White Ducks (4"x12")

Seen at the base of the falls in the harbor at Camden, Maine

2010 USASA National Specialty Artwork

A couple of smalls...

'Small Gems' is what McBride Gallery is calling the focus of their holiday season this year, little paintings done by gallery artists. So these 2 paintings joined the party along with several other small works I have already posted in recent weeks and months.

Eider on Waves (4x12)

Bunny (4x12)

Waiting Egret 20x24 oil on linen

Destined for one of my galleries for the fall season.

All sorts of arrivals

Well, I did some paintings (so they arrived), autumn is here (so it arrived), I got back from Wausau after being their artist-in-residence (so I arrived) and last and most important, Ribbon has had her litter of 7 so THEY arrived. You can see more about them at this news page though I have included  a picture of mom and babies here.

The Signs (16x20)

Egret Primping2 (6x4)

Egret Primping 1 (6x4)

 Splash (8x10) Saw this fellow chasing a stick in a local small river and had to paint him.

Cleveland Bay (15x30)   This was posted a couple of weeks ago but the horse disappeared into a very dark green background so I lightened it and was much happier with this.

 Sand River Cheetah (24x30) Haven't done Africa in any real way for a good while so I needed to rectify this.




Some more work finally photographed. Art is destined for various upcoming shows including McBride Gallery's Autumn Celebration, Troika Gallery's Gala Anniversary show, Mystic Maritime Museum Gallery's winter show, and Simpson Gallery's miniatures holiday show. Early in 2010 I plan to have work included in the American Society of Marine Artists' regional show in Delaware. Hope to see some of you at one or more event!  If you want to know which specific pieces might be going where, just contact me.

Horses on my mind...

Cleveland Bay Stallion (15x30)

I've been reading a lot of my friend Lyn's blogs and looking at her photos documenting her newly reawakened Horse Madness and I confess it has me revisiting my love of horse as well. Haven't been on one in decades but certainly have watched, and photographed, them recently and now want to paint them.
Not sure this is done (OK, it isn't, a few cleanup strokes needed) and no idea how to photograph it without all that glare on the paint strokes, but wanted to put it up. From a trip to Howard County fair, watching several Cleveland Bay stallions being led around near their ring. This was a particularly handsome fellow.

Some more new art

I have been busy doing a variety of things including preparing for fall gallery events. Attended McBride Gallery's 'Best of the Chesapeake' opening a couple of weekends back and got to chat with some old friends, and to see the exhibition that was, as always, so beautiful.
Now preparing for the gallery's autumn celebration show coming up in October, and also for the big November Anniversary exhibition at the Troika Gallery in Easton. Wonderful to have such representation in both galleries.So to that end I have been toiling away. Here are a few smaller works. Have a couple of larger things not yet ready for photography and also will have my great blue heron sculpture represented in the galleries again when they arrive from the foundry. Just a little color...Watery Sky (5x7)


White Chair (4x6)

Greeting the Day (10x20)

Tension (8x8)

Gee Bee (16x20) A special piece for a special perosn.


Scarlet Macaw (8x8)

Fleet (12x12)

Some new art

Settling In (8x12)
This is the rtwork I used as a demonstration piece for my tutorial at the Woodson Art Museum next month. I photographed it in stages from initial drawing to completion; those photos and the finished artwork will hang at the museum with 3 other scratchboards of mine from now until the end of Birds in Art 2009 exhibition at the museum.
I do very few scratchboards anymore so it was nice to settle down in front of the drawing table for a change.



2 beloved dogs belonging to a friend; the blue merle girl died last year and the blac tri boy is getting on in years.

My new website dog pages

I finally decided, since I am breeding Ribbon for an October litter, to add pages to my website for my Australian Shepherds. I am also working on other updates including adding a few new print images and updating the calendar (which has not been done quite yet!).See the new web pages here. Or just go to my regualr web page and find the link to Inkwell Australian Shepherds.

Stargazing(24x18)

An egret. Because there are not enough paintings of them in the world.

Exciting Updates

I have been working out my schedule for a week of talking about and demonstrating the medium of Scratchboard, to be hosted by Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. This will happen the week of October 19-25, 2009. I have a Scratchboard included in this year's Birds in Art exhibition (I believe my 15th year of inclusion) and for the first time I will not be attending the Birds in Art weekend festivities because I will be out to see the show that week in October when I teach.
I will have several new scratchboards there in a mini-gallery during the Birds in Art display time (guess what I am working on right now?).

In addition I have learned that Ampersand Art Supply tm is donating all materials for the adult workshops portion of the week. Ampersandtm makes a masonite board with the kaolin clay surface that is definitive of Scratchboard; they call the un-inked version Claybord . Their donation includes 50 white and 50 black boards measuring 5"x7", as well as a few other sizes for the ambitious student. In addition they are donating the fiber scraping tools and another scratching tool. I buy mine white (no ink yet, called 'Claybord') because I like a lighter background, but many artists like the black boards, which are simply Claybord tm with India ink already applied. That is what they label Scratchboard. I have been using their product since I first learned about it over a decade ago because the quality and consistency is so excellent. Now the company's generosity will allow attendees to try both materials if they like. Thank you Ampersandtm!

Here is the beautiful Birds in Art calendar produced by the Museum. You can read the pages by simply clicking on them to enlarge.

Some new work

Finally getting some new work up.

Dusk Watch (12x24)
This painting is at McBride Gallery in Annapolis.


Koji's Girl (7"x5") Commissioned portrait


Kaz's Girl (7"x5") Commissioned portrait



Summer Sparkle (18"x24")
This painting will be a part of McBride Gallery's 'Best of the Chesapeake' Autumn exhibition in September.


Aphrodite(8"x8")
This painting too will be a part of the 'Best of the Chesapeake' show at McBride Gallery.

It's been a while...

'Stretch' 24"x12"


But not because I haven't been working. The past 3 months were spent painting art for the 2 specialty dog shows I planned for this year. Preparation included making the artworks, preparing prints, framing prints, and doing the trophy framing for the Australian Shepherd national specialty. Also had new paintings and prints for the Shetland Sheepdog National Specialty. I was in Perry Georgia for the Shelties first, where I met old acquaintances and new ones, all with a common interest in this pretty and versatile breed.


'Little Tri Girl' 6"x8"'Blue & Black' 11"x14"


My dog Encore went into the ring as did a number of his close relations, and as always it was a spectacle of great animals. Then I had a week to burn before heading for St. Louis area to do the Aussie Nationals. I spent that week at Meramec State Park in Missouri where I camped with my Sheltie and a friend's nice young Aussie in my little travel trailer. The plan was to set up camp in this park and to work on a couple of paintings I wanted to complete for marine art exhibitions which had entry deadlines during my trip.

Great plan except that it rained Every.Single.Day. All.Day. while I was at Meramec. So I was finally painting inside my small trailer with 2 bored young dogs. Not the ideal situation. But what can you do, right? I had no way to know it would be that unpleasant and I did not really want to drive all the way home before then heading west to St. Louis, so there I stayed. I never did make deadline for the juries of those shows but have a couple of paintings almost finished which will go to galleries instead. I did do this little goose while holed up.'White Goose' 5"x7"
When the day came to move camp on up the road at Purina Farms for the Aussie Nationals it was sunny and nice (of course). Well, the best way to fold up my little hybrid trailer is in dry weather at least. I packed up and moved on Sunday and waited until they were able to allow the RV's to get their spots.
'Deep Snow' 8"x10"
The following day I set up a somewhat abbreviated booth space under the main show tent and gave Blossom, my friend's Aussie girl, a bath in prep for her show debut on Tuesday.
Also started the process of pulling out the framed prints that were prepared for the trophies and judges' gifts during the show.

Blossom's debut in the ring was not an auspicious one though she did fail to trip me in the ring. Her second time in the ring on Thursday we were much better as a team though no ribbons resulted. But she is simply very green and needs to learn, well, stuff. And she will, back home with her owner.
The sculpture of the Aussie that we have had up for raffle in benefit of the Australian Shepherd Foundation was on display all week and final raffle ticket sales topped $9000 for the Foundation. I was honored to be the one to draw the winning ticket at the Thursday night banquet and, as very interesting luck would have it, the winning ticket was held by the niece of Nadine Grady, a board member who had the assignment to judge Best of Breed the next day! Nadine's niece said a few words about her aunt Nadine's influence upon her and her fun dog show field trips with her when a child, and then announced she was giving the sculpture to Nadine.


It was all very fitting, and I shipped the piece to Nadine this week. The art auction at the banquet was also quite successful and the original painting used as the official artwork for the specialty fetched a nice price at auction. (I always donate the art for this).

'Spring' (9"x12") 2009 Aussie Nationals logo image

After 3 weeks I was quite happy to return home and I packed up the art booth that Thursday (the day before actual end of show) as the forecast was rain for Friday. Sure enough Friday started with heavy thounderstorms (Tornado Alley duirng Tornado Season, in a trailer!) and they continued, and continued, aand continued some more. I finally ended up folding up my trailer wet as I'd have had to wait til noon or later for rain to end. The storms caused hours of delays in judging Best of Breed (a few hundred entries plus junior showmanship that day) and I was on the way home before judging was partway through. But I was ready to go and mission , for me at least, had been accomplished with the wrap up of the year-long sculpture fundraiser plus the delivery of all the trophy prints.

I will plan to attend Poodle Nationals next year after having had to sit them out for thew past several (since they are now in April in conflict with shelties an Aussies). Unfortunate bad luck on the timing; these are the only dog shows I even do (as an artist) as a matter of fact. But time to give Aussies a break (though I will continue the logo art) and Shelties will be in Tucson next year. All at the same time as Poodles, and I want to get back to my big canine topiary show again, I really enjoy it and I adore the breed.
"Not Sleeping' 10"x15 "scratchboard for Birds in Art at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau WI.

And new Aussie art

'Bringing Them In" Oil on Canvas 16x20

I started this painting a while ago but had to set it aside until I was able to resolve a problem with it. These sheep were seen at Dicky Renn's farm a couple of years back.

A New Egret

Because there are many thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of egrets in the world and I have only painted a small fraction of them, I add another, chipping away at the list.

More new dog art

Still working on new images for shows I plan or hope to do this year.





Berner pups ('Sisters', 10x8)



Sittin' Pretty (Bernese Mountain Dog) 10x8
Perfect Angel (Berner Puppy) 8x10

In Triplicate (Berner Trio) 10x20

Also a Heron painting for the The Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport
Evening Wade oil 10x10