Journal

Rustic Arbor - Prospect Park

2010-10-23T09:01:00.000-04:00

Rustic structures - shelters, arbors and bridges - were an integral part of Olmsted and Vaux’s original design for Prospect Park. The Lullwater shelter is a one hundred foot long arbor that was reconstructed in 2002.

Cleft-Ridge Span - Prospect Park

2010-10-19T10:54:00.003-04:00

Olmsted and Vaux designed numerous paths and trails for both horses and pedestrians, requiring the construction of many small-scale bridges. The Cleft-Ridge Span is the first concrete arch bridge in the United States. It contains no iron or steel reinforcing and is an example of precast artificial stone construction.

The span is only 20 feet in length but has a width of more than 60 feet; more like a tunnel than a bridge. The detailed gothic and classical ornamentation cast into the surface of the artificial stone is clearly visible. Precast artificial stone served as an important precedent for the later use of concrete as a vehicle for ornamentation.

Binnen Falls - Prospect Park

2010-10-08T09:40:00.002-04:00

The rushing stream from the Ambergill, slows after passing beneath the Nethermead Arches to become the meandering Binnen-water (Binnen, Dutch for within, is an Olmsted reference to the areas remoteness.) The Binnenwater flows into the Lily Pond, just beyond the bridge before tumbling over Binnen Falls and into the Lullwater.
- The complete Guide to Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

Boathouse finished?

2010-10-04T07:08:00.003-04:00

Trying to decide whether to crop this painting

Uncropped - the left side is somewhat boring and the composition seems off. Not particularly happy with the blob of reflected green in the water on the left.

Portrait cropped - creates a better focus on the boathouse

Square cropped - emphasizes the symmetry of the reflection

Boathouse day 4

2010-09-30T09:13:00.001-04:00

Boathouse day 2

2010-09-28T14:21:00.000-04:00

Tennis House - completed

2010-09-20T07:45:00.003-04:00

Designed by the architectural firm of Helmle, Huberty and Hudswell, the 1910 Tennis House was intended as a shelter and locker room for the era’s popular sport of Lawn Tennis. In the Park’s early years, there were up to 300 lawn tennis courts spread over the Long Meadow,

Tennis House Day 2

2010-09-13T08:05:00.001-04:00

Tennis House Day 1

2010-09-10T09:47:00.010-04:00

At the end of the day - 3 1/2 hours of masking and prep work for 10 minutes of energetic throwing of paint.

Sketch

Masked and splattered

Paint on the wall, my laptop screen, my glasses, my notebooks - the second time I was smart and did it outside on the patio.

The palette I used to throw the paint.

Prospect Park Waterfall - finished

2010-09-09T09:03:00.007-04:00

The forest was planted in 1867, as part of the master design of Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux, the creators of Central Park.

Back then, it was hard to imagine that the seedlings would eventually grow to create a dense forest. But almost 150 years later, it's a reality. Spreading about 150 acres, it's the last remaining natural forest in Brooklyn.

"It's a hardwood forest. Not many evergreens, and it's a native forest,” said landscape architect Christian Zimmerman. “Mostly native plant material that has been here for a long, long time."
Within the forest, behind the rocks at the Fallkill Waterfall, is the source of the water in the park – a faucet that pumps in city tap water. The water flow is connected through an intricate system of pools, streams and waterfalls which culminate in the 60-acre lake.
"It comes through that first waterfall and out it goes through the whole system,” said Thomas. “So it's pretty amazing. And it's just gravity-fed, there's no pumping or electrical needs of the entire system."

Every one of the park's water features is man made. Olmsted and Vaux wanted to mirror as closely as possible the natural tendencies of water. Over time, the waterfalls did fall into disrepair, But a woodlands restoration project about a decade ago helped re-build them.

"Part of that is looking at historic photographs that we have within our archive,” said Thomas.

“And we would number the rocks. We'd identify them from the historic photographs and then we slowly, through mechanical means, bringing in big cranes, lift them up and re-set them. So the waterfall that you see behind us is a match to what it was historically."
Prospect Park also collects all the rainwater from as far as the Brooklyn Museum into an underground assortment of catch basins and caves to feed into its water system.

From " Brooklyn's Hidden Treasures " NY1

Sketch - Tennis House - Prospect Park

2010-09-05T16:35:00.001-04:00

Prospect Park Waterfall - Sketch

2010-08-28T15:33:00.000-04:00

Cherry trees

2009-03-13T07:45:00.000-04:00

Branchbrook Park, Newark, NJ

Stormy weather

2009-02-18T06:18:00.005-05:00

In creating this piece I was attempting to capture the feeling of a stormy sky and water in the morning. I started with the image below. My first versions were too sunny and I've painted this "down" a couple of times to try to capture the storminess, but I still want more dramatic contrast. I'm darkening the colors slowly. I want the sky at the back of the painting, and the boat to be really bright spots - to look like they are truly lit, but I don't want to do that by completely darkening the rest of the painting. I'll keep working on it slowly.

In the logbook of Henry Hudson's ship, the “Half Moon”, he made note of arriving at a hilly inlet on the coast of New Jersey. There's a good chance this was the Shark River Inlet, a natural harbor. The town was founded in 1872.

Passaic Bridge completed

2009-01-14T08:14:00.003-05:00

The pivot point for a rolling lift bridge across the Passaic River. Below are some photos of the bridge.

Textures

2009-01-13T12:37:00.003-05:00

Playing with an absorbent media that I can use to build up significant physical texture on the paper. Combined with some splattering and drybrush work it makes an intriguing rusty texture. This is an unusual painting for me as I am working from a black and white photo using my imagination to "colorize" it. I've also restricted myself to basically four colors - the primaries and burnt sienna which is creating some nice color harmonies.

The image is of an old tilting draw bridge across the Passaic river around Clifton that I took when I was bike riding last summer. Still have a couple of things to add before its done.

Commission

2008-11-26T13:15:00.000-05:00

drawing

2008-11-11T23:06:00.000-05:00

2008-11-06T15:23:00.001-05:00

Self portrait in charcoal and a collage based on the drawing. An excercise for my Portfolio Prep participants to do tonight.

Tulips 3

2008-10-28T06:54:00.001-04:00

Purchase Information

Monumental Tulips 2 FINAL

2008-10-28T06:51:00.002-04:00

PurchaseInformation

Monumental Tulips 2 day 3

2008-10-24T10:08:00.003-04:00

Monumental Tulips 2 day 2

2008-10-22T09:02:00.001-04:00

Monumental Tulips 2 day 1

2008-10-21T09:26:00.003-04:00

Painting for a competition - has to be tulips as subject matter. Of course I'm making them as architectural as possible. Kind of monumental from this angle.

Still Life Glass 2

2008-10-20T07:54:00.003-04:00

Purchase Information

Rand Park, Montclair, NJ

2008-10-15T10:51:00.006-04:00

Finished the painting. After experimenting a bit, I used shampoo bubbles to create the texture of the reflections in the water. Its hard to see when its small. Below are images of some of the experiments. Purchase Information
I feel a tenuous tie to the park since I received a small scholarship from the Ingersoll-Rand corporation, one of the founders is the namesake of the park. A little historic background on the Rand Family:

A family with roots in colonial America, Florence Osgood Rand was a benefactor of the Montclair Art Museum in the early 1900's. Addison C. Rand, an earlier relative founded the Rand Drilling Company, which merged to form Ingersoll-Rand, one of the major US engineering firms. In addition to providing the tools to create Mount Rushmore, they developed the first diesel / electric locomotive which was used on the Central Railroad line of New Jersey.

Rand Park, Montclair, NJ

2008-10-10T16:48:00.000-04:00

Hickory corner progression.

2008-10-08T15:43:00.009-04:00

Finished painting

Painting outside today - was out in Hunterdon County taking reference photos for a commission piece. I passed these run down out buildings at a cross roads. There was an adjacent sign telling me that the tavern at Hickory Corners was a stop on the stage coach route along the Kings Highway. So I thought I would do a preliminary sketch for a later painting.

Subject chosen, followed by initial sketches and masking 10:31

Set up

Masked roofs with tape,
Initial washes for sky and trees
10:50 AM

Add wash for grass
Masking tape removed
windows put in while washes dry. Oops - smudged one.
10:58 AM -

Windows completed
doors and trim added with dry brush,
Begin adding weeds at base with dry brush
11:08 AM

Washes for roof added
Dry brush to indicate slate tiles
11:28
Begin adding vines on the fronts of the buildings
Add shadows under the eaves
Dry brush building sides it imitate peeling paint

11:39 AM (about 1 hour after starting)

Add washes to darken the value of the trees in back and to create defined tree shapes. Starting to balance values.

11:43AM

The light's changing quickly and I'm having a hard time catching the values I want. Its getting cloudy.

Additional vines added
Shadows darkened

11:44

More washes glazed onto the grass in the foreground, and a feeble attempt at some rusted farm machinery added for interest.

12:06 pm

There is too much foreground for the composition, I'll crop the final piece. Not a bad preliminary painting for an hour and a half stretch of time.

Wrapping up

2008-10-04T13:08:00.004-04:00

I have the pleasure of seeing my good friend Barbara today after a long time. I have a birthday present for her. I like to make my own wrapping paper and I was pleased at how this turned out so I thought I'd throw up an image. I used this flower arrangement this week with both my Watercolor Techniques class and my portfolio class and I thought they did a fantastic job with it.

Floral Experiments

2008-09-30T09:16:00.001-04:00

Cheesey?

2008-09-30T08:25:00.001-04:00

I painted through cheesecloth and ended up with this really funky texture - can I use it?

Montclair State Progression Day 3 final

2008-09-30T08:12:00.005-04:00

Finished this house - I'm very happy with the clarity of the colors and the quality of the light. It was exactly what I wanted to capture. I'm also happy because I incorporated much more of my own vision in the composition.

The image is composed of elements from a series of sketches and photographs. Although the tree exists, its further from the house and it was summer when I did my initial sketches and photos so all of the fall colors are imagined.

Here's some background on the house - I'll need to find some more about the family that built it.

The Victorian house was constructed in 1872 in the Italianate style. It was one of the prominent houses that formed Speertown, an early Dutch community in the area of present-day Upper Montclair. The house was built and owned by Thomas Van Reyper. Van Reyper, who died in 1909, married Catherine Speer, with whom he had three children. In 1952, the Van Reypers sold the property to George and Bertha Bond, who owned the house until 1966, when they bequeathed the house to Montclair State College.

Purchase Info

Montclair State Progression Day 2

2008-09-29T09:51:00.003-04:00

Montclair State Progression

2008-09-26T10:17:00.005-04:00

Progression of photos showing the start of a new painting

1

3

4

5

6

7

8

Harvest Still life version 2

2008-09-24T13:43:00.001-04:00

I tried to address some of the issues in my still life from yesterday. This version is smaller, looser and brighter.

Harvest Still life

2008-09-23T10:29:00.005-04:00

Demonstration for a new class I'm teaching in Watercolor techniques. It starts on Thursday. One of the big challenges with watercolor is capturing texture. I thought this arrangement would provide a variety of smooth, bumpy and grainy textures for the people in my class. Although I feel as if I've captured some of the textures nicely - like the corn, corn leaves, basket weave and a couple of gourds, overall the contrast isn't deep enough or the colors bright enough. I'm going to do another that is a lot looser and with better lighting so the forms are more easily visible.

Maybe a closer cropping and less muddy colors like this:

Venice Day 6

2008-09-15T10:44:00.003-04:00

Finished the commission. Will touch up a couple of areas in the reflections and at the back of the canal.

Venice Day 5

2008-09-12T09:06:00.002-04:00

Basically all that's left is the reflections in the water, always a big challenge for me. This whole piece is about the reflections so I'll need to approach them carefully, but not timidly.

Venice Day 4

2008-09-11T16:33:00.002-04:00

Finished the upper windows and balconies and added the door and a couple of windows. I wasn't sure about adding the window grills, but they add texture. It was fun lifting the bars out of the wash with a clean, wet brush. It gives them dimension.

Venice Day 3

2008-09-10T10:19:00.001-04:00

Started working on the windows and balconies on the building on the left. School is taking up a lot of time - but I find that being busy actually forces me to focus and keeps me productive in short bursts.

Coursework this weekend

2008-09-07T18:37:00.003-04:00

Preparing for the first session of a new course in Materials and Manufacturing for my senior in Product Design. Been jump starting blog of resources for the students.

Venice

2008-09-05T09:11:00.000-04:00

Started working on the Venice Canal commission. Trying to keep things loose at the start and tighten up a little bit later.

Day 2 - Added the second building, trying to keep it quiet, but still visually interesting and reflective of the other side of the composition. Darkened the house at the back to create more depth and mystery at the "back" of the composition.

471 West 21st Street

2008-08-26T12:41:00.003-04:00

Preparing for the Washington Square Outdoor Art Show this weekend in NYC. I started the painting as a very loose watercolor, but after the initial washes and layout (image below) I thought that the subject matter would benefit from a tighter approach. Using a reference photo, I started over and used drafting tools to recreate the fascade accurately.

I layed out the brick with a bright red wash, and then used a white colored pencil to draw the mortar lines. The white pencil is a subtle mask, picking up some of the pigment from the later washes for the shadows of the dappled sunlight. I especially like the solidity of the railing. I layed on a very dark blue/black and then lifted out the highlights with a damp brush to get the dimensionality.

Original Sketch

Here's the tag line:

"Well preserved Greek Revival house is located on Chelsea Square, across from the Theological Seminary. Built in 1853, it has maintained its original detailing, including the brownstone bracketed entablautre over the doorway, double hung windows, paneled doors and cast iron fence."

Purchase Info

Canal Sketch

2008-08-25T09:56:00.003-04:00

Preliminary sketch for a commission. I want to preserve the looseness of the painting in most areas and tighten the balconies and windows on the building on the left to create a focal point there. . I also want to reduce the saturation and variety of hues - I may shift the whole painting towards blues and violets, reducing the greens and yellows and cooling the magentas.

Empire Diner

2008-08-22T14:38:00.002-04:00

Mixed media - charcoal over watercolor wash. It seems to suit the night mood I was looking for.

The empire diner was manufactured by the Fodero Dining Car Company and brought too the corner of 10th avenue and West 22nd Street in 1929. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Charles E. Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, Albert Einstein, Barbra Streisand and Madonna have all been patrons. The Fodero Dining Car Company (1933-1981) was a diner manufacturer located in Newark and later Bloomfield, NJ.

158 West 27th Street painted sign

2008-08-20T14:05:00.007-04:00

I'm fascinated by these painted signs in New York, surprisingly durable artifacts of an earlier age. Below is some backround info on the companies listed.

I'm not sure whether to crop the image or leave the raw edges that display the technique. I underlayed yellow ocher for the old morter, splatter painted red on top, and then painted the bricks using the edge of piece of watercolor paper soaked in a deep reddish black. The lettering was done on top with a white colored pencil.

Stemmerman Photo Craft Laboratories located here from 1913 to 1918. William H. Stemmerman (1867-1951) was a druggist and physician in Passaic, New Jersey where the original Laboratories was located around 1911. In the early 1930s the name changed to Taylor Photo Co. By then they were located at 117 E. 24th St., where they remained until the mid-1960s.

David Blustein & Bro. was founded around 1905 by the brothers David and Isidor Blustein. David (age 34 in 1910) immigrated from Russia in the 1890s living in Manhattan (West End Ave. in 1920) and later on Long Island. The business was located here from 1913 until 1948. In 1940 the name was changed to Blustein Furs. American ginseng has been exported to China from New York since 1784 when the first U.S. ship, the Empress of China, arrived in the Pearl River Delta.

National Waist Mfg Co / Silk Blouses was in business from 1913 to 1921, located here at from 1918 to 1921. Proprietors were Joseph Mirman (1860-?) and his son, Louis Mirman (1886-1959). Both men were immigrants from Russia ca. 1892. Joseph Mirman was in the candy store / stationery business from around 1900. Louis Mirman worked in these businesses around 1907-08, then got into clothing manufacture and was probably the more active partner in National Waist Mfg. Co. Waists, short for shirtwaists, are among the first mass produced clothing for women. They were blouses designed to be worn with a long skirt. In the early 1900s there were more than 500 waist factories in the city employing more than forty thousand workers, mostly immigrants, in horrible working and living conditions. The awful working conditions and the tragic fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory would give impetus to the founding of the trade union movement in New York.

Credit Trading Corp / Commission Merchants / Raw Furs & Skins was probably a financial institution founded by furriers, who had a furs and skins department located here in the late 1920s. Credit Trading Corp. was in business from 1925 to 1938. Most of this time the main office was located at 128 W. 31st St. The "furs & skins" department was located at 158 W. 27th St. from 1928 to 1929. Furs and skins have been exported from New York (or New Amsterdam) since the arrival of the first Western colonizers, including Jacob Astor, the first U.S. multi-millionaire.

Historic home in Montclair.

2008-08-20T07:58:00.010-04:00

I've been working on this painting for a couple of weeks, slow going and a lot of interruptions.

I'm not sure whether to crop it more tightly as on the left, or leave it more spacious as on the right. The tighter crop emphasizes the vertical composition lines relating the two gable peaks to the two bunches of flowers on the fence in the foreground and the symmetrical balance around the pivot of the door. But the image with more sky has more breathing room around the structure and more atmosphere. I guess I'll make the decision when I mat the painting. Still have to do some research on the history of the house though.

Purchase Info

Montclair Historic

2008-08-07T09:54:00.006-04:00

This will be an image of a historic home in Montclair. I took some artisitic license with the fence out front - its actually just a hedge. Although the home is on the NJ Register of Historic Places - its only listed as "Representative Architecture". I'm off to the library to examine the tax registers and see if I can dredge up the names of some of the owners and see what they did for work and their impact on the community.

A friend told me recently that maybe I'm not so much an artist interested in history, but more of a historian with artistic skills. Its an intriguing idea - along the lines of the gentleman naturalists of the 19th century (Audubon for example).

I admire these works for the stylized realism and also that they strive to introduce the visual richness of the world. I want my images to have the same quality and serve the same purpose. Since the research is important to me - I'm on a mission to find a suitable way to share the historical information beyond the imagery.

The naturalists often composed stunning notebooks filled with detailed descriptions that complemented the images. I'll be visiting the Morgan library in NYC to see if there are notebooks that I can view. Or maybe illuminated manuscripts.

building detail - wall street

2008-08-05T20:15:00.003-04:00

I'm studying to become a licensed tour guide in New York. I was doing a walking tour last week among the buildings around wall street. Some of the details are really fantastic. I thought this entry way had a nice balance to it of intricate details and flat planes. I'm not sure what building it was on, I guess I need to study more.

Purchase Information

Edgemont Park

2008-07-31T16:26:00.002-04:00

there's a competition in Montclair to be on the cover of the local newspaper - the Montclair Times, I submitted this painting and a couple of others. Not getting my hopes up tho.

New Paintings

2008-07-29T09:06:00.003-04:00

Haven't posted in awhile, but I have been working.

Preparing for Ocean Grove Boardwalk Art Show

2008-06-27T09:33:00.004-04:00

I've decided to do some new pieces specifically for the boardwalk art show in Ocean Grove on July 26th. This is a large image of the convention hall. I saw an artist a couple of weeks ago in Cape May who's work I really was drawn to, http://www.keithmountford.com/

I tried to make this image a little crisper, and I upped the contrast. I've been working on details of buildings more than the buildings themselves. The repetition in the columns and the ornamentation, and the very balanced composition create a nice image. I could still do better on the details, but its getting there.

Purchase Info

Thornley Chapel

2008-06-24T12:14:00.001-04:00

Purchase Info

New Painting of the Thornley Chapel. The original was a little softer and more mysterious. I was going for something tighter and sharper but I think I like the first version better.

High bridg ride

2008-06-19T10:05:00.000-04:00

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2008-06-19T10:03:00.000-04:00

High Bridge

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2008-06-19T06:59:00.001-04:00

Bike ride today starting go High Bridge. Misty morning

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More Umbrellas

2008-06-18T07:45:00.002-04:00

This is my favorite of these 3, I think the detail of the umbrella spokes adds something, and the white sky increases the contrast with the umbrella.

Working on the composition for the next highway collage today.

Blatant commercial pandering

2008-06-17T09:24:00.004-04:00

Small paintings below, kind of designed to sell at Asbury this summer.

2008-06-12T19:00:00.000-04:00

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2008-06-12T18:51:00.000-04:00

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2008-06-12T18:45:00.000-04:00

Whoa! This is how i feel about now!

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2008-06-12T18:10:00.001-04:00

Jenny Jump Mountain

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2008-06-12T17:31:00.001-04:00

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2008-06-12T16:51:00.000-04:00

Climbing out of the Delaware valley. Should'nt have had that big lunch : Â§

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2008-06-12T16:34:00.000-04:00

Delaware Lake

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2008-06-12T16:24:00.001-04:00

Colombia Lake, Warrington

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2008-06-12T16:07:00.001-04:00

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2008-06-12T15:38:00.000-04:00

LUNCH!!!

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2008-06-12T15:13:00.000-04:00

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2008-06-12T15:10:00.000-04:00

Lackawanna bridge over the Delaware

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2008-06-12T15:04:00.000-04:00

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2008-06-12T15:01:00.000-04:00

Saint vincent church- Portland, PA

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2008-06-12T14:49:00.000-04:00

Me on the bridge

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2008-06-12T14:44:00.001-04:00

Foot bridge over the Delaware River at Colombia

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2008-06-12T14:12:00.001-04:00

First goal for today- the viaduct at 20 miles out.

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2008-06-12T14:04:00.001-04:00

Graffiti inside the arches

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2008-06-12T14:03:00.001-04:00

View from inside the viaduct arch.

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2008-06-12T13:53:00.001-04:00

View from the top me the Paulinskill viaduct

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2008-06-12T13:29:00.001-04:00

Polkville road with Kitattiny Ridge

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2008-06-12T13:27:00.001-04:00

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2008-06-12T13:14:00.001-04:00

Lake near Blairstown on Cedar lake Road

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2008-06-12T12:06:00.001-04:00

Mill falls at Blairstown

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2008-06-12T11:57:00.001-04:00

Camp Wasigan Road- Hope

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2008-06-12T11:46:00.001-04:00

Kerrs Corner road. Johnsonberg

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2008-06-12T11:16:00.000-04:00

Tunnel under the Lackawanna train cut-off

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2008-06-12T11:10:00.000-04:00

Farm on dark moon road.

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2008-06-12T10:45:00.000-04:00

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2008-06-12T10:37:00.001-04:00

Tranquility Cemetery

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2008-06-12T10:27:00.000-04:00

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2008-06-12T10:26:00.000-04:00

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Tacky?

2008-06-04T06:49:00.004-04:00

I worked on a large painting all day yesterday with the intention of setting it inside this old window. I think the foliage is too heavy amd overpowers the flowers, I should have stopped with just a few leaves. Now it looks a little too crafty. Oh well - maybe someone will purchase it this weekend.

Finished House Top series in acrylic

2008-05-30T08:18:00.005-04:00

Finished the final piece in a series of 3 house tops in acrylic. They're done on canvas covered board that I've had around the studio. The canvas texture makes them seem more like oil paintings which may appeal to some people when it comes time to sell them. But the texture made it difficult to get the crisp lines that I was looking for. If I do architectural work in acrylic in the future I think I'll try working on masonite so I can get the lines smoother.

This third image is more subtle than the first two - its not lit with bright sunlight, but the subtlety seems to work with the complicated nature of the millwork.
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Pedestal 2 for donation

2008-05-29T10:50:00.004-04:00

To be donated for the Miracle House Art Auction on Fire Island, June 14th.

Miracle House provides temporary housing and support services for caregivers and patients coming to New York City for critical medical treatment.

Pines Party
Saturday, June 14, 2008
5-8 PM
548 Beachcomber Walk,Fire Island Pines
Cocktail & Dance Party
Open Bar
Silent Auction
Beach Snacks

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Twin Lights sketches

2008-05-28T18:58:00.006-04:00

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Memorial Day Sketchet

2008-05-27T18:29:00.004-04:00

Its been a while since I've painted directly from life instead of working from pencil sketches and photographs in the studio. This weekend I took the paints on the road. Its exhilirating but its definitley a different process for me than studio painting. I have less tools and less control over the environment. The paint can dry faster and the subject, whether its a person or a landscape changes continually.

The images came out okay and I think can be used as the basis for future work.

Edison Collage complete

2008-05-21T10:30:00.003-04:00

Well the collage is complete. I like the clarity of the colors in the lower right panel of the tavern. The other panels are a little more muted, but I think overall it pulls together as a composition.

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Some history surrounding these images is below.

The Edison Memorial Tower commemorates the site where Edison perfected the incandescent lightbulb among other electric inventions including a version of the electric train. The top right panel is of Union County Park. Travelers on the highway would have passed by the Rahway Poor Farm, which preceded the park. The center right image is of the bridge over the Lehigh Valley railroad bringing coal from Pennsylvania to Perth Amboy and New York. The Merchants and Drovers Tavern, built around 1795 on the country road to Elizabethtown at the intersection of the road to Westfield operated continuously as an inn from 1798 until the mid-1930s,

Hope Farm

2008-05-21T10:25:00.005-04:00

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Three versions of a farm in Hope New Jersey. I think the balance of values on the third is probably the more successful. I was experimenting with the opacity of the red barn, I thought the fully saturated version at the top would be best, but I think it might be too strong.

Hope was settled in 1769 by Moravians, who remained until 1808. The Moravians, a Protestant Group, believed in spreading the word of Christianity throughout the world, developed the Town of Hope as part of this ministry to the Indians. The winding, hilly, roads are surrounded by small, picturesque farms like this one, nestled in an emerald valley. Surrounding names allude to the Moravian history including the town of Tranquility and Shades of Death road.

House top 2 - second foray into acrylic

2008-05-20T12:31:00.007-04:00

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Well I finished a second acrylic painting. I struggled more with this one than the last, but I was more aggressive in changing the composition from the reference material. I had a hard time balancing the values in the shadows under the eaves because I wanted it to recede, but also to fill the shadows with reflected light from the bright sun. What I really like is the flag - the way it adds that one spot of red, for the most part the only place in the painting where I used this color. It gives the image a focus that I think is a bit lacking in the first painting, although the blue trim around the doors may serve as a focus. Here's the first painting I completed a couple of weeks ago.

Here is the sketch I did in watercolor as preparation and the image I was working from. At first I hadn't included the windows on either side of the door because I was trying to strip down the painting to its essentials, but it was kind of boring. I added them over the watercolor with colored pencil and decided to include them in the larger version.

Here's the reference photo - I took out all of the furniture and the flowers to make it look lonelier and make the focus the architecture.

Experiments in atmospheric perspective

2008-05-20T12:01:00.010-04:00

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Thought I would use an image from a recent bike ride to experiment a little with atmospheric projection. When I was on my ride there was a weather front coming in over the mountains and I was thinking of the Zen conundrum that the mountain and the cloud are one. On a rational basis its true - the cloud is formed because the warmer air cools as it travels up the side of the mountain, and water condenses forming the cloud. But then the cloud releases rain, which erodes and shapes the mountain. The zen question would be are the cloud and the mountain two or one?

Anyway, there's a painting in the Chicago Art Institute that I was thinking of because the Watchung ridges often form the same kind of diminishing cloud formations creating a beautiful rhythmic pattern. I have the name of the artist somewhere in my sketch books. The painting creates a dramatic feeling of distance just through the placement of the horizon line and the diminishing size of the clouds.

Here's the image from my ride that I was using as reference:

Edison Collage - Day 3

2008-05-16T11:52:00.003-04:00

Another panel on this collage - one more to go.