Category: Various

Bruce and I wish you a healthy, sane 2021!

People seem to be divided into two groups: those who daydream of sitting in a beach chair by the ocean, and those who prefer lakes and hills like these.

Election Art Sale here.

Order a painting on any subject of your choice, and your money will help ensure that everyone can register, vote in person or by mail, and have their vote counted in November.

Any subject of your choice including pet portrait: matted 11″ x 14″ original painting $195. ($100 off!)

House portrait matted original painting 16″ x 20″ $395. ($100 off!)

Painting is based on your photo. Ordering information here.

In this time of cancelled vacations, we have been so blessed to meet our three kids and their families in Vermont. Our two-year-old granddaughter Maggie is showing great promise as a painter, don’t you think?

This commissioned painting, based on a photo, was a real challenge. The woman who hired me wanted a birthday present for her sister Kara, whose beloved cat Tonka recently died. Skin tones are always tough, and portraying an animal who was mostly one color, while giving the illusion of three-dimensionality, is another challenge. It was fun though.

Please know that I make commissioned paintings, and 50% of everything I earn this year will support voter registration efforts in swing states. Information here.

The Serenity Prayer has guided me through personal and political distress, and now it is guiding me through an epidemic. “Stay home, wash your hands, maintain healthy habits, and release the rest,” seems like the current version of this prayer.

An old black and white photograph of this scene, set in Ireland, inspired me to pick up my paintbrush.

Every year since our children were small we have been blessed to spend the last week of each summer at Sandy Island, a YMCA Family Camp which occupies an entire small island in the middle of Lake Winnipesaukee, N.H. The same people return the same week each year, and there are lots of wonderful activities in a beautiful natural setting. We love it, and this week has been great. Here is my painting of the dining hall, where meals are served family style.

The animal most tourists want to see in national parks is the grizzly bear, and we were lucky enough to see them twice in our July trip. The first time was in Grand Teton, where a herd of elk were grazing in a meadow a half mile from our lodge. One evening, two grizzlies came out of the woods and began chasing the elk. The chase went back and forth across the meadow for nearly an hour before the grizzlies, winded, gave up. 

The second glimpse was in Yellowstone and is captured in this brief video (click here) of a mother and two cubs in the woods, causing a line of cars to stop. If you watch it carefully, you will see the motionless mother, the cub on the left, and at the last second, another cub moving in from the right. At that point, I stopped filming because a tourist (in search of the perfect photo) moved down the embankment toward the bears, and the mother got nervous and began moving toward the tourists. Luckily, at that moment, the park rangers, lights flashing, pulled up to save the tourists from themselves, no doubt for the umpteenth time.  

This is my last sketch from this trip, I hope you have enjoyed them.

This little guy, found throughout Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, is misleadingly named a “ground squirrel,” when he’s actually not a squirrel at all, but rather a smaller relation of a prairie dog. He has to keep on his toes (literally), as he’s the number one prey of the rough-legged hawks who soar above the sagebrush where he builds his (or her) extensive burrows.

We have returned from our 10 day trip to Grand Teton and Yellowstone, but I am still painting from my photos and memories, and look forward to sharing them with you over the coming couple of weeks. This sketch was done sitting on the rocks overlooking “Artist’s Point” at Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon. Click here for a quick video that Bruce took of the actual scene. You can see I’ve taken some artistic license.

We have two grandchildren, Maggie, age 1, who is trying hard to master the art of walking, and Lila, age 13, who visited us last week (by herself for the first time) from Chapel Hill. It was magical to paint together — Lila painted this lovely abstract — and reading together — the same book!

Esplanade is a tree-lined boulevard in New Orleans that leads to City Park. Here are two sketches I did in different seasons. I am sad to leave New Orleans today, and granddaughter Maggie who just turned 14 months old.

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We are in New Orleans visiting our son Andrew, daughter-in-law Eva and year-old granddaughter Maggie. They moved from Brooklyn to New Orleans in April. Here’s a quick sketch at a nearby cafe. And Maggie’s solution to beating the 90 degree heat is to sit in her kiddie pool, drinking smoothies.

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People say to me, “Isn’t watercolor the hardest medium? Acrylics and oil are so much more forgiving.“ My response was always that for me watercolor was like being an only child. It’s all I’ve ever known, and so I it feels normal to me. But as I’m learning to paint with acrylics, I’m starting to see what people mean. It’s crazy how with acrylics you can change things over and over. This little painting went through many stages.

For the last 39 years, on the first Sunday in May I have gone on the Walk for Hunger. The money raised from sponsors like you benefits food pantries and soup kitchens across Massachusetts, and the 1 in 10 residents here who sometimes go hungry. Here is a sketch I did of the Walk. If you would like to sponsor me, click here, and thank you!

Isn’t this one of life’s great truths?

Winston Churchill, who was a serious amateur painter, may have been referring to watercolors. Prince Charles is also a watercolorist, and has published two books on the subject. In England, “watercolour” is a very popular pastime.

On our trip to Paris in 2011, we stayed on Ile Saint Louis, an island in the middle of the Seine. I sat in the park at the end of the island and made this sketch using a pencil and watercolors. Sketching creates more long-term memories than snapping a photo, and I can still remember that day and the bench I sat on.

Seven years ago, we went to Paris. Recently I unearthed some photos I took while there. To soothe my wanderlust, since we’re not going back anytime soon, I decided to do a sketch from my photo.

Our son Andrew, his wife Eva and baby Maggie are moving in two weeks from New York to New Orleans, so this is my last chance to visit them in this vibrant city. While Eva is in New Orleans interviewing for teaching jobs, I came to help out. Here’s a sketch of a wonderful local coffee shop, and a photo of Maggie at 11 months.

This post honors Dick Bail, who has lived an astonishing life by following this principle.

Sketching at meetings is a good way to stay “present.” It’s counter-intuitive, but instead of daydreaming about the past or future, it’s a way to notice what is right in front of you, while also listening. All you need is a scrap of paper and a pencil.

Last weekend I was at a restorative justice training, and I did these sketches of some of my fellow participants.