Green & Gold (20x24)

Because every single koi is deserving of being painted at least once, and I hadn't done these particular fish yet, here is their portrait

Evening Roost (15x30)

My other artwork destined for the Modern Marine Masters exhibition at the Mystic Seaport Museum gallery in the early spring.

Observer (11x14) oil on linen

The first of a couple of pieces earmarked for The Gallery at Mystic Seaport's spring exhibition. Yes, according to them I am a Modern Marine Master. Imagine that! Next I need to decide what to submit for the Mystic International Exhibition. I think I feel more egrets coming on...

Quintet (24x36)

5 Egrets (my favorite painting subject, you might have noticed). This landed at Troika Gallery last week and it will be used for their spring show invitation card. That spring show opens in April, I do believe.

Semiprecious (30x30)

Back to the fish theme. More from the National Arboretum, which has an impressive collection. Don't go looking for them this month however, they are pretty much dormant and invisible during these cold winter months.

Breezy Day

My first sculpture in metal, at last. I had this bird in my head for many years before I finally surrendered to the inevitable and started working in clay. I actually did the lion's share of the work on this piece over a year ago but didn't wrap it up and send it (in a friend's car) to the foundry in Colorado until summer. They are a busy place and so it took several months to complete the work, with me having no real input since I couldn't go check the work, until it was almost complete. The foundry sent me jpegs of the piece in raw metal and I could see some areas which needed some adjustment (mold making can distort the clay and then you have the distortion in the mold, which needs to be corrected for each wax pour but which is better corrected in wax than later in metal). Anyway they then proceeded with the patina finish, doing a cupric blue green with carbon in the recesses as I requested, and voila, it is suddenly done and in my house.
The edition size is 14.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

And the happiest of New Years in 2008!

Ziggy, Emma, Ribbon, Flash, and Encore (and Paula, behind the camera!)

Some more new smalls

A few new pieces

Here are some small new artworks for the holiday season. If you want to know where any one (or more) of them are, feel free to contact me and I can direct you to the appropriate gallery

Stretch (oil on linen, 16x20)

This painting is earmarked for the American Society of Marine Artists Member's exhibition which will open in Wilmington, DE in 2008. More information to follow as the details are sent to me. The painting is available but must be permitted to hang in the show and go on the year-long tour.

Bobby

I lost my special Good Boy last week. My Bobby, my heart dog, my first Aussie, the dog from whom I learned the most about training, showing, and just Dogs, was killed early Saturday morning the 10th of November. He'd gone walking with his Poodle housemate Ziggy and my sister, and after an hour, as they were approaching the car at dusk, in the drizzle, he simply went walkabout into the woods never to be seen alive again (by us, at least). After calling to him for 2 hours she called me and I returned home from Easton to join in the search. Overnight I made 'lost' fliers and went back out to call again, but all along I worried that rte 32 would be the ending to this story. Early Saturday morning we met up to resume the search and to distribute 'lost dog' flyers. Within 10 minutes of my sister's having posted a notice in the area I got a cell phone call from someone asking if I was the person looking for a dog. To keep it brief, she was calling from literally across the road from where I was putting fliers in mailboxes, to say she'd found him roadside. He was right there, dead. He'd been hit, probably within the past couple of hours judging from his condition. I got another call later in the day from someone asking if I'd found him (they saw a flier we'd not retrieved from a power pole, I suppose) and she told me she'd had him in her house for 6 hours...he'd been at their kitchen door barking at 10pm so they let him in and fed him (happy dog now!) and went to sleep in the kitchen (extra-happy dog). But at 4am he barked to go out, and these kind people let him out to pee, thinking they could just call to him and he would come right back in but of course he trit-trotted right up the driveway and out of sight. He was killed on rte 32 right at their driveway, probably within an hour of leaving their house, just being Bobby. And if I had put an ID collar on him before I went away that week like I used to do, he'd be home with me right now because the Powders would have called me, hopefully right away when he first arrived there. But I didn't, so we all failed him.
He was 11.5 years old.

Ringtails (20x10)

My first Scratchboard in a while, wanted to do this pair. They are ring tailed lemurs and they will be with me at the Waterfowl Festival (Elks Gallery) next weekend. Hope to see you there!