House in Pasadena

This is yet another "house" painting that I have recently completed. Entitled "House in Pasadena," it is a compilation of images I photographed during my vacation to Southern California in September 2008.

The structure in the painting is based on a home I saw on Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena, CA. The house itself was in the middle of a major renovation, and had windows removed and sections of wall under construction. Based on the style, I estimate it was originally constructed in the early 1900s. When I developed the composition for the canvas, I chose to add a background of distant mountain peaks reminiscent of the ones I had seen surrounding the Pasadena area. I also inserted a palm tree in dark silhouette, and improvised the night setting. I spent several sessions working up the lighting in the second-story window and the front porch area, and also creating the right reflections in the darker windows. This canvas was one of twenty that was featured in my solo exhibition at the Burke Arts Council in May of this year.

"House in Pasadena." Oil on stretched canvas, 24 x 30 inches. Completed January 2009.

Another visit to Rocky Mount

I'm taking a break this weekend from painting to play host to my parents for Father's Day. Yesterday we took a road trip out of Raleigh to eastern North Carolina. The first stop was the Rocky Mount Arts Center to see the juried exhibition in which I currently have one painting on display, "Fourth and Montgomery" (seen above). From there, we traveled to Wilson, NC to visit the North Carolina Baseball Museum at Fleming Field. The ballpark was constructed in 1939 as a WPA project, and was recently renovated to include the museum. Afterwards, we enjoyed genuine eastern NC barbecue at Parker's Barbecue in Wilson. It was lip-smackin' good!

House on Washington Street

In early January of this year I began a series of canvases based on houses and streets in Cumberland, Maryland. My parents live in the panhandle of West Virginia, and during my Christmas visit I drove to Cumberland to do my own walking tour of its historic district. I strolled up and down Washington Street, taking photographs and making mental notes on the architecture and atmosphere of this old railroad town.

To date I have completed six paintings based on my visit to Cumberland, this canvas being the first. It depicts one of the many large brick homes built in the late 1880s and '90s when Cumberland was a wealthy industrial center for Western Maryland. Today the city is struggling to hold its own, but - thanks to its relative proximity to Baltimore and Washington - many of its ornate Victorian houses have been restored and are now used as either second residences or B&Bs.

"House on Washington Street." Oil on stretched canvas, 24 x 30 inches. Completed January 2009.

Rocky Mount Arts Center National Juried Exhibition: Juror's Merit Award

Last night I attended the opening reception for the Rocky Mount Art Center's 52nd Annual National Juried Art Exhibition at the Imperial Centre. I was fortunate to be one of 15 artists (out of 283 entries) selected by juror Anne Lemanski for inclusion in the show. My painting, "Fourth and Montgomery" (seen on the left in the above image), was also awarded a Juror's Merit Prize ($100 cash award) by Ms. Lemanski. The exhibit includes artists from across the country and I felt very honored to have been among those chosen for the exhibition. The show continues through September 13, 2009.

The Rocky Mount Arts Center is located in the former Imperial Tobacco Company warehouse and factory in downtown Rocky Mount. It is a phenomenal facility that encompasses over 135,000 square feet of exhibition, performance and museum space. It is definitely a crown jewel for the City of Rocky Mount.

Burke Arts Council Show Closes

My solo exhibition at the Burke Arts Council closed on Friday and I drove up to Morganton, NC today to retrieve the canvases. A total of three paintings sold during the course of the show (out of 20 on display), so I was very pleased with the results. The newly renovated Jailhouse Gallery is wonderful, and I highly recommend a trip to Morganton to see it and the town. Morganton has a thriving cultural arts community and its location in the foothills of western North Carolina is very picturesque. My thanks go out again to Ann DiSanto, executive director for the BAC, for making this experience possible.