The Delicatessen

 The Delicatessen 8x8 acrylic on a cradled archival panel

I found a photograph of an old Milwaukee deli in my box of  “inspirations”. When I looked at the photograph I could almost smell the pastrami, cheeses and earthy spices that filled the market. When I was growing up we had corner markets in almost every larger neighborhood. The market owners were colorful, hard working characters who often lived above their shops. A trip to the corner market was a trip to the home country of  an immigrant family. Bratwurst, summer sausage, kraut, ring bologna, head cheese, farmers cheese...these were the items one such merchant sold, Chappie was an institution in his shop.

 In other communities the goods might be Italian, or Jewish, Middle Eastern or Soul food , they were  always a reflection of the community they served.

We are a melting pot here in America. I treasure the unique heritage and gifts that each part of that “pot” brings to our collective culture. Food, unites us and educates us. Briney pickles, sour cabbage, hot pastrami and sharp cheese in a deli sandwich is more than a good bite to eat, it’s a taste of the American immigrant experience. It’s a delicious trip around our world. 

Mending the Nets

Mending the Nets 8x8 Acrylic on a cradled archival panel

Waterfront, seascape, fishing, harbor, landscape, impressionist

For as long as I can recall, I’ve had a love affair with the small  harbor towns along the Great Lakes. Untouched and ungentrified waterfront communities are getting harder and harder to find. Over the years fishing ports such as Port Washington, Gills Rock, Baileys Harbor, Grand Marais, and many more have succumbed to real estate “improvements”. If  I’m not painting my impression of a straight landscape I tend to seek nitty gritty and behind the scene places that are authentic to the history of a community.
I’ve had the privilege of teaching several  plein air painting workshops in the quirky, touristy harbor town of Grand Marais, Minnesota. You get a feeling for the place as you drive into town and along the way see moose crossing signs! Behind the local fish shop, right on the man drag leading into  town there still is  a somewhat ramshackle fishing dock.   This is my impression of that spot. I often use the reality of a scene to tap into the feeling of the place as it might have been years ago. The essence of a place is sometimes best summed up by it’s past.

Sante Fe Suns

Sante Fe Suns, 8x8 acrylic on a cradled archival panel

Sunflowers, Southwest, landscape, flowers , historic, adobe

The grasses here are brown and our trees are bare with the slightest touch of red ( predicting the budding of springtime).  Often  the sky is the peculiar color of a March river - gray. So, this is the time of year when I get hungry for color, particularly the warm notes of summer.
Yesterday I picked over some of the photographs I keep in a shoe box. They are a motley group. I’ve used them for many workshops that are waylaid to the art studio when the weather does not cooperate during a plein air workshop. The photos aren’t particularly stunning either. But they do each hold a memory of a place or time that is etched in my mind.
This painting is a portrait of a tangled plot of sunflowers and hollyhocks that I photographed on a trip to Sante Fe. It was a behind the scene kind of spot away from the tourist traps and the overly “done’ areas along Canyon Road.  My recollection is of a brilliant day,  a warm patch of  sunshine and of a spectacular meal at a towny diner. All of this was triggered by a snap shot.

Egg Cetera!

Egg Cetera! 8x8 acrylic on an archival panel

Eggs, still life Impressionism, rural life

I have been an oil painter for most of my career. I love the mediums’ translucency and malleability. However, the linseed oil component of many oil paints and the solvents and traditional oil mediums have become irritants triggering some problems for me. So, I’ve been on a mission to find alternatives. Acylic  paints have most of the qualities I’ve been looking for. I appreciate the nontoxic mediums, the easy water clean up and the opportunities that acrylics provide in terms of layering and quick drying times. There is a “ but” though , painted hard and soft edges and transparency have been difficult characteristics of oil paint to translate to acrylics.
I’ve been experimenting with absorbent and resistant grounds, many acrylic mediums and  quite a few different manufacturers paints. This small painting has the painterly qualities that I enjoy.  For me , It is always the why of a painting that surpasses the how. So, I am learning to appreciate acrylic paints for what they are; exciting, frustrating at times, graphic, and often sensitive.
The subject of this daily painting came in a quiet moment,when I was thinking about Easter and the new grandchild that we will be welcoming this summer. It’s a celebration and a tribute to life.

The Music of Spring

The Music of Spring

Landscape, Impressionist, winter , snow, water,

We recently spent a few days “north of Highway 64” at our small up north cottage. The amount of snow remaining was a huge surprise. The spring melt brought the sound of running, dripping and splashing water everywhere. When we drove into town for supplies we explored the countryside in the state forest.  I admired the small openings in the woods where ephemeral streams gurgled and flowed midst the slushy banks of snow. I took a photo and stored the image in my minds eye for another day.
Whenever I work from a photograph as a reference for a painting I use it for basic shapes and values. Then, when my subject is loosely blocked in, I put the photo away. The photograph is nothing more than a starting point, it’s the idea that matters. Here’s to Spring!

The Green House

The Green House 8x8 acrylic on a cradled panel

Landscape, cityscape, architecture,winter

I went to my studio today and I wondered at the lack of snow. In Green Bay we’ve moved from snow mountains, to river flooding, to puddles and now to spring!  This painting, however, is not about springtime. It’s about a neighborhood and its resilience.
This winter I often admired this quaint street and it’s older homes. The neighborhood itself surrounds old downtown De Pere and is located very close to my studio. It reminds me of some of the established neighborhoods in my hometown. The bungalows, four-square and story-and a-half -homes  speak to me.  I have a few photographs of this Superior Street view. It's the small teal-green house that always catches my eye. Even tho the snow has melted, today I was inspired to paint the story of this little green house in winter.
When I paint, I exaggerate, I minimize, I change colors, I do what it seems the painting and I need to do to get the job done. My job or goal is to find meaning in the small pleasures that life provides and to tell a short story in paint for you , the viewer to finish.

The Bridge

Cityscape,     The Bridge , size 12 x16 ,  medium oil on gesso board panel

I’ve been drawn to the subject of bridges throughout my career. They serve as metaphor for connections  and passages and change. This bridge over the Fox River in Green Bay connects east and west sides of the city. It’s a busy hub of traffic and commerce. The River it rises above has it’s own connection to the history of this city from a time long before white settlers and French trappers discovered it’s nature and flow. As it has happened in many big cities, industry has used and abused the River. Slowly, slowly the Fox is regaining her health. This field study painting is about the movement of time (and the River)  from here to there.
The Bridge 12x16 oil