Severn River Skipjack

 Work in progress. Puttering around in my studio I discovered an old photograph I took a few summers ago of a skipjack moored off Main Pier on the Severn. In the setting sun the white boat was a warm pink. I was also  attracted to the violet sky. I like using  a photograph  if I want to focus on mixing certain color experiments. I pushed the colors a bit to bring out violets and warm  pinks. Actually it was a very grey, overcast, humid, hot day. Still have to go back and work on ropes and reflections. I've been attracted to skipjacks since I was a boy and I came across an old derilict in a back creek. I used to play pirates on it. 11x14 pastel on light blue sanded paper.    

 finished

Plato's Doors

"There was a famous (Platonist) school in Chartres_claimed there were 2 doors to heaven: the door of winter, which let the light in, and the door of summer, which let the light out. Plato claimed that the gods entered by the first and left by the second."   "The Cleaner of Chartres" by Sally Vickers, pg 103 

 There is a whitewashed stone barn on Cromwell Bridge rd. that I have painted before. I caught it at sunset and the white wall just glowed. I was intrigued by the barn doors and saw them as Rothkoesque  abstract shapes. I omitted the tree in front of the wall and concentrated on many layers of white, yellows,pinks, and blues to build up the glowing texture of the wall. Never thought it would take so long to paint a white wall. 16x16in pastel on sanded paper

Farmhouse Offf Manor Road.

  This is a very small study of a farmhouse that sits alone on a great flat corn field. I pass it when I visit my mother  . It was derelict for years but was renovated just recently. It's pretty impressive when the setting sun hits it. 4 x12 in pastel on sanded paper  

Lock House, night

 This is a drawing of the Havre de Grace Lock house at around 7pm. there is still a lot of light in the sky from the town.11x14in pastel on sanded paper

F150

 The side view of the truck. 18x24 in oil on birch panel