Present In Nature

"Plum Brook"
near Sergeantsville, NJ
11x14 oil on panel

As part of their 20th Anniversary celebration, the D&R Greenway Land Trust has organized an exhibition entitled "Present In Nature" featuring the work of 18 artists who paint outdoors on location, and I am proud to be included in this group of artists. All of the work I have in this show was painted this summer on land preserved by the D&R Greenway Land Trust.

Opening Reception is Friday, Sept 25, from 5:30pm - 7:30pm at:

D&R Greenway's Marie L. Matthews Gallery
at Johnson Education Center
One Preservation Place, Princeton, NJ 08540
Phone: 609-924-4646
[map & directions] (please note the detour mentioned below!)

The show runs Sept 14 - Oct 30, 2009.

The gallery is open Monday - Friday, 10am - 4pm, but it's best to call the Greenway at 609-924-4646 first to confirm that the facility is not being used for other purposes.

"Cornfield Trail"
at The Institute Woods, Princeton, NJ
11x14 oil on panel

Please note: a bridge is being replaced on Rosedale Road and you cannot reach the Johnson Education Center by driving east on Rosedale from Carter Rd. You must take Rosedale west from Elm Road / Great Road.

D&R Greenway Land Trust Anniversary and Silent Auction

"Cedar Ridge Woods"
11x14 oil on panel

As I reported back in May, the D&R Greenway Land Trust invited a group of artists including myself to paint on some of the properties they've preserved and our work would be shown in September. Well, that time is approaching! In addition to a group show of our work, each of the artists is donating 1 piece to the Land Trust for a silent auction. "Cedar Ridge Woods", shown above, is my donation.

The silent auction is just part of the D&R Greenway's 20th Anniversary, Celebrating 20 Years of Land Preservation & Stewardship which will be held:

Sunday, Sept 13, 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Johnson Education Center
One Preservation Place, Princeton, NJ 08540
Phone: 609.924.4646
[map & directions] (please note the detour mentioned below!)

Reception - 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm: Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres prepared by The Ferry House (where I have an ongoing exhibition of my work), an auction of specially commissioned D&R Greenway landscapes followed by an Award Presentation at 6:30 p.m. where Representative Rush Holt will be presented with the 2009 Donald B. Jones Conservation Award.

Tickets for this event are $100 per person, RSVP by September 8 - you can reach them at 609.924.4646.

To preview the paintings which will be auctioned, visit the Johnson Education Center or visit www.drgreenway.org - an Auction Gallery link should appear there sometime this week.

A separate reception for the group show of our work will be held on Friday, September 25, 5:30 - 7:30 pm, and I'll post more about that later. (This event will be free of charge).

Please note: a bridge is being replaced on Rosedale Road and you cannot reach the Johnson Education Center by driving east on Rosedale from Carter Rd. You must take Rosedale west from Elm Road / Great Road.

Art on the Move

Ribbon of Life, part II

The "Ribbon of Life" exhibition, celebrating 175 years of the D&R Canal, is moving from Princeton to Stockton. The painting I had in this show in Princeton is now in the possession of it's new owner, so I'm moving my painting "D&R Canal Bridge" from the plein air show at Riverrun Gallery to the "Ribbon of Life" exhibit in Stockton - it just seemed a really good fit for this show. Art is on the move!

"D&R Canal Bridge at Holcombe Farm"
11x14 oil on panel

The opening in Stockton will be at, and coincide with, the Grand Opening of the Sawmill at Prallsville Mills. Renovation of the sawmill building was recently completed and this will be the first public event held here. I had a peek inside the sawmill and it's a really nice space - very open, airy and rustic, with nice views out onto the rest of the Prallsville Mills complex of historical buildings. I didn't know that the mill race still ran under the sawmill but you can hear it clearly from inside the building.

The Grand Opening will be on Sunday, Aug 30 from 1 to 4 pm at Prallsville Mills Sawmill, Stockton, NJ. For more information, visit the Delaware River Mill Society website.

The festivities also include a Family Fun Day Picnic,$5 per adult - it should be a fun day at the Mill! (Admission to the art exhibition is free).

Behind the Barns

"Behind the Barns"
11x14 oil on canvas on panel

Wow, was it hot when I painted this one! I had a nice shady spot to work from, but it was still pretty brutal. This is at the Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association Nature Preserve off Titus Mill Road near Pennington, NJ. I've painted this group of barns many times before but I never get tired of painting here.

Keeping Things Whole

And now for something completely different...
I'm not a big poetry reader but this one really strikes me and I wanted to share it:


Keeping Things Whole
by Mark Strand

In a field
I am the absence
of field.
This is
always the case.
Wherever I am
I am what is missing.

When I walk
I part the air
and always
the air moves in
to fill the spaces
where my body's been.

We all have reasons
for moving.
I move
to keep things whole.

Kaz and Katzenbach

I'm showing my work along with Charles Katzenback all of August and September at:

Bell's Tavern
183 North Union Street
Lambertville, NJ 08530

Chuck creates multi-layered assemblages of painted glass and mirrors that are quite fascinating to see, and quite a contrast to the landscapes that I'm showing. The work went up today so stop in and have a look (and a beer or a bite to eat too).

As always, I want to put in a plug for Bell's - the food is always great, the prices low, the staff friendly, a good selection of beers on tap, it's one of my favorite places to eat. If you've never been there, you're missing one of the best neighborhood restaurants around. And if that isn't enough, they've always been big supporters of local artists. How can you top that?! I hope you get a chance to stop in.

First Annual Plein Air Invitational at Riverrun Gallery

"D&R Canal Bridge at Holcombe Farm"
11x14 oil on panel

Riverrun Gallery in Lambertville is hosting it's First Annual Plein Air Invitational, where 18 of the region's finest plein air painters were invited to show their work and I'll be one of the exhibiting artists.

The above painting is one that I'll have in the show. It was done earlier this summer at the Holcombe-Jimison Farm near Lambertville, NJ.

Truth be told, I had a small part in planning this show with gallery owner Ty Hodanish. Ty is a strong advocate of plein air painting and he thought it would be great to have a show where all of the work exhibited was painted on location. Plein Air simply means that the work was painted outdoors, on location, as opposed to being painted in the studio from photographs. At it's best, plein air paintings have a freshness and spontaneity that's hard to achieve in studio paintings.

Opening Reception is Saturday, Aug 8 from 7pm to 9pm.
The show runs August 8 through August 30 at:

Riverrun Gallery at Laceworks
287 South Main Street (Rt 29)
Lambertville, NJ 08530
609-397-3349
[map & directions]
Gallery hours: noon - 5pm daily, closed Tuesdays

Each artist will have 5 or so pieces in the show and with 18 artists, there should be a good variety of work to be seen: oil paintings, watercolors, pastels, with scenery ranging from Bucks County to New Mexico to NYC. It should be a good show, I hope you can make it!

Solebury Farm

"Solebury Farm"
8x10 oil on canvas on board

For this scene, I went to Carousel Lavender Farm in Bucks County, Pa to paint the lavender fields in bloom, but I ended up painting the view looking across the road at a different farm. You just never know what's going to inspire you until you get there.