30 in 30_ Day 1

I decided to ride the wave and try my hand again doing Leslie's Saeta's 30 in 30 challenge.  Its a great way to start painting again after the holidays .  I'm joining a small group of about a 1000 painters from all over the world!  There are no rules, just paint a painting a day or at least to paint more than you painted last month (an easy challenge since I only did 2!).  I like that it takes into consideration that life might get in the way so no biggie if I miss a day or 2.  There are no rules and its the kick in the butt I need after the craziness of the holidays.  I know there will be some "misses,"  but unlike when a painting doesn't work and gets sent to my "oops" corner, these will all get posted regardless.  

I painted this guy a couple of years ago from a different angle and thought "what the heck" lets do it again.  He's my favorite holiday Salt & Pepper shaker (pepper is in his hat) 

Happy 2016!

Day 1

Salt & Pepper

4x4” oil ($35)

 

 

 

Coming into the Station II

There are a lot of train lovers in my family and I've come to enjoy them too.  There is something that really catches your fancy watching one go by.  

My brother-in-law LOVES trains.  When he visited we were excited to be in the right places at the right time.  We first saw this train at Point of Rocks and then going to Harper's Ferry saw it again coming into the station there.  Lots of trains that day and a few good pictures I've enjoyed painting.  

"Coming Into The Station"

11x14" oil ($295)

Elan magazine - Thank You

I want to give a special Thank You to the staff of Elan magazine for allowing me to be one of the featured artists in their November 2015 edition.  Elan is a wonderful supporter of the arts and local artists.  I can’t tell you how honored I am to be selected. 

I will say that it's a strange thing to be on the opposite side of an interview and to see yourself in print.  All those self doubt questions come into play.  Did I say to much, sound dorky, or totally miss the mark in my comments?  Many thanks to the author Kathryn McKay. You took my comments and wrote a piece that made me proud to read.

One of the things I had to do when submitting my info to Elan was to write about my art career in "about" 50 words.  Most of us have an art bio.  It's usually way over 50 words (isn't it great the computer will count your words for you).  So I took what I had and edited it and it was still over 120 words.  It really got me to thinking, “how to you sum yourself up in a short paragraph, a sentence?”  I think regardless of what we do, it something we all need to be able to do.  It is an exercise worth doing.  Now I have a short answer the next time I’m asked, "what do you do" once I tell them I’m an artist. Even saying "I'm an artist" is something hard for many of us to say.  I have learned to say an oil painter, instead of "a painter."   If you think about it there are lots and lots of kinds of painters.  

My defining sentence in my short paragraph was, "My art lead me to a career in law enforcement."  A strange, but exciting journey for sure. 



Friends have asked for a link to be able to read the article.  When you open the link, click on "The Social Painter" and then click on the icon on the top right that looks like 4 squares.  

Elan Magazine Nov 2015 page 40-41