Mystic

This 11" x 11" oil is titled Mystic, as in Van Morrison's Into the Mystic, one of my favorite songs.
Mystic started as a 14 x 18, but it was a bit too soft and ethereal for a larger piece so I cropped it to the current size.  

A few years ago, a few artist friends and I rented a house near the Blackwater Refuge in Cambridge, Maryland, with plans to spend a lot of time painting. A hurricane changed course and headed right for us so we bought storm provisions (a case of wine and a bushel of crabs), lashed a canoe to the tree on the front lawn and waited for the storm. This was the view from the front window of the house!

Mystic

11" x 11" oil on panel

A Baker's Dozen

Baker's Dozen is inspired by scenes I've seen at the Blackwater Refuge, near Easton, where I visit every year. I can also see how my 75 for 75 bird study project has influenced a lot of my recent work. The idea for this particular piece came from one of the studies.

I've cropped the image so you can see the edges of the painting. Once the painting is dry, I sand the edges and round the corners with a fine sandpaper, then float the panel on black foam core, leaving about 1/4" of foam core showing between the edge of the painting and the frame. A lot of my paintings are framed this way as it gives my work a more contemporary look.

A Baker's Dozen

11" x 11" oil on panel

Minuet

An egret on a blustery day, inspired by scenes I have seen at the Blackwater Refuge in Easton, Maryland.

Minuet

16" x 20" oil on gessoed board

Cold & Clear

This scene is one of my favorite places at the Blackwater Refuge in Cambridge, Maryland. I've painted it over and over again at different times of the day. Though this 11" x 11" oil was done in the studio, it was inspired by the times I've painted the scene on location.

Cold & Clear

11" x 11" oil on gessoed board

Blowing In

This 16 x 20 oil was inspired by a trip to the Blackwater Refuge in Easton, Maryland one November.  It was blowing a gale, yet sunny and the hunkered-down geese were catching some wonderful side-lighting. It was one of those scenes that I knew would become a painting.  With studio oils, I work from photographic reference to remind me of the motif and the shape of the geese - but I do a lot of changing and embellishing. There is no photograph that looks like this painting.

Blowing In

16" x 20" oil on gessoed panel