booth fee covers just the
plot of land you may set up on. You also assume
the promoter is actually promoting the show so
some of this fee should go towards advertising
but that is out of your hands.
Inside spaces are often smaller. Outside should
be 10'x10' which is the average tent size. My
cheapest fee is probably $85 and I can pay up to
$1000. There are some really expensive indoor shows
that I just do not gamble on, although in theory
the clients should be large spenders but that is not
my experience. I am paying for shows now that
are not held till May... so your money is out a long
time before you earn it back. I have already written
$2000 worth of fees and I do not even start a show
until February! You can see my schedule on my web
site. Do not even try to figure out why Linda picked
the ones she did, you will need to consult her! I do not
really care where we go! So, I think that wraps up the
schedule information unless you have a question.

Holiday Series #16 ~ Red bow

4"x6" Miniature Original Watercolor
SOLD

I had two clients ask for a few more holiday
paintings with red bows. When my public
speaks, I listen! This is from historic
Strasburg, PA. I liked the rural feeling of this
scene. With an antique wood wheelbarrow off to
one side and there was a cord of stacked wood
on the other side. You have to imagine that.

My Show Schedule continued...
There are two kinds of shows.
Juried and Unjuried.
1) Unjuried does not care what you make only
that you send in money and they give you a space.
They often say handmade but that can be pretty loose.
Often the quality is not as good, but I do a few simply
because I have clients in the area and they come to
see me and also quality stands out! The space fee is
often much less. These can be some schools fundraisers,
a town sponsored show; they feature mostly crafts with
a little art and photography thrown in. No prestige and
some artists would not be caught dead here.
2) Juried... this means someone or a panel looks at your
work and decides if you fit into their show. Even with
juried shows the quality varies. Some juries are trying
to offer a broad range, others want gallery quality, some
are traditional, some contemporary. Many are now
charging an extra fee; jury fee, application fee, processing
fee... Regardless what they call it it cost from $10 to $45
for the privledge of them judging you and they all will
take your money and then say yes or no!
The jury process has really changed over my 30 years of
showing. When I started, they wanted photos or slides.
With computers, now many of the bigger shows are
juried on line using a service. They have strict guidelines
for digital photos. Many applications are only on line, saving
postage mailing them to you. To bad if you are not computer
literate. Also to consider, I have my schedule all planned
and then I do not get accepted... better shows can get
500-2000 applications and only filling 250 spaces...
someone is not going to be happy. So do you double book,
loosing fees or do you play confident and gamble. Can you
guess what Linda does?? She gets so very upset when I get
a rejection letter, she stews about it for days!
You could also be put on a waiting list, meaning you are next
if someone in your category drops out. Now you see why
Linda takes Motrin during schedule time!
more tomorrow...

Glass Study

5"x5" Miniature Original Watercolor
SOLD

I need a few paintings featuring glass for
a demonstration I am giving. Here is three
glass bottles behind a glass window pane.

If you purchase this painting I need to keep it
for show and tell! I am giving a talk and demo
"Painting Glass" on 1/26 at the Lititz Library
for the Village Art Association. It is open to the
public. You may have it after the demo.

My Show Schedule continued...
There are things to consider when picking a show.
1) The towns economy and size, rural or city
Am I inside or outside. In a park or on a street
Is there easy parking for my van or do they make
the artist park far away.
2) The drive, how many hours of driving and gas
and wear and tear on my aging van
3) Number of days the show runs and how many
nights in a motel and meals I will need.
Linda is no longer thrilled with sleeping in the van
even if it is free!
4) Who is promoting the show? The town or a promoter
Did they spend money on advertising, is there security
for overnight booths. Does the public pay an admittance
or is it free. What are the shows hours... there is nothing
like a 10am to 10pm day in the hot sun! Oh...and are
there bathrooms available.
5) What are the costs of my space
6) Weather... I have 3 shows in February. If it snows, can
I get to the show and will clients come out. If not, I lost
a lot of money.
7) Quality... am I competing with imports or is it truly
all hand made. Even at crafty shows the "loving hands"
work should be made by the crafter.

Will my potential sales cover my fixed costs...
Ahhh, there is the big gamble
More tomorrow

Cupola View

4"x6" Original Watercolor
SOLD

I found this cupola in New Castle, DE.
I believe it is a fox on the weather vane.
What you need to consider is I do not have
copper paint... It is a mixture of burnt sienna
and cad. yellow dark. The sky is a bit bluer
in the painting than it shows on computer.

I had a morning and evening class today.
Linda spent another day on show applications.
It is Linda's job to read them and decide where
we are going. It is not an easy job. Every town
has some sort of art/craft show and there is a
lot to consider. In past years you could spend
the whole summer in Michigan. Not such a good
idea now.
I will share our process... actually it is all a guess
and a gamble!
My Show Schedule:
We start with a tablet with all the weekend dates
for 2010. Basically if I am not showing I do not
earn a paycheck, but that needs to be balanced with
how much energy you have to travel every weekend.
We have pretty much stamina! Linda also loves to
travel so no area is to far for her! I do both high end
art shows and some low end craft shows. We mix
them up. Linda starts by writing in the shows we know
we are doing and the ones we are pretty sure we will
get invited to. Then we fill in.
Finding shows... I said they are everywhere but you need
the info. We use Sunshine Artist magazine, the apps
we receive in the mail and she searches the internet.
It takes some time to gather all this info, dates and area
being the first consideration. She starts to pencil in some
choices. We usually try to pick one show farther out that
we have not been to the area so we can also sight see.
Linda has wanted to try a show in Rozwell, GA. I have no
idea why but I am guessing she will apply!
More tomorrow.

Winter Series #5

6"x4" Miniature Original Watercolor
$225. SOLD

I love the angle I used here. Laying in
a cornfield with just part of the barn
in view. Bare trees, snow and the moon.

We had a very nice weekend with good
friends in the Birkshires. We went for a
wedding but spent quite a bit of time at
our B&B in front of a warm fire. It was
snowing and I took some good winter photos.
We got home last night and watched some
of the 3rd season of Tudors.
Today is back to painting. Tomorrow I have
classes to teach. There is a new set of classes
in February if any one is interested. I am a
pretty good teacher!

Belsnickle #2

4"x6"Miniature Original Watercolor
$225.00 ~SOLD

I wanted to try a close up of this pottery
belsnickle. It is a matter of scaling it
up and there is more detail in the close
up view. I also like the way the folds in the
curtain turned out.

We are packed and ready to go to MA
for a weekend wedding. Our friends
that had a wedding two weeks ago have
another wedding. This time its their son.
We have a nice B&B and are expecting a
nice weekend away. I am not planning on
painting but will be on the lookout for
snow material which I think will be abundant!

Belsnickle

5"x5" Miniature Original Watercolor
$250.00 ~ SOLD

I needed a break from snow scenes!
Especially since I had to shovel the dusting
we received over night. I am intrigued
with this belsnickle and electric candle
in the window with a curtain behind it.


I am still getting requests for holiday paintings
with red bows, so I am on the look out for
some new material. I will probably put a few
in between the snow scenes.

2010 Winter Series #4

6"x4" Miniature Original Watercolor

More snow scenes, but I switched to
a stone barn. I liked the low to the ground
view of this one.

I had a question from Leah about pencil lines.
There is a good drawing under all my paintings.
Because of the number of washes I use, most
of my pencil lines are simply covered over. I

do not erase them. I usually start with a sketch
in my sketch book so that I have a feel for what
I want to do. This eliminates a lot of erasing on my
good paper. I use a mechanical pencil with a soft
lead for the drawing on my watercolor paper. The
drawing is softly sketched. I have a white artist
eraser I use if I need to make a change. Once I start
painting the pencil lines become part of the painting.

As for returning to Berea, KY... I have a show the same
weekend that I am not ready to give up. That said, I
love the area and enjoyed the show. So I always look
at the application and weigh where I can make more
money, for now Berea is on hold.

Other questions???
If you have a good snow scene you think I would enjoy
painting send me an email.

2010 Winter Series #3 ~ Farm in Winter

6"x4" Miniature Original Watercolor
$275.00 ~ Contact the studio

The snow was much wetter in our second storm,
causing snow to stick to the tree. But not for long
with the sun starting to shine.

Thoughts... I realized I am starting my 4th year
blogging. I cannot believe it has been that long
nor that I am not tired of doing it. To add a boost
to the journal part I am happy to answer any of
your questions. You can click the comments below
and ask away, I will do my best to answer!

I spent the morning with parents. Took Linda's
Mom for a lesson on checking her diabetes. I went
so I could learn how to use the little machine. Then
I went to visit my Mom for two hours. She is doing
well and was in a good mood. I got a late start to my
painting. Linda was glued to her desk doing some year
end work and updating the look of my blog. Our
computer is still not finished, the way I understand it
the new guts is Window 7 and it does not talk to our
older software. So we have only half of things working.

Classes start tomorrow!!

2010 Winter Series #2 ~ Farm in Winter

6"x4" Miniature Original Watercolor
SOLD

This is the same farm as yesterday and I

plan to paint several views. One of my
favorite things to see is when snow starts

to melt and grass shows through. I have no
idea what attracts me to that but I enjoy it.

We had a very nice weekend. We had another
get together with the French group. A tasty
meal and we chatted and looked at photos.
Our friend Joan and her dog spent the night
and left this morning.

Watercolor classes start this week. It is not
to late to sign up. I am flexible with the
weather so you can make up on any of my
classes. Give me a call with questions.

2010 Winter Series ~ Lancaster County barn in Winter

4"x6" Miniature Original Watercolor
SOLD

In traveling around Lancaster County
Pennsylvania, I am drawn to our barns
and the surrounding landscape. Blue skies,
a bit of sunshine and some melting snow.

HAPPY 2010!
Thank you for all the birthday wishes!
I am now a proud 57...
We spent New Years Eve with friends.
Started with the movie; Its Complicated, which
we enjoyed, then dinner at Applebees, back to
friends house for chit chat in front of a fire.
Celebrated the new year and since it was icy
we spent the night.

I also want to say thank you for all the uplifting
comments you have sent me. I truly feel blessed
with wonderful clients, friends and family.