"The red coats are coming!"

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

I probably should have painted this a bit larger as the detail in the tack and coat required the use of my trusty opti-visor. I am not Jean-Leon Gerome by any stretch of the imagination but once upon a time I painted a lot of miniatures. There are only 27 Vermeer paintings in existence. There is a reason he wasn't a daily painter. I tried to have some fun with the paint and keep the background loose and free. I should have channeled Degas. He could have knock this out in 20 minutes.

"Three Foxhounds"

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

The last few days have been most illuminating. Recently my painting lamp gave out after years of faithful service. I didn't think much of it at the time, I just assumed that I could go to the hardware store and get another one. Boy was I wrong. In their zeal to save Mother Earth, merchants have pulled from their shelves any flood lamp over 75 watts. Their intentions may be good but how am I supposed to see what I am painting? I bought one of those new-fangled curlique floods and it was passible but not great. My old reveal floodlight bathed my palette and canvas in lovely natural light. This new one bare lit up my work. I went back and bought a clip light and a 40 watt mini flood to light my palette and the Kelvin temp is close enough. I did find a source on the internet called Bulftown that still had some 150's so I may be back in business. If your neighborhood hardware store has any high wattage bulbs you may want to stock up while you still can.

"Two horses with braided manes"

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

One of the most challenging things about recording the pageantry of the Blessing of the hunt held every Thanksgiving in Gyndon, Maryland is the intermingling of the hoi polloi and the hoity toity. The bucolic landscape of the valley is littered with petters in sweaters, mothers with strollers, teens with their iPods and photogs with tripods. Trying to get a clean shot is nearly impossible. Thankfully, as a painter, I can often just edit them out in the composition. While it might have been nice to include the quaint St. John's Episcopal Church in the background, there was something pleasing about the simplicity of this painting. The focus is on the magnificent beasts and the intricate harnesses and not the scene wherein they play in. I chose to use a simple blue into green gradient although not without trepidation. I had a back-of-my-mind fear that it may come off looking like the colored tissue paper that folks in the 50's put over their black and white TVs to simulate color; blue for the sky, red for the people and green for the grass. My fears turned out to be groundless, no pun intended, and the gambit paid off. The tack and harnesses proved to be much more labor intensive than I first imagined, but I always look at my reference and think I can lay it down in an hour and 6 hours later I am still pushing paint around. I may have to paint some fruit or oysters tomorrow just to prove to myself that I can paint a sketchy painting.

"Tally Ho"

Oil on museum quality, archival ampersand gessobord™ panel - 6” x 8”

I have attended the Blessing of the hounds at St. John's Episcopal Church in Glyndon, Md for the last couple of years.  The church is a charming neo-gothic cathedral nestled in the heart of horse country.  It has always been pet friendly. For instance; my wife and I often attend Christmas morning service there where our dear friend Father Frederick Hannah has been the guest rector. I grant you it is a tiny church but I can only surmise that the bulk of the congregation was in attendance on Christmas Eve since the 10:00 am morning service never boasted more than two dozen or so parishioners.  One Christmas morning, as we knelt at the alter awaiting communion, we notice a tiny nose poking out of the jacket of the man next to us.  He had a tiny puppy with him.  Father Fred gave the man the host and blessed the little dog, he did not let the puppy drink from the common cup.

I don't normally cut off heads in my compositions but this painting cried out for ambiguity and abstraction.  The negative spaces, the pull of red and green, and the free brushwork came together to form a very pleasing painting (at least to me).

"The Hunt Master" - Study for "Blessing of the Hounds"

Oil on museum quality archival ampersand gessobord™ panel - 6” x 8”  

Everyone has their Thanksgiving traditions.  Some folks, still in their pajamas, watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on television, Bloody Mary in hand.  Others are busy getting the bird in the oven; the center-piece of a glorious holiday feast for family and friends.  In a field across from a small stone church in Glyndon, Maryland, a festive band of merry men and women, horse and hound, prepare to pit themselves against that cunning little creature, the fox.  With much pomp and circumstance, horse and rider congregate, greet fellow equestrians, pose for the crowd and await the arrival of the clergy to come and bless the hounds. The tradition of the Blessing of Hounds dates back to the eighth century and marks the Feast of St. Hubert (the patron saint of hunters) and the formal opening of the hunting season. Once consecrated, they make chase across the countryside in pursuit of their prey. The baying of the hounds, the ringing of trumpets, the colorful costumes and pageantry is all pure theatre.