Slanted and Enchanted

Our dog roamed free until a couple of weeks ago when he was caught harassing a neighbor's chickens; now he must be escorted whenever he goes out. Here is a scene we've witnessed many mornings recently. The about-to-rise sun lights the sky, and the few trees across the field whose leaves have opened reflect that light. This year I've gained a greater appreciation of spring's color - those close harmonies seen in the countless variations on green.

I WAS LISTENING TO...
Slanted and Enchanted by Pavement.
I'm a big Pavement fan, but I wouldn't push this album on anyone. Get to know their music through Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and - just to be sure - a couple of others before listening to this, their first LP. You'll better appreciate the amateur sound and its humor.

To purchase this painting, see my web site and/or email me.

Begonias

Behind our house there used to be a mill pond. The dam burst a couple of years ago, so now there is a creek along with several small streams and pools. The dog and I wandered around yesterday looking for subjects, and we found this. It looks like a magnificent place to be if you were a frog - or, perhaps, a snake.

I WAS LISTENING TO...
Begonias by Caitlin Cary and Thad Cockrell.
Nothing new here, just duets in the old style of country music, with beautiful harmonies and clever lyrics. "Two Different Things," "Please Break My Heart," and "Party Time" are standouts, but the whole thing is terrific and well worth the money.

To purchase this painting, visit my web site and/or email me.

Transmissions from the Satellite Heart

Here is an example of why an artist shouldn't commit to the painting-a-day craze. Like reality TV, this project can backfire when the artist feels obligated to show his warts: this painting stinks! But I figured I'd post it, because I may complete a larger work based on this study - plus, nobody reads this anyway.

I went up to the studio this morning with nothing in mind, so I picked a photo off the floor and started to paint. Maybe a second go will produce better results.

I'LL BLAME IT ON THE MUSIC...
Transmissions from the Satellite Heart by the Flaming Lips.
This is the record that produced their only hit (so far): "She Don't Use Jelly." The liner notes recommend that the listener "...play all tracks at maximum volume," so that's how I listen to it.

To purchase this painting (should you ignore my review) see my web site and/or email me.

Surfer Rosa

[Back again, after another week.] I was driving through the kuntry this morning and was taken by the vibrant greens of the fields where wheat is planted. Clover at the edges provide the perfect accent to the green fields out here. This is another painting done from memory - just wanted to get that "impression" across.

I WAS LISTENING TO...
Surfer Rosa by the Pixies.
Ah, to be back in college (without having to go to class). I first heard the Pixies when their album Doolittle came out, and it thrilled me to learn that good music was still being made. (Prior to that, the only music I listened to, aside from R.E.M., could be found on Freedom Rock.) In the Pixies songs I found allusions to alot of stuff I was studying in my classes, so I figured, why go to school? Just stay in the apartment and listen to records, etc.

SOLD

Yours, Mine & Ours

Another marsh scene, painted from a photo I took around Thanksgiving. This is Bellevue Creek, near Ware's Wharf - a subject I turn to again and again. I've exagerrated the reds a bit here, perhaps too much; but every time you look at the marsh, particularly in autumn, you see a different color.

I WAS LISTENING TO...
Yours, Mine & Ours by Pernice Brothers.
This is another great album of songs about lost love, broken hearts, etc., by this not-so-well-known band. Joe Pernice was in a great band with a great name - the Scud Mountain Boys - before starting this. The songs, though depressing lyrically, are beautifully arranged and performed. Perfect little pop songs.

To purchase the painting, go to my web site and/or email me.

Bryter Layter

Perhaps this will turn out to be a painting a week or so blog. Gimme a break--I been workin on some bigger things. Today back to the studies. This one is from a photo I took late last summer on Farnham Creek, off the Rappahannock in the Northern Neck. Very hazy morning, deer flies and mosquitoes buzzing around. I like trying to recreate that thick, steamy air.

I WAS LISTENING TO...
Bryter Layter by Nick Drake

SOLD

Exile on Main St.

A couple of cedar trees in a field not far from home. I love the shapes of cedars, but even more, I love the depth of color. The older trees have this orange that shows through the green. It is difficult to define just where that orange is - on the tips of the needles? or does it glow from within the branches? Regardless, cedars are a subject I turn to again and again.

I WAS LISTENING TO...
Exile on Main St. (sides 3 and 4) by the Rolling Stones.
To me, there is no better recording than this, my choice for the one record to have on a desert island. The Stones at their peak, recorded at Keith Richards' home in France, while they were doing things they shouldn't have been doing. Alas, it was all downhill after this one.

To purchase this painting, visit my web site and/or email me.

Violin Concerto in D

I did this from my studio window. What once was a millpond behind our house is now a creek surrounded by grass and sand. The pond would make it more fun from a recreational point of view, but the creek and grasses are more interesting to an artist's eye. This morning as the rain moved on and the sky began to clear, the light was pretty dramatic. Don't know whether I've done it justice here.

I WAS LISTENING TO...
Beethoven's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D; Itzhak Perlman, Carlo Maria Giulini, Philharmonia Orchestra.
"Well la-di-da, aren't you sophisticated."

To purchase the painting, go to my web site and/or email me.

ELECTR-O-PURA

OK, by the time I get to the third study of the day, I'm ready for something a little different. Don't call it abstract, because I'm too feeble-minded. We went for a drive in the kuntry (King William County) Saturday. Came back with no photos nor sketches but visions in my head. [What is this, the Night before Christmas?] I often like to work from memory. Just have some colors and shapes in my head that I'd like to put on paper. This is one of those - inspired by fields along the Pamunkey River.

I WAS LISTENING TO...
ELECTR-O-PURA by Yo La Tengo.
This is a tough listen. I guess I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One is a good place to start with this band - and that's the first Yo La Tengo record I heard. But once you get the hang of it, ELECTR-O-PURA is a great album. The sounds they produce as a trio - well, with some overdubbing, or course....

To purchase the painting, go to my web site and/or email me.

Amnesiac

This is a ripoff of a painting I did a couple of months ago (my apologies to the one who purchased that piece). Sometimes when I'm not too sure about myself, I do a small piece similar to something I've done before - to get back into that comfort zone. Unfortunately, it usually comes out wrong and reinforces the self-doubt. But this time it turned out nicely, particularly the sky. The subject is a soybean field up the road, but it sorta looks like Africa, doesn't it?

I WAS LISTENING TO...
Amnesiac by Radiohead.
Nothing like some Radiohead to reinforce one's paranoia and sense of alienation - I mean, if one is inclined toward such conditions. This is a fine album and probably too much overlooked. Wet your feet with "I Might Be Wrong," then move on to "Knives Out" and "Life in a Glasshouse." If you can stomach those, you just might like the whole thing. [Note to Coldplay fans: Listen to this band to hear the real thing.]

To purchase the painting, go to my web site and/or email me.

Get Behind Me Satan

Here we're looking across a harvested field toward pasture up on a hill. I was down in Broaddus Flats in eastern Hanover County. I'm most interested in the clouds in this one. Sometimes in the morning as the fog burns off, the clouds look rusty. Perhaps it is a reflection of the dirt on the land.

I WAS LISTENING TO...
Get Behind Me Satan by The White Stripes.
I was late getting on this bandwagon - this is the only work by them I own. It's a pretty good record, and I respect Jack White's guitar playing, but I'm not so sure that they're "all that." And I guess they are no more.

To purchase the painting, go to my web site and/or email me.

All Things Must Pass

I did this one from a photo I took in the fall of the marsh you drive through on U.S. 360, passing from Tappahannock into Richmond County. We all know that autumn is the most colorful season, but check out the marsh grass next October. Some is still green, and some is turning to to brown, and most is somewhere in between. This was in the morning, on my return from dropping my daughter off at "Sugar and Spice" daycare.

I WAS LISTENING TO...
All Things Must Pass (sides 1 and 2, approximately) by George Harrison.
Decided I needed to hear something uplifting, and this is a great album for that. Then again, one of my favorites is "Beware of Darkness." Is there a trend developing here?

To purchase the painting, go to my web site and/or email me.

Five Leaves Left

Here's another of the Rappahannock at Ware's Wharf. I was standing at the public boat landing looking back up the river. I like the color of the beach - it's not that pearly-white, sun-washed sand you get in the Travel section. Plus the shadows appealed to me. This study is one of two I did this morning.

I WAS LISTENING TO...
Five Leaves Left by Nick Drake.
Such a sad, sad album, but I sense a little hope in there somewhere - then again, if you know about Nick's end.... This is a great Monday morning record, and I like the whole thing: it's his best, to my thinking, but he didn't give us too many to choose from.

To purchase the painting, go to my web site and/or email me.

I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight

This is a study of the Rappahannock River, looking across the marsh near Ware's Wharf. One challenge with water is getting the complexity of colors - the water itself, what's below the surface, and the light reflected on the surface. I was striving for dirty - not muddy, but that water that leaves a little residue on your skin when you get out.

I WAS LISTENING TO...
I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight by Richard and Linda Thompson.
Wonderfully bleak. My favorites include "The Calvary Cross," "Withered and Died," and "Has He Got a Friend for Me."

To purchase the painting, go to my web site and/or email me.