St. Michael's Farm Preservation Celebration and Art Exhibit

"St. Alphonsus From St. Michael's"
6x8 oil on canvas

"St Michael's Creek"
6x8 oil on board

The D&R Greenway Land Trust recently preserved the 340 acre Saint Michael property just outside of Hopewell Borough and this weekend they're having a celebration to mark the occasion, featuring:

• live music
• food and beverage vendors
• the First Annual Hopewell Valley Trail Run
• information about the Preserve
• an exhibition & sale of plein-air art of the St. Michaels Farm Preserve (which is how I fit in)

"Hopewell Valley"
8x10 oil on board

The Land Trust invited artists to paint and photograph the Preserve last weekend. It was my first visit to the property, and I was amazed at what an absolutely gorgeous piece of land it is - 200 acres of farmland, 140 acres of mature forest, creeks and streams, views overlooking Hopewell and Hopewell Valley. I am so thankful that this was preserved! If it were developed, it could have been covered with up to 1,020 homes plus commercial space.

Last weekend I did the 4 small paintings shown here and they'll all be exhibited at the celebration being held this Saturday, June 12 from 11:30 to 2:30. (Rain date June 13.) Park at the Hopewell Elementary School on Princeton Ave, and shuttles will be taking people to the park entrance on Aunt Molly Road. It's recommended to bring a blanket or lawn chair with you. Visit the D&R Greenway website for more information.

35% of the proceeds from all artwork sold will go to the D&R Greenway, so your purchases will help support a good cause!

"St Michael's Barn"
8x10 oil on linen

The Preserve takes it's name from the St. Michael's Orphanage and Industrial School built there in 1896 by the Diocese of Trenton. The orphanage closed in 1973 and the land remained undeveloped until the Diocese approached the Greenway in 2004 and set the wheels in motion for preserving the property. Fortunately for us, that came to pass, and the land was officially preserved as of Jan 19, 2010. I hope you can attend the celebration and see St. Michael's for yourself.

By the way, I painted inside the barn one day because it was so hot and windy outside. The barn provided some nice relief, and a group of barn swallows provided some nice entertainment while I painted.

Artsbridge 16

"On Cider Mill Road"
18x24"  oil on canvas

My painting "On Cider Mill Road" was accepted into the Artsbridge 16th Annual Juried Show.  Artsbridge is the area's premier arts organization and this annual show always includes some of the region's finest artists.  The show opens June 5 and runs through June 27, 2009 at:

Riverrun Gallery
287 South Main Street (Rt 29)
Lambertville, NJ 08530
609-397-3349

Opening reception is Saturday June 5, from 6 to 9 pm.

Cider Mill Road is on one of my regular cycling routes and I go by this farm often.  I'm always intrigued by the little group of farm building surrounded by wide open fields and not much else in sight.   But on this day it was they sky that really grabbed my attention.   The sky was was doing that a lot to me last year.   Lately my attention is shifting to something else, but more on that later.   I hope you get a chance to see the show.

Best in Show

My painting "Rainbow Run Winter" was awarded Best in Show at the Hillsborough Cultural Arts Commission's 6th Annual Art Exhibition last night.

"Rainbow Run Winter"
12x24" oil on canvas

Same as last year, the show was divided into adult and student categories, and just like last year, some the student work was really impressive. But the star of this year's show was last year’s grand prize winner from the student category, Gabrielle Fiorillo - she was commissioned by the Cultural Arts Commission to paint a portrait for the township's Public Art Collection. When the portrait was unveiled last night, it was hard to believe that this was the work of the 17 year old student standing next to it, it was that well done.  It was a beautifully painted portrait of Hillsborough resident Anna Case, daughter of a South Branch blacksmith, who in the early 1900's, rose to become a star at the Metropolitan Opera, a best-selling Edison recording artist, an in-demand concert performer, and a pioneer in both radio and motion pictures. (I plagiarized that bit from Arts Commission chairman Greg Gillette who hosted the event last night).

The Hillsborough Art Show gets better every year, and when some of these students start entering in the adult category, I could be in trouble!

6th Annual Hillsborough Art Exhibition

"Rainbow Run Winter"
12x24" oil on canvas

My painting "Rainbow Run Winter" will be in the Hillsborough Cultural and Arts Commission's 6th Annual Art Exhibition.  That confuses me a bit because last year's show was billed as the 4th Annual - I wonder what happened to the 5th?   Hillsborough is the Township that I live in and I selected this painting because it's a Hillsborough Township scene.    The farm is named Rainbow Run Farm after the little creek you see in the foreground, it's on Rainbow Hill Road near Clover Hill, NJ.   I keep looking for rainbows there and someday I'll see one!

The show takes place at:

Hillsborough Twp Municipal Complex
379 South Branch Road
Hillsborough, NJ 08844

Unfortunately it's a very short event and the only time for the general public to see the show is at a reception this Thursday, May 20, from 7:30pm to 9:00pm.

Springtime Travels

I had a springtime cold or virus recently, or maybe it was an allergy since the pollen is so bad this spring. I was feeling pretty miserable for about 2 weeks and didn't have the energy to drive anywhere to paint.  And I didn't want to be far from my medicine cabinet!   So one day I wasn't feeling too bad, I took my paintbox across the street and painted "Amwell Valley Clouds", the view from my mailbox:

"Amwell Valley Clouds"
11x14" oil on canvas on board

Once I was feeling a little better, I took the long 2 mile drive to the bottom of the hill I live on, to a nice peaceful spot on the Neshanic River and I painted this one:

"Springtime on the Neshanic"
7x14" oil on board

I'm feeling much better now, but I'm kind of grateful that my illness forced me to have a better look at some of the things right under my nose.   Sometimes it's so easy to overlook the obvious!

Small Ones

"Otto's Farm, First Day of Spring"
5x7" oil on board

For the paintings I do on location, en plein air, I typically paint 8x10" or 11x14".   These are convenient sizes to carry around and to complete in a short span of time.  Every year my goal is to paint a few larger works on location and this year is no exception, but right now I seem to gravitating towards even smaller works.  These 3 5x7" paintings are some of my recent efforts.

"Springtime on the Neshanic"
5x7" oil on board

"East Amwell Spring"
5x7" oil on board

Philadelphia Sketch Club 147th Annual Small Oils Show

"Dusk, Amwell Valley"
11x14" oil on board

This painting was accepted into the 147th Annual Exhibition of Small Oil Paintings at the Philadelphia Sketch Club.  The exhibition features over 150 works by prominent and emerging artists and runs April 9 through April 24, 2010 at:

The Philadelphia Sketch Club
235 S. Camac Street
Philadelphia, Pa 19107

Opening reception is Sunday, April 11 from 2 to 4 pm.

The oldest continuing artists organization in America, the Philadelphia Sketch Club was founded in 1860 and is celebrating its 150 th anniversary this year.

Gallery hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 1 pm to 5 pm.

Finding Color

After a long, cold and snowy winter, spring has finally arrived and it's nice to be able to get back outside to paint again.  But as nice as it was to paint outdoors, one problem was that everything appeared so gray and colorless, more so than usual - maybe because of the brutal winter we had. The challenge was to find some color in the scene and exaggerate it enough to make a good painting while still keeping it realistic.

This painting was done on the last day of winter along the D&R Canal in Ewing, NJ.   The foreground bridge is the Septa commuter rail line running from West Trenton to Philadelphia. The bridge in the distance is Lower Ferry Road:

"D&R Canal, Last Day of Winter"
8x10" oil on board

The rusted railroad bridge provided a nice bit of color, but I really played up the warmth of the trees and the blue of the sky reflecting in the water.   I think this contrast of the blue and the warm browns in the water really brings some life to the painting.

This next one was done on the 2nd day of spring at the still undeveloped Mercer Park North West off of Cold Soil Road in Lawrenceville, NJ:

"Mercer Park North West, Beginning of Spring"
8x10" oil on board

Here, the sky really was a beautiful blue, but the field needed some help.  In real life it was a cool gray but had some warm browns in the distance.  I played up that warmth and also the hint of red in the tree line caused by the swelling buds on the trees.  The color was there but you really look to find it.

And speaking of color, this coming weekend is the last weekend of my show "Local Color" at Artists' Gallery in Lambertville.   The gallery is open regular hours:  Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 6pm each day.   We're not closed for Easter.