Capital Idea

"Statehouse 150" - 8 x 10" - oil

This past Friday I was at the Ohio Statehouse with the Central Ohio Plein Air group.  The Statehouse invited us out to paint in celebration of their 150th anniversary.  It was both an honor and a challenge.  For the first hour or so of the paint out it rained cats and dogs and even included a little lightning.  Nonetheless, I was out there trying to make lemonade out of a brutal day.  I was soaked, my palette was soaked and even my attitude was a little soggy.  Fortunately the sun broke through and gave me the opportunity to work on the painting above.  This piece will be hanging up in the statehouse for the month of July.

"Park of Roses" - 8 x 10" - oil

In my second outing of the weekend with the Central Ohio Plein Air group we were at the Park of Roses.  With a grant from the park, we turned the day into a mini competition among those that were painting that day.  I was informed yesterday that this particular piece won third place.  

Crystal Clear

"In the Pasture" - 8 x 10" - oil

For the past week or so I've been working on some things in preparation for the solo shows that I have later in the year.  The first is at the B. Deemer Gallery in September and then there's the Glave Kocen Gallery in November.  Fortunately, I've been able to make some good progress on some of the pieces that I will have for those shows.  I don't know if other artists do this but I decided to put together a folder with all of my reference photos and thumbnails in order to help keep track of things and to help with my process.

On another note, yesterday I received some exciting news!  I was notified that the book "Rosa's Bus" by Jo S. Kittinger, that I illustrated last year, received the 2011 Crystal Kite Award.  I am both honored and thankful for the support of the folks at Boyds Mills Press.  The Crystal Kite Awards are given by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators to recognize great books from the 70 SCBWI regions around the world.  The SCBWI Crystal Kite Awards are chosen by other children’s book writers and illustrators, making them the only peer-given awards in publishing for young readers.

Humbly Yours

"An Autumn View" - 8 x 10" - oil

For the most part I'm a pessimist.  It's unfortunate but it helps me deal with this roller coaster ride that I call "the art life."  All in all I'm just trying to break even but every once in a while something good happens.  Today for instance, I attended the Worthington Area Art League / Ohio Plein Air holiday potluck dinner.  It was here that I was presented with a first place ribbon for the painting above.  This painting is currently part of an exhibition titled "Leaving Footprints" at the Arts Castle in Delaware, OH.  We were fortunate enough to have Don Jones, "the father of art therapy" juror the show.  You can read more about Mr. Jones in this interview (click here).

This award was an important step for me because I'm still very new to the local art scene here in Ohio.  While I can enjoy this award today, tomorrow my focus will shift back to trying to make the next painting better than the last.