North and South, Yin and Yang

In my last post, I showed 2 paintings of the Black Bass Hotel - one view looking north, the other looking south. It seems I've done the same thing again, this time with the Lambertville Station. Here's a late October scene, looking north and directly at the spot where the 2nd painting is done from:

"Lambertville Station"
8x10 oil on panel

And here's the view from late November looking south, directly at the spot the 1st painting was done from:

"Lambertville Station, November"
11x14 oil on panel

So what's that have to do with yin and yang? Not a whole lot. But I was looking up the definition of yin and yang and it mentions that yin literally means 'the shady place', yang literally means 'the sunny place', and that sounds fairly artistic. So much for my ventures into Chinese philosophy, I think I'll stick with painting!

The Black Bass Hotel

"Black Bass Hotel Looking North"
14x11 oil on canvas

The Black Bass Hotel is a Bucks County, Pa landmark that every local artist seems to paint eventually. I finally took my stab at it and did a view of the building from both directions. Up until now, I've only painted the back of the building from across the Delaware River at Bull's Island. So now I've got it covered from all angles!

"Black Bass Hotel Looking South"
11x14 oil on canvas

Gray Day Paintings

"Rockafellows Mill Bridge"
8x10 oil on canvas panel

The last couple of times I got out to paint on location, it was pretty gray and overcast, but what the heck - I paint far too many bright, sunny day paintings. These 2 were done a couple of miles apart on the South Branch of the Raritan River near Three Bridges, NJ.

"November On The South Branch"
8x10 oil on linen panel

Images of the Mills 2008

"Behind the Prallsville Mill"
10x8 oil on canvas on panel

I've posted this painting a couple of times already but here it is again - it's my entry into this year's "Images of the Mills" show at Prallsville Mills in Stockton, NJ. The theme of this show is, of course, images of the Prallsville Mills complex or the the immediate surrounding area. I paint near the Mill quite a bit but this is my only recent painting of the mill itself.

The show runs from Wednesday, Nov 12 to Wednesday, Nov 19 and is open daily from 12 noon to 5 pm.

Opening reception if this Friday, Nov 14, 6 to 9 pm.

Backyard Paintings

A couple of weeks ago, we had some nice weather but I didn't have enough time to drive somewhere to paint. I really wanted to get out, paint some autumn scenes, and enjoy the nice day, so I took my paintbox out in my back yard and did this one - the back of my yard is wooded and the property behind me is all woods:

"October Woods"
10x8 oil on canvas on panel

The following day I had the same dilemma so it was out into my back yard again. This is my garage (which is nearly big enough to fit one car into):

"Late October"
8x10 oil on canvas on panel

I hardly ever think of painting in my own yard, but I realize I have some good scenery a few minutes from my back door so I'm hoping to do some snow scenes back here this winter. It'll be nice to know that a cup of hot chocolate won't be very far away.

Autumn Colors

"October Maples"
8x10 oil on panel

Autumn is in the air - actually a few mornings lately have felt more like winter than autumn, but it's a nice break from painting the greens of summer. The above painting was done at Washington Crossing Park, NJ. I went there planning to paint some of the old buildings, but the way the sun was hitting those trees was just too nice to pass up. I'm not sure if they really were maples, but "October Maples" sounded like a good title.

The scene below is more representative of what I really like about autumn: the muted greens that remind me of a Corot painting. This was another one where I got sidetracked: I was planning to paint along the D&R Canal at Griggstown, NJ - a place I paint very often, but I decided to wander around the fields by the Millstone River first. In mid summer, these fields never attract me, but now, those grayish greens and browns, the way the late afternoon light was raking across the field... I painted here instead and never made it to the canal (which runs just behind the distant tree line):

"Millstone Fields"
8x10 oil on panel

Bell's Tavern / Faces and Places reprise

"Coryell Sunset"
16x20 oil on panel

Through the month of October, I'm showing my paintings at Bell's Tavern in Lambertville along with J. Stacy Rogers. Stacy and I basically took our 2-man show, Faces & Places, on the road and moved our paintings from the Artists' Gallery to Bell's on Monday. So if you missed our show at the Artists' Gallery, here's your chance to see it while enjoying a good meal at Bell's. There's a pretty good beer selection on tap too. I'm also showing a couple of Lambertville townscapes that were not part of Faces & Places, so it won't be exactly the same show.

"Behind the Prallsville Mill"
10x8 oil on canvas on panel

Bells' has been showing local artists' works for many years and once again, I'm grateful for the opportunity they've given us:

Bell's Tavern
183 North Union Street
Lambertville, NJ 08530
[map & directions]

Open for dinner only:
Mon-Thurs 6pm-9:30pm, Fri & Sat 5pm-10pm, Sun 5pm-9pm

Color, Line, and Light

Riverside Symphonia, Delaware Valley's own orchestra, is having a world premiere of a new orchestral work by composer Robert Maggio (1999 Fellow), inspired by the Impressionist landscape painters of the Delaware Valley. The work will be performed along with video projections showing the works of several local painters, including many of my own.

“Color, Line, and Light” as part of "Centuries Combined"
Friday and Saturday, October 3 and 4, 2008, 8p.m.
Riverside Symphonia
Church of St. John the Divine
44 Bridge Street,
Lambertville, N.J.

For tickets and more info, call 609.397.7300

Additionally, a reception featuring many of these painters' works will be hosted by and at the des Champs Gallery this Sunday, Sept 28 from 4 to 6 pm:

des Champs Gallery
7 Lambert Lane
Lambertville, NJ 08530

Here are a couple of my paintings that will be used in the Symphonia performance:

"Wickecheoke Creek"
8x10 oil on wood panel

"October on the Raritan"
16x20 oil on canvas

Phillips Mill 79th Annual Juried Art Exhibition and Award

My painting "Towards Lumberville" was accepted into this year's Phillips Mill Annual Juried Show, and it has won an award for small landscapes in oil:

"Towards Lumberville"
11x14 oil on panel

This scene was done en plein air at at Bull's Island Recreation Area, looking across the Delaware River towards Lumberville, Pa. The suspension bridge is a narrow pedestrian bridge built on the supports remaining from a larger bridge. The white building across the river is the popular Black Bass Hotel in Lumberville, Pa.

The Phillips Mill Juried Show is probably the biggest such show in the region - needless to say, it's a thrill just to be accepted into the show, let alone to win an award.

The show runs Sept 20 through Oct 25, 2008. Phillips Mill is located at 2619 River Road (Rt 32) about 1 1/2 miles north of New Hope, Pa. and is open daily from 1 to 5 pm.

And have I mentioned what a busy month it's been for me?!!

Heritage Conservancy Benefit Sale at Artists Gallery

"Hortulus Farm"
14x11 oil on canvas

Artists' Gallery members are having a special one-weekend only exhibition and sale entitled "A Brush With Nature" to benefit the Heritage Conservancy, an organization that preserves a great deal of the natural and historic heritage of this area. We painted some of the properties preserved by the Conservancy, and will be exhibiting them this coming weekend. 40% of the sale price of these especially prepared artworks will be donated to the Heritage Conservancy as well as 10% of everything else for sale in the Artists' Gallery this weekend.

I'll be showing 2 paintings of Hortulus Farm, a pretty fascinating property in Bucks County with extensive gardens open to the public. It's well worth a visit if you're in the area.

Friday evening will be a private opening reception for Heritage Conservancy donors, and the exhibit is open to the public 11am - 6pm, this Saturday and Sunday, Sept 20 and 21 at:

Artists' Gallery
32 Coryell Street
Lambertville, NJ
[map & directions]

And don't forget, my 2-man show with Stacy Rogers, "Faces & Places", is still going on at the Artists' Gallery through October 5.

The Land That Feeds You - Celebrating New Jersey Farms and Farmers

I've been invited to be part of an exhibition entitled "The Land That Feeds You", a mixed media art exhibition celebrating agriculture in the Garden State, being held at the D&R Greenway headquarters' gallery. I'll have 10 paintings in the show, all scenes of New Jersey farmland, barns and cows. 7 of my paintings appear in the poster shown above. (Sorry, no prizes for identifying all 7!)

Marie L. Matthews Gallery at the Johnson Education Center
One Preservation Place
Princeton, NJ 08540
[map & directions]

Exhibition Dates: Sept 15 - Nov 7

Opening Reception: on Thursday, Sept 25, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. featuring art, local foods and wines.
Featured Speakers: Charles Kuperus, Secretary, NJ Dept. of Agriculture, "Import of Agriculture to the Garden State" and Michelle Mulder, Counsel to Congressman Rush Holt, on the Congressman's New Community Supported Agriculture Bill.

Here's one of the paintings I'll have in this show, a scene on Reaville Road, Reaville, NJ (not far from Ringoes, NJ):

"Reaville Road Barns"
12x36 oil on canvas

Faces and Places / Selections

The subtitle of this post should be "When It Rains, It Pours!"

It's been a while since I've had a big showing of my work, and now I have 2 shows opening this weekend, another one later this month, and probably 2 more next month. When it rains, it pours!

It seems like we've had a month straight of really beautiful weather, but for my 2 opening receptions this Saturday night, hurricane Hanna is supposed to be blowing through - wind, heavy rain, the usual hurricane remnant stuff. When it rains it pours! But I'm hoping for the best.

Faces and Places

This is my big event for the year, and yesterday I finished hanging paintings for "Faces & Places", my 2-man show with J. Stacy Rogers at the Artists' Gallery. Opening reception is this Saturday, Sept 6 from 6pm to 9pm. The show runs from Sept 5 to Oct 5, 2008.

Artists' Gallery is at 32 Coryell Street, Lambertville, NJ [map & directions]. Gallery hours: every Friday, Saturday and Sunday 11am-6pm

If you can't make the opening due to bad weather, I'll also be at the gallery all day on Sunday, Sept 7 from 11am - 6pm.

For our 2-person shows at the gallery, each artist gets one wall in the front room. Here's my wall, as I left it yesterday:



Stacy's wall wasn't hung yet when I was there with my camera, but here are 2 of the portraits he'll be showing at Faces & Places. Stacy's main focus is on commissioned portraits and you can find more information about that on his website: J. Stacy Rogers.

"Natalie II"
by J. Stacy Rogers

"Old Salt"
self-portrait by J. Stacy Rogers

Selections

The other show opening this weekend: New Hope Arts invited select artists who have exhibited there over the past year to be part of a group show called "Selections". This show runs from Sept 4 through Sept 28. I'll have 6 paintings in this show and I'll be exhibiting along with a dozen or so other artists. Opening reception is also Saturday, Sept 6 from 7 to 9pm, but I'll be across the river all that evening for my 2-man show at Artists' Gallery.

New Hope Arts is at 2 Stockton Ave, New Hope Pa, on the corner of Stockton & Bridge Streets, 2nd floor [map & directions]. Gallery hours: Thursday thru Sunday, 12 - 5pm, open until 8pm on Saturdays. Here's one of the pieces I'll have in this show:

"Tinicum Park Shadows"
11x14 oil on panel

2-man show in September

From Sept 5 to Oct 5, 2008 I'm doing a 2-man show with J. Stacy Rogers at the Artists' Gallery in Lambertville, NJ. Opening reception is Saturday Sept 6 from 6pm to 9pm.

Stacy is a wonderful portrait painter and will be showing formal portraits along with scenes of people going about their daily lives. I'll be showing my local landscapes, devoid of people as usual. The show's title is "Faces & Places", and pardon the pun, but between the two of us, it should paint a pretty complete portrait of the region. Here's a sneak peek at the postcard:


I'll be posting more details in a couple of weeks, closer to the opening date.

The Best Laid Plans...

One day last week, it was a beautiful afternoon, I packed up my painting supplies, checked my checklist, and headed out to paint. I arrived in Lambertville, planning to paint near the wing dam, but when I opened my trunk, it seems I forgot to bring the tripod that I need to mount my paintbox on. So much for checklists! I really need that tripod! But, instead of heading back home defeated, I looked around for something I could rest the paintbox on... there was one picnic table in a shady spot, so:

"The Boat Club"
11x14 oil on panel

This is the Lambertville Boat Club, along the banks of the Delaware River The bridge from Lambertville to New Hope can be seen in the distance.

The Neshanic Mill and Bridges

"The Neshanic Mill"
11x14 oil on panel

This old mill in Neshanic Station is a frequently used symbol for my local municipality, Hillsborough Township. To be honest, it's pretty atypical of what most of the township looks like, but what the heck - it's a nice scene. The mill is now a private residence, and must be a wonderful place to live (as long as the river is behaving). That old iron trestle railroad bridge is no longer used - trains run on this newer old bridge 1/4 mile downstream:

"Neshanic Railroad Bridge"
8x10 oil on panel

I did both paintings from a nice shady spot under another iron trestle bridge for cars - the mill is looking upstream, the active railroad bridge is looking downstream. As of yet, I've never painted this middle bridge - the one I'm standing under - but it's a picturesque bridge so I'll have to do something about that soon.