Gordon Creek feeds into the Chickahominy River just before the Chickahominy feeds into the James River. This is in Virginia, along Route 5 between Richmond and Williamsburg. This is a slow, tidal, swampy/marshy creek with cypress trees growing along the shore. Continue reading “Cypress at Gordon Creek”

One of the first paintings I did when I got back into doing art was on this subject. Since I think (I hope) that I have a little bit better command of my technique and materials now, I am re-visiting the subject. Continue reading

Virginia has a wonderful state park system. Along the James River in Surrey County is Chippokes Plantation State Park, a plantation site from the olden days of yore. A fun thing to do here is to take the ferry across the river to colonial Jamestown and Williamsburg. Continue reading “Swamp at Chippokes”

I came across this beautiful vine growing beside the doorway of a shop in Chapala, Mexico about ten years ago. Photos were taken with the idea that I might like to paint the scene someday. Well, someday has come, so here it is in glowing pixels on your computer screen or mobile device. Continue reading “Thunbergia at the Door”

This colored pencil painting was inspired by the irises in our front yard. Our Siberian iris have been multiplying like crazy, so we moved some from the back garden to the front. Along with them, we planted a German (bearded) iris of unknown color (it was a freebie). When bloom time came in May, the German was yellow, which is a nice complement to the bluish purple Siberians. Continue reading “A German in Siberia”

By the power of the Holy Spirit, God’s people will bear good fruit. Colored pencil on cold-press watercolor paper, 12″ x 16″. Continue reading “Fruit of the Spirit”

This is a colored pencil work that I drew while visiting one of the local Roanoke City parks on my lunch break. Continue reading “Trees in the Park”

There is a pretty little hobby farm near our home. The old farmhouse has been restored, and surrounding it is a menagerie of goats, donkeys, miniature horses, and other critters. Continue reading “The Pumpkin Wagon”
Trying to fit a little art time into life can be challenging. For example, I work a full-time job, help my wife with her work, and try to take care of myself and our household. Then there are responsibilities for the community and family, and other interests to pursue. I’m sure everyone has similar challenges, so making time and space for art requires some ingenuity and discipline. Continue reading “My Portable Drawing Kit”
What could possibly be more fun than Watching Paint Dry?
Coqui Spirits is an ambient soundscape meant to evoke the little tree frogs that live in Puerto Rico. They are called coqui, and their song sounds a lot like their name.
As far as method or technique, the piece was created by playing two repeating sequences of sine wave notes together. One sequence was four measures; the other was seven, so the overlap created a variety of patterns. The result was processed through a chorus, using extreme settings that were varied during the performance.
I just finished painting this interpretation of Hokusai’s “A View of Aoigaoka Waterfall in Edo” using ink and acrylic wash on canvas. The dimensions are 36″ by 24″. There were a lot of steps involved in getting from a print in an art book to the final result, and I thought it would be fun to document some of the process.
Continue reading “Enlarging and Transferring an Image for a Painting”