it's always there

^ [Port Crane, Brooklyn, NY. watercolor on T.H. Saunders 90 lb cold pressed paper. 5x7". August 2011.]


^ [ Landscape of Shadow and Light. watercolor on T.H. Saunders 90 lb cold pressed paper. 5x7". November 2011.]

^ [Plein air study of New Jersey seen from Brooklyn. Oil on Art Board panel. 5x7". October 2011.]

^ [Plein air study of Brooklyn waterfront landscape. Oil on Art Board panel. 5x7". November 2011.]


"I learned that there's no such thing as a place without a motif for painting: it's always there, and sometimes you have to force yourself to find it instead of having it scream out at you."
- Richard Crozier, Inventing the Landscape: From plein air study to studio painting. Watson-Guptill Publications, 1989.

I have been making a pretty regular habit of plein air painting this summer and autumn, and have a growing amount work to show for it. I know that I am not up to the speed or level of practice that other, more experienced, outdoor painters are at. However, I am steadily gaining more skill at working directly from nature. The four pieces above are some of my efforts. Over the winter they may be the basis for other work. With Tracy's help, the portfolio is being narrowed down to about 15 images to be sent to galleries and to publishers in the hope of gaining freelance work. Both oil and egg tempera paintings will be included alongside watercolors and drawings.