Reynolda House Daytrip

Today I took a day trip to my favorite museum of American art, Reynolda House. Located in Winston-Salem, NC, Reynolda House (pictured above) has become a treasured visitation experience for me. I try to go at least once a year, and this was my first visit during the holiday season. The current exhibit (which closes tomorrow) is "Virtue, Vice, Wisdom & Folly: The Moralizing Tradition in American Art." It includes a large canvas by Thomas Cole. In addition to the museum wing, the site also encompasses the home of the R. J. Reynolds family (of tobacco fame). The highlight of this visit was listening to Christmas music played on the mansion's original Aeolian organ. What a treat!

Back in the studio, yesterday I worked for three hours on a large canvas I began in August. The painting depicts two Victorian-era mansions overlooking a seaside cliff. Called "Mansions by the Sea," the painting has been a difficult piece for me. Its large scale and unusual subject matter have proven challenging. I believe it is finished, but will await a final verdict after the paint has dried from this session.

Holiday Glow

Every holiday season I create a visual image, usually an oil painting, to reproduce as a special Christmas card I send to family members. This tradition dates back to 1995, and each year I look forward to making the next edition in the series.

Shown above is this year's Christmas card. It depicts my living room tree lit before the huge, curved bay window in my house. The hardwood floors create a nice reflection, and I always try to fill the tree with as many lights as possible. This canvas also displays a painting within a painting: Tinam Valk's "Stairway I" seen in the distant right-hand side.

"Holiday Glow." Oil on canvas, 18 x 24 inches. Completed November 2010.

From the Archives: Poinsettia

Continuing the theme from recent weeks, here is another older work created with the holidays in mind. I painted this small canvas from life, using a live poinsettia as my subject. Once completed, I used the piece as the cover of my personalized Christmas cards for 1998.

This work was done while I was living in Columbus, Ohio. Each holiday season I would buy several live poinsettias from the greenhouses at The Ohio State University. The proceeds helped their student groups, and the plants were always inexpensive and spectacular.

"Poinsettia." Oil on canvas paper, 16 x 16 inches. Completed November 1998.

From the Archives: Addie Under the Tree

As the holidays approach, I thought I'd post some works that were completed as studies or created just for fun (and practice). This holiday-themed study was produced one afternoon after I had worked on a very large canvas. I still had quite a bit of paint left on my pallet, so - for personal enjoyment - I pulled out a sheet of canvas paper and quickly sketched out this painting of my cat, Adelaide ("Addie" for short) laying under my family room Christmas tree. I didn't really care how the final product would end up, but simply wanted to enjoy the experience and capture a quick moment in time.

This past week I was the lucky winning eBay bidder on a small gem of a painting by Detroit artist Stephen Magsig. Entitled "Brush Park View II," the painting arrived on Wednesday and is now a prized part of my small but growing collection of works by artists I admire. Please be sure to visit Stephen's great daily painter blog, Postcards From Detroit.

"Addie Under the Tree." Oil on canvas paper, 9 x 12 inches. Completed December 2007.

From the Archives: Deschler Avenue Mansions

I've been busy working on two projects in the studio this past week. First, I completed the painting that I will use as this year's Christmas card to family and friends. Once the card is mailed, I'll post the painting on the blog. Second, I've been working on a new commission that is essentially finished and will be delivered soon to the patron. Both of these have been welcome changes to the normal routine.

This week's featured work is an older painting (created almost five years ago) that I did as an afternoon study for a still-planned larger canvas. It is based on my favorite neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, German Village. The focal point of that neighborhood is Schiller Park. Surrounding the park are spectacular turn-of-the-20th century brick mansions of various styles and sizes. I captured one vantage point of these homes from the park itself. Some day I'll do the full-scale interpretation of these houses.

"Deschler Avenue Mansions (Study)". Oil on stretched canvas, 12 x 16 inches. Completed February 2006.

Houses Facing the Sun

This week's post features another new work from my recent solo show at the Lee Hansley Gallery. In this painting I tried to capture the strong light as it bathed the facades of two Victorian-style houses sloped along a street. The composition is based on a neighborhood I photographed in Cumberland, Maryland a few years ago. I eliminated some of the architecture surrounding these two houses to give them a sense of solitude.

This Sunday (November 21) is the opening for a new group show I am featured in at the Lee Hansley Gallery. "100 Under 1000" will run through December 31 and includes 2- and 3-dimensional art that is priced below $1,000.

"Houses Facing the Sun." Oil on stretched canvas, 24 x 36 inches. Completed May 2010.

Yosemite Sketchbook II

Today's blog post features another sketch made during my trip to Yosemite National Park. This drawing was completed after hiking the Mist Trail from the valley floor to Vernal Fall and then to Nevada Fall. At the crest of Nevada Fall I rested for about a half hour and drew majestic Liberty Cap towering over the falls. While I was drawing, an overly friendly squirrel decided he wanted part of my lunch, and I had to fend him off and eat quickly. It made for a memorable meal.

My current solo exhibit at the Lee Hansley Gallery closed today. Although none of the pieces sold during the show's run, I feel it was still a success and I'm grateful to Lee Hansley for the opportunity. I delivered two new pieces to the gallery today that will be included in the "100 Under 1,000" holiday exhibition.

"Liberty Cap and Nevada Fall, Yosemite National Park." Pen on paper, 8.5 x 5.5 inches. Completed October 2010.

Yosemite Sketchbook

Although I didn't do any plein air painting while traveling in the Sierra Nevadas, I did take my sketchbook and captured a few images in it. I sketched this composition while sitting on the rocks at Taft Point, a great overlook high above Yosemite Valley. From this vantage point, about 8,000 feet above sea level, I could see my host hotel, Yosemite Lodge, about 3,000 feet below. From here I hiked to Sentinel Dome (about 2.3 miles away), and ended this day hiking a section of the Four-Mile Trail at Glacier Point.

"Taft Point, Yosemite National Park." Pen on paper, 8.5 x 5.5 inches. Completed October 2010.

Yosemite Splendor

This post will be a little off-topic, as I am freshly returned from my seven-day trip to the Sierra Nevada Range in California. The first part of the trip was spent at Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. There I was amazed by the giant sequoia trees - the largest living things on our planet - and the beauty of King's Canyon, deeper than the Grand Canyon of Arizona.

But the crown jewel of the trip was Yosemite National Park. My first view of Yosemite Valley (above) occurred after coming through the Wawona Tunnel. A turnout, the Tunnel View, afforded a spectacular vista of the valley. To the left was El Capitan, a massive wall of granite, to the right was Bridalveil Fall, flowing from recent rains and sporting a rainbow, and in the center was Half Dome. I'm not ashamed to say that this panorama choked me up for a few minutes. The beauty simply can't be described...it must be experienced.

Heading for the Sierra Nevadas

I will be heading out to California tomorrow morning to spend a week in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The beginning of my trip will take me to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, and then I'll end the week in Yosemite National Park.

I've been anticipating this trip for months, and it's my first real vacation in two years. I've longed to see Yosemite since being a teenager, and as an admirer of the painter Albert Bierstadt (who did a memorable series of monumental Yosemite canvases - like the one above - in the 19th century) I can't wait to walk the same trails as many artists before me. I don't know if the trip will inspire actual work, but it certainly should be inspirational to my creative spirit.

New Exhibit - Lee Hansley Gallery

With the collapse of the Somerhill Gallery (chapter 7 bankruptcy) last month, my hopes of having a commercial gallery show this fall seemed to have disappeared with it. Fortunately, I was approached by another local gallery and offered a great opportunity - to join a planned October exhibit at the Lee Hansley Gallery in Raleigh with Sam Shelby and George Handy. As a result, I have nine paintings on display in one of the gallery's rooms from October 14 to November 13. The opening reception was held today, and the First Friday evening event (11 AM to 10 PM) will be November 5. Many thanks to the generosity and interest of the Lee Hansley Gallery for providing me this experience.

Main Street - Completed Work

Last summer I began a large commissioned piece that I entitled "Main Street." The composition is based on a street scene from Mount Airy, Maryland. Two previous posts (August 1, 2009 and August 22, 2009) provided progress reports on the project. I finally completed the canvas late last year and included it in my show at the Miriam Preston Block Gallery this past April. However, I never posted a photo of the completed painting. In general, I was satisfied with the results but I also enjoy looking at the in-progress images because they have a roughness that is gone in the final work.

"Main Street." Oil on stretched canvas, 36 x 48 inches. Completed November 2009.

Evening in Cumberland

This work is another in the series of canvases I have completed based on architectural sources from Cumberland, Maryland. This painting was inspired by an imposing house on Washington Street. I was particularly fascinated with its bulbous tower that loomed above the front facade like a half-hidden face. I decided to place the composition in a dusk time frame to add some drama.

"Evening in Cumberland." Oil on stretched canvas, 36 x 30 inches. Completed in April 2010.

Morgan County Courthouse Dedication Ceremony

This weekend I traveled north to Berkeley Springs, West Virginia to attend the dedication ceremony for the new Morgan County Courthouse. I had been selected to complete a commissioned portrait of the county's former courthouse, which was destroyed by fire in 2006. The pictures above show me presenting the canvas to the President of the Morgan County Commissioners, Brenda J. Hutchinson (in purple) during the ceremonies, held on September 25. The painting will be installed in the lobby of the new courthouse as a remembrance of the former structure. About 250 people attended the dedication, and the weather was spectacular. It was truly an exciting moment for me and I am so grateful to have been able to participate.

Morgan County Courthouse Completed

This past week I completed the commission to paint a portrait of the Third Morgan County Courthouse (located in Berkeley Springs, WV). This project went very smoothly and I am pleased with the results. I will be delivering the canvas to the patron this coming Friday in advance of a festival celebrating the opening of a new courthouse. This portrait will be installed in the new facility as a remembrance of the former structure, built in 1908 and lost to fire in 2006.

"Third Morgan County (WV) Courthouse, 1908-2006." Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches. Completed September 2010.

Somerhill Gallery Closing

My October exhibit at the Somerhill Gallery in Durham, NC is no more. The gallery filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in late August, and will be closing after a Going-Out-of Business Sale this coming weekend. You can read about the travails of Somerhill in these articles published by "The Independent." Such a sense of disappointment and frustration.

In-Progress: Morgan County Courthouse Commission

I haven't used this blog enough to show works in progress. Part of the reason is that I do work quickly, and to interrupt the process to take photographs is distracting. At other times, I just don't remember to record the process as it develops.

Currently I am working on a commission to paint a portrait of the Third Morgan County Courthouse, which stood in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. The courthouse opened in 1908 but, sadly, was destroyed by fire in 2006. A new courthouse has been under construction since then, and it will open later this month. The patron of this commission is donating the painting to Morgan County so that it can be permanently displayed in the new facility.

As you can see from this image, the piece is well on its way. I typically ground all of my canvases in cadmium red acrylic paint before starting the actual oil painting. For this project, I took special effort to create a solid underdrawing (in burnt sienna paint) from which to build the final work. The areas of bright red in this photo indicate areas I still have to work up. The sky is essentially complete, as is much of the clocktower. I plan to spend most of this weekend on the project and hope to complete it this week so that it has time to dry before delivery. I'll be sure to post a photograph of the final canvas.

"Third Morgan County (WV) Courthouse, 1908-2006." Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches. Currently in-progress.

Midwestern Sunset

Although entitled "Midwestern Sunset," this canvas is actually based on two houses I photographed in Cumberland, Maryland back in December 2008. Yet another in that series of works, I settled on the title after the piece was completed. The atmosphere in the work was reminiscent of neighborhoods -- and sunsets -- I experienced while living in Columbus, Ohio. So, I decided to utilize a title that evoked that feeling.

This weekend I will begin a new commissioned painting, a portrait of the Third Morgan County (WV) Courthouse that was destroyed by fire in 2006. A new courthouse will open later this month, and I am fortunate to have been chosen to create an official portrait for the lost structure. The painting will become a permanent installation in the new facility.

"Midwestern Sunset." Oil on stretched canvas, 36 x 36 inches. Completed April 2010.

Farmhouse Panorama II

This is yet another panorama (multiple canvas) work based on the Milton Jones Farmhouse in Cary, NC. Painted over three canvases, each measuring 16 x 20 inches in size, it depicts the farmhouse straight-away. I enjoyed creating this piece and the work went very quickly.

"Farmhouse Panorama II." Oil on three 20 x 16 inch stretched canvases (total size 20 x 48 inches). Completed January 2010.

Farmhouse Panorama III

I've spent today photographing artwork created over the past several months, and will now begin posting the work here on the blog.

This piece, "Farmhouse Panorama III," is a return to the Jones Farmhouse in Cary, NC that inspired a series of paintings in 2008. For this effort, I created a panorama image by painting the scene over four 11x14-inch canvases. I chose to put the farmhouse in deep shadow so that it would contrast strongly with the bright sky and background.

"Farmhouse Panorama III." Oil on four 14 x 11 inch stretched canvases, total size 14 x 44 inches. Completed February 2010.

Coming Soon: New Work for Somerhill Gallery Exhibit

I've been extremely busy in the studio over the past few weeks, so busy I've been neglecting the blog. I have a backlog of new works to photograph, and plan to do so this week. The new pieces are in preparation for an exhibit I will be having at the Somerhill Gallery (Durham, NC) in October. I'm excited about this opportunity and have been working hard to develop new canvases for the show. More details - and images - to follow soon.

North Carolina Museum of Art Visit

This past weekend I had my first opportunity to visit the newly opened permanent collection facility at the North Carolina Museum of Art. The museum had been closed for several months as the collection was transferred from the old facility into the new one. It reopened on April 24th to much fanfare.

The gallery spaces are beautiful, with quiet exterior courtyard spaces for sculpture and gardens. While I don't find the structure particularly attractive from the outside, I was very impressed with the interior. The former building is currently under renovations and will reopen in November as a home to temporary exhibitions. The first will be an exhibit of works by famed illustrator Norman Rockwell.

Muffy

While most of my painting imagery is architecturally related, I do paint other subjects. Occasionally I am solicited for private commissions, and the above work is one I received a few years ago. A patron contacted me to see if I would complete a commissioned portrait of a beloved pet who had passed away after many years of loving companionship. These projects can be quite challenging because the patron can have exacting expectations of the final result. This painting seemed to work well from the very beginning, and the patron was very pleased with the end product.

"Muffy." Oil on stretched canvas, 20 x24 inches. Private commission completed in November 2007.

Victorians at Sunrise

I received some wonderful news this week: the City of Raleigh Arts Commission, which hosted my recent exhibition "Home/journeys," has purchased one of my paintings for the city's permanent collection. The commissioners selected "Victorians at Sunrise" (seen above) for their collection. Needless to say I was very excited about this development.

"Victorians at Sunrise" has been featured in three of my exhibitions (Burke Arts Council in May 2009, Preservation Society of Chapel Hill in December 2009, and the Miriam Preston Block Gallery in May 2010) so it is satisfying to see it go to a good "home." I am especially grateful to the City of Raleigh Arts Commission for their support and encouragement.

"Victorians at Sunrise." Oil on stretched canvas, 24 x 36 inches. Completed in July 2008.

Remains of the Day

Unfortunately I've been sidelined this past week by some outpatient surgery that I had been putting off for nearly two years. I am recuperating well at home but I won't be in the studio for at least a week. Prior to the surgery I was busy working on several new canvases. I hope to have those photographed soon so that I can post them here.

The painting above, "Remains of the Day," was completed earlier this year. The structure itself is based on an actual house in Ohio but I completely reworked the surroundings and also improvised the dramatic skyscape. The Victorian architecture of Ohio (which I greatly admired while living in Columbus during the 1990s) has been an excellent source for much of my material. It lends itself to a lonely, moody atmosphere that also evokes a sense of lost elegance and grandeur, of a time gone by.

"Remains of the Day." Oil on stretched canvas, 26 x 40 inches. Completed January 2010.

Chateau Marmont Revisited

My recent two-person exhibition, "Home/journeys," closed this past week at the Miriam Preston Block Gallery in Raleigh. While I did not sell any canvases, I did receive several inquiries and compliments from strangers who saw the show and took the time to email me their comments. That alone is a positive outcome.

One of the canvases featured in the exhibit was "Chateau Marmont," seen above. This was the second painting I completed of the famed Hollywood hotel that sits on a bluff above the Sunset Strip. The first was an 11x14 inch study I completed in October 2008 (click HERE for my previous blog report on that canvas). This work was much larger and focused further on the castle-like structure itself. I decided to delete the neon sign per say and only have a hint of its electric light reflection in the lower right side. My feelings for this painting have grown more positive since its completion; at first I felt it was inferior to the smaller study. It was one of the works that I received the highest praise for in the recent show, a pleasant surprise to me.

"Chateau Marmont." Oil on stretched canvas, 24 x 30 inches. Completed November 2008.

William Christenberry Exhibit at Reynolda House

On Saturday I took what has become an annual visit to Reynolda House in Winston-Salem, NC to enjoy the museum's latest exhibition. This year's show, "William Christenberry: Photographs, 1961-2005," did not disappoint: the exhibit encompasses color photographs taken by Christenberry in his native Alabama over the past four decades. Most of the works focused on an architectural subject, but they also included gravesites and faded signs. He is able to capture that sense of death, decay and defeat that seems to hang in the air of the rural Deep South. A few years back I saw an exhibition of his work at the American Art Museum in Washington, DC and that show inspired me to begin my Cary Farmhouse Series.

The exhibition runs until June 27. Click HERE for more information at the Reynolda House web site.

Windows at Night

This week's blog entry features another recent canvas that is currently on display in "home/journeys" at the Block Gallery in Raleigh. It is the smallest painting in the show at 18 x 24 inches. The source for the building was a mansion that stands on Drayton Street in Savannah, Georgia. I loved its asymmetrical facade and took several photos of it during my visit to Savannah in February. I focused my composition on an upper section of the house, and then turned it into a night scene for some heightened atmosphere.

"Windows at Night." Oil on stretched canvas, 18 x 24 inches. Completed February 2010.

Lights After Midnight

The past two weeks have been busy with non-art activities. In April and May I am always occupied with yard work and garden planting, and I've also hosted two sets of visitors recently. The schedule has kept me out of the studio (and off the blog) but I enjoy this season too much to miss out on it.

This work, "Lights After Midnight," was produced earlier this year and is currently hanging in the exhibit "home/journeys." The image is based on a real house here in Raleigh, and is displayed with dramatic night lighting. I love playing with light and shadows in my work, and this painting incorporates both.

"Lights After Midnight." Oil on stretched canvas, 20 x 32 inches. Completed January 2010.

More "Home/journeys" Photos

Many thanks to Hannah Costner, Curator for the City of Raleigh Arts Commission, for these images taken at the opening reception for "home/journeys." The exhibit opened in the Block Gallery on April 8, 2010. Since then I have been busy working on a new series of architectural paintings for a planned exhibition in October. More on that show in future posts.

"Home/journeys" Exhibit Opens

Last night was the opening reception for "home/journeys" at the Miriam Preston Block Gallery inside the Raleigh Municipal Building. Approximately 40 friends and neighbors attended the opening. I have 15 canvases on display in the show, which also includes painter Kathy Brancato and mixed-media artist Mikel Robinson. "Home/journeys" is sponsored by the City of Raleigh Arts Commission and will remain on exhibit until May 24. The Block Gallery is located at 222 West Hargett Street in Downtown Raleigh, NC.

"Home/journeys" Video Documentary

The Raleigh Television Network is featuring a video documentary on the upcoming Miriam Preston Block Gallery exhibit I will be featured in next month. Entitled "Home/journeys: Interviews with Kenneth Eugene Peters, Kathy Brancato and Tim Kiernan," the video runs approximately 22 minutes and will air periodically on the RTN during the run of the exhibit.

To watch the video, click HERE.

The Blue House

For the next several weeks I will be featuring canvases that will be on display in the upcoming exhibit "home/journeys" at the Miriam Preston Block Gallery. I'll focus on works that have not appeared on my web site and have never been exhibited publicly.

This painting, "The Blue House," was completed in February 2009. It is another canvas in the series I developed last year based on houses and street scenes from Cumberland, Maryland. I visited Cumberland over the Christmas Holiday in 2008, and found a wealth of source material for paintings. To date I have completed eight canvases based on Cumberland imagery. Many of these pieces will be displayed in the "home/journeys" exhibition.

"The Blue House." Oil on stretched canvas, 24 x 30 inches. Completed February 2009.

Block Gallery Exhibit Update

It's less than four weeks until the opening of my next exhibition, "home/journeys," at the Miriam Preston Block Gallery in Downtown Raleigh. The exhibit will feature paintings by Kathy Brancato and myself, plus mixed-media works in cases by Mikel Robinson. I will be submitting 16 canvases, many of which will be on exhibit for the first time. During the past two weeks I have been prepping and framing the works, and I'm feeling very confident of where I stand this far out.

On Friday, March 5 the Raleigh Television Network sent a crew to my home to interview me in my studio in advance of the show. A 30-minute spot highlighting the three artists featured in "home/journeys" will broadcast several times on the RTN cable channel here in Raleigh during the exhibit's run (April 8 to May 24).

The Miriam Preston Block Gallery is located inside the Raleigh Municipal Building, 222 West Hargett Street, Raleigh NC 27601. The opening reception is scheduled for Thursday, April 8 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Sky Over Holly Springs Road

This has been a busy art weekend. Yesterday I spent the afternoon preparing canvases for my exhibition at the Miriam Preston Block Gallery in April. I have selected 16 works for inclusion in the show, and I worked on preparing nine canvases yesterday (wiring, framing, cleaning the edges, signing). I also took time to straighten up my studio because the Raleigh Television Network (RTN) is coming this Friday to tape an interview with me in advance of the Block Gallery show.

Today is also the opening reception for the Raleigh Fine Arts Society juried exhibition. Two of my works will be featured in the exhibition. The juror, artist John Beerman, will be giving a juror's lecture before the reception, and I'm looking forward to hearing his comments.

The painting featured above is from my 2008 Cary Farmhouse series. In this piece I decided to capture a distant perspective on the house so that I could emphasize a dramatic skyscape above it. Within the past month I have returned to the farmhouse as a subject for my painting, and I will feature the new canvases in future installments.

"Sky Over Holly Springs Road." Oil on stretched canvas, 11 x 14 inches, completed April 2008.

Raleigh Fine Arts Society Juried Exhibition

I learned this past week that two of my works, "Fourth and Montgomery" and "August Sunset," were accepted into the 36th Annual Raleigh Fine Arts Society North Carolina Exhibition for 2010. This was the fourth year that I had submitted work, but the first in which I had work accepted. With only 60 pieces accepted out of nearly 500 entries, I am especially excited to have both paintings admitted into the show. The exhibit will run from February 28-May 4, 2010 in the Betty Ray McCain Gallery, Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, Raleigh NC. The juror for this year's competition was John Beerman. Mr. Beerman is a painter who is originally from North Carolina but now lives and works in Upstate New York (Hudson Valley Region). He is represented locally by the Somerhill Gallery in Durham.

Street Shadows

Having just returned from my annual trip to Savannah, Georgia, I thought I would feature a canvas I completed last year that was inspired by Savannah imagery.

This storefront scene is based on a building located on Savannah's Bull Street, the city's main north-south artery through the Historic District. The atmospheric lighting created by the street lamp intrigued me, so I wanted to attempt a canvas that utilized that unique lighting. When I was walking around Savannah this past weekend, I inadvertently came upon this building and my mind immediately raced to this painting. It was an unusual feeling to recognize a structure through one of my own paintings.

"Street Shadows." Oil on stretched canvas, 20 x 24 inches. Completed May 2009.

Off to Savannah

Tomorrow I leave for my annual sojourn to Savannah, Georgia. It's my favorite city in America, and I always return inspired and ready for more hard work in the studio. The building above is one of my favorite landmarks in Savannah - the old Scottish Rite Temple on Bull Street. I've captured it in oils and photographed it multiple times but it still fascinates me. When I return I'll begin working on the final canvases I hope to produce for inclusion in my upcoming exhibit "home/journeys" at the Miriam Preston Block Gallery. Lots of ideas and only a little bit of time to execute them, I'm afraid.

I just discovered quite by accident that one of my paintings is featured in the current edition of Raleigh "Downtowner" magazine. Click here to see the article. I am one of the exhibiting artists this year at the Miriam Preston Block Gallery, and the magazine selected one of my images to include in an article about the gallery's 2010 exhibition series. The exhibit, entitled "Home/Journeys," will run from April 8 to May 24, 2010. The gallery is located in the Avery C. Upchurch Government Complex, 222 W. Hargett Street in Raleigh, NC. It is sponsored by the City of Raleigh Arts Commission.

Farmhouse in Late Winter

Due to some challenges on the home front, I've been absent from the blog for two weeks. Sadly, one of the challenges was the loss of a beloved pet (my cat, Esther). The other, ironically, was the adoption of a new pet - a 12-week-old puppy - that occurred just prior to Esther falling ill. So, it's been a period of transition in my household.

I have managed to be productive in the studio despite the turmoil. Two weeks ago I returned to the large canvas entitled "Main Street" that I began in late summer as a long-term commissioned piece for a family member. It will be featured in my upcoming show at the Miriam Block Gallery before delivery to the patron. I also spent seven hours yesterday working on a new painting that will also be included in the spring show.

The painting above, "Farmhouse in Late Winter," was one of 12 canvases I painted in 2008 of the farmhouse located on Holly Springs Road in Cary, NC. This piece was one of those included in my exhibition at the Horace Williams House in Chapel Hill. I recently sold it to a patron who resides in Raleigh.

"Farmhouse in Late Winter." Oil on stretched canvas, 24 x 3o inches. Completed March 2008.

Baja Burrito Show

On December 20 I installed a small exhibit of my work at Baja Burrito in Raleigh, NC. Located at 2109 Avent Ferry Road, the restaurant features monthly exhibits by local artists. I met the owner, Judy Murray, at the opening reception for "Hang It Up!" at the Gregg Museum of Art and Design. She liked the two paintings I had on display in that show, and invited me to exhibit at her restaurant. I decided to focus on figurative and still life pieces since most of my recent exhibitions have featured architectural paintings. I think the distinctive wall color in the restaurant especially lent itself to these works. The exhibit will remain on view until February 12, 2010.