"Bella"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 8" x 10"

I was channeling my inner Matisse tonight with this painting of Bella. The jury is out on the contrasting colors and vertical stripes. Again I wanted the paint to show so I didn't get too fussy with it. I may be horrified in the morning. Hitherto I had not painted a vizsla, so it was a challenge on many levels.

"Oh Lucy!"

Oil on linen mounted on board 6" x 8"

...you got some splainin' to do! Actually I've got some splainin' to do. Today's painting was an experiment with painting on a more textured surface than I have been using for these little studies. I had an e-mail from someone who liked my work but preferred a more textured surface than my usual ampersand panels . Oddly enough, I find the brushwork is more pronounced on a smooth support, as the stroke has no place to hide and is there for all to see. I'll grant you that you do get an evening out and diffusion of light reflected off the surface of a cloth support but on such small work it is tantamount to painting on burlap if you scaled it up. I personally like the bit of tooth that ampersand panels have.

I met Lucy last week at a friend's house. I assume her appellation was derived from a certain wacky redhead that we all know and love. She is a sweetheart.

I've had to begin comment moderation as I have been getting a lot of spam on the comment page lately. Sorry about that but your feedback is still important to me so keep 'em coming.

"Drink Me"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 6" x 6"

Before you say "Jeeze, Adams can't paint a round bottle to save his ass." let me say that this particular vessel has the weirdest shape. Flat on two sides with square diamond nipples, then ridged on the adjacent sides with a slightly curved front. Curiouser and curiouser; could this have been the model for the little bottle Alice found on the table in wonderland?

" ... round the neck of the bottle was a paper label, with the words `DRINK ME' beautifully printed on it in large letters. It was all very well to say `Drink me,' but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry. `No, I'll look first,' she said, `and see whether it's marked "poison" or not'; for she had read several nice little histories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts and other unpleasant things, all because they would not remember the simple rules their friends had taught them: such as, that a red-hot poker will burn you if you hold it too long; and that if you cut your finger very deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds; and she had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a bottle marked `poison,' it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.

However, this bottle was not marked `poison,' so Alice ventured to taste it, and finding it very nice, (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast,) she very soon finished it off.

Until recently, painting a still life was as unfamiliar to me as being 10" tall was to Alice, and sometimes just as frustrating. I have great respect for my fellow artists who can render inanimate objects with precision. That is not where my heart lies. I am much more comfortable painting organic subjects, be they fish or fowl, man or beast. I thought I would step out of my comfort zone to portray this little medicine bottle, which is on loan to me by some dear friends from Virginia. They brought me a treasure trove of miscellaneous brick-a-brack to inspire me during my recent creative malaise. I think it is safe to say they have the largest collection of cobalt blue glass on the East Coast. This panel may be another "unique" as I found the painting of this somewhat tedious and I am afraid it shows. Hey, at least I was swishing paint.

"Carmel"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 5" x 7"

For some perverse reason I wanted to try and paint my sister-in-law's dog, Carmel with a single worn out bristle brush. I was mostly successful, with the exception of a small sable brush for the detail in the eyes. I kinda scrubbed in the oriental rug rather than get too fussy with it. There is some fun greens and blues in her fur. According to my niece's facebook page, Carmel, whom she lists as a sibling, is spelled "Carmel" although I think she was named for the candy (caramel) How does one pronounce caramel anyway? Is it like that town in California or does it have three syllables as in Car-a-mel? This burning question (even more than TP - over or under?) has plagued me for years.

"Leo in the sunshine"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 6" x 8"

Here is Leo once again in happier days relaxing in the morning sun. Sadly he recently crossed over the rainbow bridge after nearly two decades as my friend Stephanie's constant companion. I have been sitting on this reference for a while, waiting for the right time to use it. I've been in an artistic funk (again) and he has helped me through it. Thanks, Leo!

New Orleans Horse and Cart

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 8" x 10"

So much for coming back tanned, rested and ready. Oh, well. I've always felt a little sorry for the poor horses in front of the Saint Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square. It can't be fun in July and August pulling a cart full of sweaty tourists around the French Quarter. On the bright side - it is relatively flat and they know the drill so maybe it isn't that bad a gig. Speaking of sweaty tourists - we set a record here in Baltimore yesterday - 105 degrees! Woo hoo!

"JJ with Sunflowers"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 8" x 10"

What, you were expecting a motorcycle piece? That would have been the logical choice but as you know, I am not a logical guy. I like to keep you guessing and JJ was lobbying for some face time. He was channeling his inner Van Gogh and I thought it only fitting to oblige him. The cerulean blue ribbon dissecting flora from fauna amused me.

Recharging

"Old mad Baggins is off on another adventure..." It is that time again - my annual trip to Lake George for the Americade rally and not a moment too soon. Creating a new living space has really drained the creative battery and I need to recharge. With luck I will come back full of inspiration. Farewell and may the the blessings of Elves and Men and all free folk go with you. May the stars shine upon your faces until I return.

"Neptune Oyster House Oyster"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 5" x 7"

The terrible headlines about the eminent ruination of the Gulf Coast has got me thinking and worrying about my beloved Gulf Oysters. Plumper and sweeter than their East Coast brethren, I would hate to think I may have had my last taste of them. Yesterday I painted a cat named Bean. Today a blue point oyster from the Neptune Oyster House in Bean-town. Coincidence? You tell me.

"Bean"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 8" x 12"

Talk about stepping out of my comfort zone - first landscapes and now interiors. I have had this commission in the queue for months and finally decided to tackle it. The intense light and fauvist color allowed me to have more fun than usual. Bean was my friend Kim's longtime companion and was once given an opportunity to spend some time in the Virginia countryside. Once home, being a city girl and not free to roam, all she could do was wistfully dream of her days chasing butterflies from her SoWeBo windowsill.

"Adirondack Stream"

Oil on canvas 24" x 36"

This months artists Calypso Moon Artist Challenge - "the Secret Garden," gave me an opportunity to do something I almost never do - paint a landscape. Aside from the occasional outdoor setting of a dog or equestrian portrait, I just don't paint landscapes. It is not in my creative repertoire - my bag of tricks. It's not that I don't like them - on the contrary. I could get lost in of one of Gustave Courbet's landscapes for hours. Twenty years ago I was commissioned to paint the above painting which depicts a stream in the Adirondack mountains. Until recently I didn't have a slide of it. I thought it was apropos to post it now as I am leaving soon for my annual trip to Lake George. The Americade Rally is the largest motorcycle touring rally in the US and riding in the finger lakes never fails to free the spirit.

BTW - I was painting today but didn't quite get it finished. Look for something new on Wednesday.

"The Mark Adams Martini"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 6" x 8"

For those of you following this blog, you might think that I have fallen into another artist malaise, and you would be right. Perhaps not as severe as in the past, but a ripple in the force none the less. We all know by now that the only way through is to push ahead, experiment with new things or play with old familiar, tried and true things to reacquaint yourself with the Muse. Glass has always been an amusing challenge to paint and since I have recently had the honor of having a drink named after me at my favorite restaurant - The Dogwood, I thought it might be a good place to start. Master mixologist Mike, the bartender at the Dogwood serves up a killer dirty martini with a twist (no pun intended). They start with organic vodka and infuse it with Serrano chilies. Shaken, not stirred (of course) with olive juice and garnished with pickled okra and olives, it is a thing of beauty and quite tasty if I do say so and I do, as I am having one at this very moment. Sláinte

"Secret Garden"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 9" x 12"

This month's Calypso Moon Artist Challenge was to paint a "Secret Garden." It could be anywhere you go to seek solace from the trials and tribulations of everyday life. As luck would have it, I needed to look no further than my own back yard. My wife Susan and I are avid gardeners and we would love to lay claim to this magnificent design but the credit goes to Master landscaper Bob Jackson and his merry men for coming up with this lush oasis. Planted just this past fall, the landscape looks like it is has been here for years. In the early evening we look forward to a "walkabout." Grab a glass of French Rose' and circumnavigate to grounds to see what new and wonderful things have sprung up. Can you have too much statuary? Well, yes, but to paraphrase the young Mozart in the movie Amadeus when the king questions whether his concerto has "too many notes" - "Just the right amount, your Majesty." I bow to his retort. This little guy used to live right behind the studio at our old house. He is now nestled in the woods, backed by some lovely Ligularia Dentata Desdemona, a wonderful plant with deep green and purple leaves. Here are a few photos of the garden. Grab a glass of wine and enjoy!

"Parrot"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 8" x 10"

This painting was commissioned by a friend and I didn't get a back story so how about a parrot joke to go with it?

A lady is walking down the street to work and sees a parrot in a pet store. She stops to admire the bird. The parrot says to her, "Hey lady, you are really ugly." Well, the lady is furious! She storms past the store to her work. On the way home she saw the same parrot in the window and the parrot upon seeing her says, "Hey lady, you are really ugly." She was incredibly ticked now. The next day on the way to work she saw the same parrot and once again it said, "Hey lady, you are really ugly." The lady was so furious that she stormed into the store and threatened to sue the store and have the bird killed. The store manager apologized profusely and promised the bird wouldn't say it again. The next day, when the lady walked past the store after work the parrot said to her, "Hey lady." She paused, scowled with an icy and deadly stare, and said with a hoarse voice, "Yes?" The bird, strutting back and forth on its perch in a cocky manner, said, "You know."

"Fruit Tart"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 5" x 5"

The Queen of Hearts she made some tarts all on a summer's day;
The Knave of Hearts he stole the tarts and took them clean away.
The King of Hearts called for the tarts and beat the Knave full sore
The Knave of Hearts brought back the tarts and
vowed he'd steal no more.

It was hardly a summer's day here in Baltimore today. Those foolish enough to have been lolled into thinking that frost was a thing of the past and have planted tender annuals are busy lighting smudge pots or kicking themselves. I entertained the idea of planting the herb garden last week but thankfully thought the better of it. After the worst winter in 200 years we all want to put that behind us but Mother Nature has a way of reminding us who's boss. I decided to have some fun swishing paint today and get away from the Opti-visor for a while. Enjoy!

"Big Yawn"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 5" x 7"

My wife isn't the only one who objects to the ghoulish nocturnal creative hours I keep. J.J. plainly feels that my time would be much better spent in bed, with the electric blanket on high and him under my arm under the covers. Clever cat that he is, I may adopt his suggestion in short order. Just when I got use to spring, winter has come back to Baltimore and there is a real chill in the air tonight. I'm sure I will miss this weather during the dog days of summer but now - not so much. It could be that J.J. is merely bored with my artistic pursuits. Hopefully he will perk up when he sees himself starring in the blog tomorrow.

"Two Fox Hounds"

Oil on linen mounted on panel 8" x 10"

"Oyster with Three Lemons"

Oil on canvas textured ampersand panel 6" x 6"

"Harvey"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 8" x 8"

To those patient people still checking in daily, who thought perhaps I was stuck in some Northern European country waiting for the volcanic ash to settle, I apologize for not posting more often. I was traveling earlier this week, although thankfully not abroad. I was in Boston on a three day culinary tour. Talk about food that is delicious and bad for you! Scup's in the Harbor, Craigie on Main, Gibbet Hill Farm, Neptune Oyster House and Barbara Lynch's new restaurant Menton were a feast for the eyes and the soul. You will be seeing some food art in the near future. In the meantime here is a fun painting of my friend's Basset Hound - Harvey.

"Lobster with drawn butter"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 8" x 10"

Alice Thompson's Calypso Moon Artist Challenge this month has us painting delicious food that is bad for us. She was very specific that it not be healthy food. Beyond that, the world was our oyster. To that end, I choose lobster with drawn butter. Without chemicals my cholesterol would be sky high and I probably should stay away from anything drenched in butter, but I can't help myself. My doctor gave me a choice a few years ago. He said "We can do this with diet and exercise or I can write you a prescription". Tough choice - Duh! Gooey desserts have never held much fascination for me. I grew up with a diabetic mother and two diabetic sisters and sugar-free jello was often the Dessert du Jour in our house. I never got use to eating sweets. Oh, I'll indulge in a hot fudge sundae now and then but I would really rather have a nice hunk of Roquefort than a piece of cake any day. Besides, lobsters are as much fun to paint as they are to eat. How we suffer for our art!

"Sammy in the Sunshine"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 6" x 6"

Sammy has probably been thinking 'Hey, what am I chopped liver,?" since, hitherto, he has not been represented on this blog. J.J., Ella, and even little Shirley have all made it to stardom, but not Sam. It's not that I didn't think him worthy -far from it. Painting a black cat presents an artist with an interesting challenge. More often than not they are just a big black blob with piercing green eyes. Sitting in the sun changed that perspective and all his subtle coloration came to the fore and he positively glowed. Like Sammy says - "I gotta be me."

"Vezzie"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 6" x 6"

I've been painting a lot of fur lately so I thought I'd have a go at some feathers for a change. My friend Deb gave me a very faded photo of her long departed yellow nape Amazon parrot Vezzie a while back to see what I could do with it. It was one of those old Polaroid photos which had faded and color shifted. After some internet research, I think (at least I hope) I came close to her original coloration. I really liked the contrast of the greens and the reds. Why Vezzie you ask? According to Deb - "She was named after a heroine in a Victorian novel by Trollope. That character had broken her hip and walked with a limp. She was so vain that she refused to walk in public after that and was carried everywhere in a sedan chair, Of course, pet parrots don't walk or fly - they're carried everywhere. And, pet parrots can be incredibly vain - my beautiful Vezzie certainly was. So, that's where her name came from. She was also wicked smart. She could break out of her cage, in-spite of the fact that it takes several actions taken at the same time to get the cage open. She was a really good talker and could imitate me perfectly. She was my special bud."

"Ella and Friend"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 6" x 8"

A normal nightly ritual at the Adams' household before lights out is usually a game of "stick" with our four resident felines. Stick is played by sweeping and wiggling a felt mouse with 5 leather tails attached to a stick enticingly back and forth for their (and my) amusement. Shirley and Ella insist on it, Sammy pretends not to care and hides under the bed until a hidden paw lurches out to get in the game. JJ would like to play but is over-matched by his younger cohorts and usually sits on the sidelines and watches. Two nights ago no one showed up for the game and curious, we went to find out why. What could be more important than "stick?" Well, I'll tell you. How about a real live mouse? All the players, even JJ, had cornered a mouse in the studio and were standing guard. He had taken refuge under the bookcase and they had no intention of letting him saunter off. Normally our bed looks like NFL tonight with a pile of cats and us vying for a comfortable spot. Once settled in, trying to extricate oneself in the middle of the night can be a challenge. Even more so is working yourself back in once they have spread out. Even with a king-sized bed, they take up a lot of real estate. Sometime late that night Sam and JJ crept back to bed, leaving Ella to continue the vigil. By lunchtime all but Shirley were back at it. By this time the poor mouse had become resigned to his fate and would scoot across the studio floor pursued by his tormentors who, too, were exhausted from their all night antics. At one point I think the little guy figured out that if he didn't run, they wouldn't chase him and he actually almost curled up with Ella, who was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. I grabbed my camera and snapped off a few shots of this tender scene, got a box to put over the mouse who was no worse for the wear and let him outside - much to the kids chagrin and all was back to normal the next night. This scene with Ella and her new friend reminded me of the saddest Christmas carol I have ever heard, which always makes me well-up when I hear it. It's called "The Cat Carol" by Bruce Evans.

The cat wanted in to the warm warm house,
but no one would let the cat in
It was cold outside on Christmas Eve,
She meowed and meowed by the door.

The cat was not let in the warm warm house,
And her tiny cries were ignored.
'twas a blizzard now, the worst of the year,
There was no place for her to hide.

Just then a poor little mouse crept by,
He had lost his way in the snow.
He was on his last legs and was almost froze,
The cat lifted him with her paw.

She said "Poor mouse do not be afraid,
because this is Christmas Eve.
"On this freezing night we both need a friend,
"I won’t hurt you - stay by my side."

She dug a small hole in an icy drift,
This is where they would spent the night.
She curled herself 'round her helpless friend,
Protecting him from the cold.

Oooooo

When Santa came by near the end of the night,
the reindeer started to cry.
They found the cat lying there in the snow,
and they could see that she had died.

They lifted her up from the frozen ground,
and placed her into the sleigh.
It was then they saw the little mouse wrapped up,
she had kept him warm in her fur.

"Oh thank you Santa for finding us!
"Dear cat wake up we are saved!"
..."I’m sorry mouse but your friend has died,
there’s nothing more we can do.

"On Christmas Eve she gave you her life,
the greatest gift of them all."
Santa lifted her up into the night sky,
and laid her to rest among the stars.

"Dear mouse don’t cry you are not alone,
you will see your friend every year.
"Each Christmas a Cat Constellation will shine,
to remind us that her love’s still here."

Oooooooo

"Muzzy"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 6" x 6"

I find Facebook an interesting Internet phenomenon. One can lurk in the shadows and yet keep abreast of one's friends' and family's goings on. I personally have no idea or care about what happens in Farmville or what all those hearts and gold stars that all my Facebook "friends" bestow on each other mean. What I do care about is when I read about something extraordinary - whether happy or sad - that happens to one of my friends. "Friend" is a word that is thrown around a bit too casually these days. I have always counted myself blessed to have so many people in my life that I consider true friends. You know - the ones you can call in the middle of the night when you have broken down on some God-forsaken country road 50 miles from home and they will rub the sleep from their eyes, pull on their pants and come get you. It's what friends do. Don't get me wrong, I am pleased and fascinated by my Facebook "friends." It's nice to know that even a few total strangers consider me interesting enough to want me as their "friend." But the real point of this is that I recently saw a post about the passing of my friend's friend's dog. I only met the dog's owner once or twice at a party, but I was so moved by the photos of his beloved Muzzy and the touching comments from those who knew her, that I wanted to paint her portrait to honor her memory. She has a regal look about her, perhaps owing to the Elizabethan collar of white fur around her nape. The floral ottoman allowed for some fun brushwork and gave the painting some quiet femininity.

"Mardi Gras Beads and Corks"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel - 5" x 7"

This is my submission to the 2nd challenge of the Calypso Moon Artist Movement. The challenge was to "take only two things that you collect and make an interesting painting that reflects your personality and/or history." This was not an easy task, as I collect lots of things. To the uninitiated I might even be considered a hoarder, which is neither true nor fair. Being an artist, I see the potential in things as possible grist for the creative mill. Corks, wine foils, beer caps, wishbones, cigar bands, hats, fortune cookie fortunes and Mardi Gras beads are but a small sampling of what is in the hundreds of boxes in the basement. I have been saving wishbones since I was 11 and have thousands. I have bushel baskets of wine corks which make great bulletin boards. With the advent of the Stelvin closure, a.k.a. the screw cap, corks are fast becoming a thing of the past (insert Boones Farm Strawberry Hill reference/joke here). I know screw caps are better at preserving wine but the theatrics and pageantry of the sommelier is diminished by a mere quick twist of the wrist. I wonder - if a bad bottle of wine is "corked" is a bad Stelvin capped bottle "screwed"?

The bead collection started years ago when I was down in New Orleans (duh!) for Mardi Gras. My wife and I were walking back to our hotel after the Orpheus Ball, dressed in black tie and gown and we happened on the tail end of a Mardi Gras parade. We later found out that you must get rid of all your throws before the end of the parade, so timing is everything. You want to have enough to last the whole parade but since they reuse the floats, you have to jettison everything in the last two blocks, which is where we were. The revelers were lobbing beads by the gross, still wrapped in their plastic bags. Armfuls of beads came raining down on us. I could barely carry my treasure back to the room. Needless to say I was hooked!

Alice wanted us to demonstrate our creative process, so here are some work in progress pics:


Here is a rare photo of one the larger cork boards I have made. Rare because it is not completely covered with stuff push pinned to it as it will be is a few months time, since we just moved in and I took the old detritus off during the move. Empty vertical surfaces are almost as much a clutter magnet to an artist (at least to this artist) as a horizontal one. Note the wishbone drying in the upper left corner.

"JJ" - no, not my JJ

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel - 8" x 10"

Before I got swept up in the great move and before the back to back blizzards of 2010 I was loosely commissioned to paint this magnificent Ragdoll. After yesterday (sorry Tig) I thought it might be time to splash around in this feline's fantastic white mane. Besides I have a soft spot for any cat named JJ.

"Tig"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel - 6" x 6"

Why is it that every time I lay off the brush for a while, I start back up painting a wild creature like Tig here? You may remember back on June 15th 2008 I had a similar experience painting another of my friend Deb's canines, a wee wiry terrier named Elfie. Tig was Elfie's predecessor. I got a little back story from Deb:

"She was a rescue who went through at least 2 owners before she came to me. We didn't know her exact age of course, but we think that she lived to be about 18. She peed by walking on her front two paws with her hind legs in the air - the only trick that any of my dogs have ever been able to do and one that made me laugh every time she did it. (Of course I'm easy to amuse.) I really miss her."

Thanks for giving me a needed jump start Tig - much obliged.

"Millie"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 6" x 8"

Posthumous pet portrait week continues at the studio. This sweet little beagle is, or should I say was, Millie, faithful companion to my friends Tom and David. and side kick to Chloe the Jack Russell terrier represented on these pages a few months ago. Chloe has a new cohort in beagle form named Penny who has the same endearing (?) habit of nesting on the top of the sofa cushions. I wish this was a better photograph of the painting. The subtle nuances of the color got lost in translation. C'est la vie.

"Sezza"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 6" x 6"

Self Portrait - Green Black and White

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel - 5" x 7"

I was invited recently to participate in a fledgling artist challenge blog started by artist Alice Thompson. It is called the Calypso Moon Artist Movement. Here's her first challenge:

1. You may use only 1 color (mixed with Black and White). That's right, only one so choose wisely. Remember the importance of contrast. Your base color can be black, white or a gray shade in between mixed with your color.

2. No nudes. I want to see a little more than just your face. Upper body and shoulders carry a lot of character. Give us that. Check out Van Gogh's self portraits to see what I mean.

3. When you post the image on your blog you must tell us how and why you choose the color that you did.

Perhaps not quite following the spirit of the challenge or perhaps because I have a more graphic nature, I choose to isolate the hues. For me - adding black and white to one hue would create a monochromatic (duh!) portrait and I wanted more intensity. I could have brushed more greens into the portrait and indeed contemplated doing so but that would have obfuscated my vision. Why Green? Irish heritage would be the easy answer. I have been described as a somewhat too tall, impish leprechaun. But I wanted something with punch and red was too obvious. I am not a red kinda guy, except around Christmas (for obvious reasons - Ho, Ho, HO!) Purple is my favorite color but I didn't think it would work in this application. In a former life I was known as "Markus the Green" having been a Lord of the Rings apostle in the 60's - long before it was turned into a major motion picture. So green it is.

"warm up exercise"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 6" x 8"

It seemed appropriate that I paint ice today since I have been looking at, shoveling, blowing and chipping snow and ice for the past two weeks. I live just north of metropolitan Baltimore and we recently had back to back blizzards. Two feet of snow followed a week later by two more feet of snow. Today was good fun shoveling the snow from the roof of my new house as water dripped down from a speaker in the ceiling. Is it any wonder that I haven't done much in the studio? I thought painting these colorful little guys would get me get back into the swim of things.

"RibN Redux"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 8" x 10"

I went to a Super Bowl party yesterday at the home of my friends, the Jokesters. Bless them for the invite, as we don't have television reception where we live. It's the price we pay for living in paradise. We are trying to get cable to come down our road but so far Comcast is not receptive to the idea. I don't really miss TV except for things like the Super Bowl and the Olympics, well, and the Food Network. Given that New Orleans is our second home, I need hardly say, a good time was had by all. Whoo Hoo! - Way to go Saints! Laissez les bons temps rouler!! Cheering on the Saints with us was one of the sweetest dogs on the planet, Marianne and Steve's Australian Shepherd named RibN. His appellation is derived from a ribbon of black fur that dissects his right side (or is it his left?). Aside from his good nature, he is a thing of beauty and I thought today would be a good day to reacquaint myself with the breed.

Well that's settled...

Our old house that is. We settled on our old house last week - lock, stock and barrel and now have furniture to sit on - yea!. It has been said that moving is one of the most stressful events in one's life and I am here to tell you that is a huge understatement. We have 16 years of wonderful memories from that place and hope the new owners enjoy it as much as we did. All this is my feeble attempt at an excuse, albeit a good one, for not painting for so long. The work of opening boxes, hanging artwork and organizing goes on but without the hectic pace of getting our old house ready to sell. I have covered the paralyzing, debilitating fear of the "cold start" ad nauseam on these pages so I won't bore you again with the details. Suffice it to say that I am suffering from it in a big way just at present and am attempting to work through it. I swished a little paint today just to test the water. I'm not sure I am happy with the result but I thought I would put it up for edification. You can't say it isn't energetic.

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel 8" x 10"

Post Script:
In the sober light of day this painting of Mac McDoodle is not without charm. It was fun to splash around in all those colorful curls. Thanks, Mac.

" A glass of red wine"

Oil on cradled museum quality ampersand gessobord panel - 9" x 12"

surprise!

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel - 6" x 8"

More to say about this painting tomorrow.

Cold starts, cold starts and cold starts.

Happy New Year!

Here in the East we were greeted with 22" of snow a week before Christmas. Mercifully it subsided enough by the big day as to not intrude on the familial yuletide festivities and the myriad holiday parties that followed. The snow is now a memory but the new blast of arctic air is chilling me to the bone. Being a long time motorcyclist I naturally abhor winter. Day after day of sub-freezing temperatures with no end in sight (well, April) doesn't help my spirits. As if that weren't enough I have the mother of all colds which started on Sunday and now I am staring at the prospect of another creative cold start. All of this is by way of an explanation of why there is no new work yet. I hope to shake this cold soon. Meanwhile I am spending time bundled up in a blanket watching cd reruns of Julia Child's "The French Chef." Since my sense of smell is gone I might as well vicariously enjoy Boeuf Bourguignon, Bouillabaisse a la Marseillaise and Tripes a al Mode. (Well maybe not that last thing) Bon Appetit!

"Buster"

Oil on museum quality ampersand gessobord panel - 8" x 10"

One of the saddest things that I am asked to do this time of year is paint a posthumous portrait of a beloved pet. Having been there myself, I know the pain of losing a longtime (and sometimes not so longtime) friend. This is Buster, who crossed the rainbow bridge this past October.

This may be the last piece I create in 2009. I promise the new year will be full of new, exciting and consistent work (fingers crossed).

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!