The Battle of Princeton

Don't worry, I'm not going to give you a long history lesson, but these 2 paintings were done at a location steeped in Revolutionary War history.

"John Updike's Farmstead"
5x7 oil on panel

The Updike Farm only goes back to 1890, but is along the route followed by Continental troops on their way to engage British soldiers at the neighboring Thomas Clarke farm about a mile away. Now, much of this land belongs to the Institute for Advanced Study, where Albert Einstein did a lot of thinking.

"Thomas Clarke's Barn"
5x7 oil on panel

The Thomas Clarke House was built in 1772 by Quaker Thomas Clarke on his then 200-acre farm. On January 3, 1777, the Battle of Princeton was fought here, and the Clarke House served as a field hospital for the wounded of both sides. American General Hugh Mercer died here nine days later. The site is now Princeton Battlefield State Park.

I have no idea if this barn was here in 1777, but it gave me an excuse to brush up on some history. (The Clarke House would be just beyond the right edge of this painting. I'm sure I'll get around to painting the main house someday soon).

Lambertville Historical Society Show - extended

The Lambertville Historical Society Show at Coryell Gallery has been extended for another month. The new closing date is April 19.

By the way, in my last posting, the painting "Canal in Winter" shows the canal side of the Coryell Gallery - it's the light colored building in that painting.

Coryell Gallery at the Porkyard
8 Coryell Street
Lambertville, NJ 08530
[map and directions]

Small Works

Here are 2 recent paintings,both small, both winter scenes, both Lambertville, NJ:

"Canal in Winter"
5x7 oil on panel

"Lambertville Station in Winter"
5x7 oil on panel

I have a 2 person show with Beatrice Bork coming up at Artists' Gallery in May, and I thought it would be good to have some smaller works in the show. I usually do paint small but 8x10" is my usual limit. I wanted to go a little smaller for this show, so I'm doing a series of 5x7 inch paintings.

I know there's a whole genre of miniature paintings, down to 1 inch or even less... but that's just crazy! For the time being, I think 5x7" will be as small as I go. At this size, I feel I can still paint comfortably, and include a good amount of detail without altering my work habits much. Actually, I'm surprised just how much detail I can get in on these.

You'll hear more about my show in May as the time approaches.