I'll bet that you thought that I had "Moo"ved on from creating my blog. I have been very busy. I just finished my last summer show this past weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio. If I should ever stop doing these shows, I would be very sad. They are my opportunity to interact with other artists and get responses from the viewing public. While making money is a plus, the real value is that sense of self-worth that the comments create. Many people visit these shows to interact and learn from the participating artists. As a former classroom teacher and a thirty year veteran of street fairs, I enjoy every exchange with the visitors to the different fairs. So thank you for a season of encouragement and enlightening conversations. I do appreciate them!

Today's painting is a good segue into reminding you that the Fairfield County Fair begins this Sunday and continues through the following Saturday. This county fair, the last in the state of Ohio, is a joy to attend. The grounds are located only a few blocks from my home, making it within walking distance. The time of year, the setting, the agricultural exhibits, the fair food and the rides make it a trip that anyone would enjoy. The first Sunday the admission to the grounds is free. I encourage you to visit our "fair" city- Lancaster, Ohio.

Inspired by my love of patterns, this piece creates the "lay of the land" in a non-traditional manner. It is my hope that I have created a sense of movement and rhythm in this painting.

Note to all viewers of this blog all work shown to date has been sold. I have one show left this season. In October I will be at Cincinnati Hyde Park. I would like to thank all of you for making my year successful. I am taking time off to "restock" and enjoy my great family. With each painting I have expanded my knowledge of my medium and gained a better insight into my thought processes. Creating art is a very rewarding and personal experience. Once I have more paintings I will again share . If you are a fellow painter, "Happy Painting!" To my followers, "Thank you for your interest."

It's a Thursday morning and I have just finished another painting. We are gearing up for our final three outdoor shows. The season has been good for us. I think that we are ready to call it a season. While I love painting, the production of a quantity of paintings each week to sell is at times very difficult. In working in this fashion, I find success and I find failure. The failure through the years has become easier to deal with- I can look at the painting and say that it doesn't work and begin again. So as I leave for the day I hope that each of you realize that there are going to be failures and that we each move on in search of success. Have a great weekend. See at Salt Fork.

We just finished hanging 32 pieces of work for the annual art walk in downtown Lancaster. For this 12 day exhibit, I have included many pieces that have never been shown. It is always exciting to get reactions about new work. Because of the great diversity of my work, I often hear ,"Did the same person do all of these?". I reply that it is curiosity that fosters the many different appearances of my work. While I enjoy working with all of the basics, I do not want the my of paintings to be photographic. There is the need to go beyond the mastery of watercolor techniques. I want to bring something to my paintings that fosters independent thought. This need is the starting point for the real adventure in painting. For me, it takes real courage to create images that are not traditional in their appearance. Creating images that "look real" is a measuring stick that I could and should learn to live without in my painting. I hope that this blog serves as documentation that I do,indeed, possess skills of watercolor mastery and that my search for self through experimentation is a continuous process. I have been fortunate that my followers have encouraged this exploration. Sooooo......Paint on Ed! Paint on!

Good afternoon. I am still painting for Friday night. There are times that I feel I can not paint what I want. Then I get a hold of myself and realize I do not have to paint for anyone else but myself. Today's painting actually started out to be flowers. I am not particularly fond of painting flowers but I went to my garden and spent considerable time drawing flowers. I even cut some of them to bring in so I could get the hues correct. About two hours into the painting I was bored with the act of painting the flowers. I became a little angry with myself and scrubbed them all out. This is the painting that resulted from my disdain for flower painting- hence the title "Where Flowers Once Grew". Dr. Coretta Mitchell at the Ohio State University was always amazed at how I could turn my "mistakes" into positives. So this one's for you Dr. Mitchell. Remember you have the power to change things in paiinting and in life.

Seldom do I paint people. I find this rather odd, considering that I am fascinated by all of the people who I have met throughout my life. I met this young man at the Lilyfest last weekend. He and his friend, Dale Hatfield, were working with chainsaw sculptures. Lover of patterns , I liked the striped shirt and the shadow cast by the hat on his face. I have attempted to give the portrait a vignette(a painting with no definite borders) appearance. I like the simplistic, unfinished look of the shirt and the irregular edges that surround the subject.. I hope that you enjoy the painting. It, plus other new works, will be introduced at the Lancaster Festival Artwalk this Friday night. I am sponsored by Standing Stone National Bank. If you have not attended this event it is quite the social event for my hometown. From my viewpoint, people look like they are having a good time. Maybe I'll see you there! Have a great day.

This is a cropped full sheet painting that I just completed. I painted all day yesterday and through the night. At 5:30 a.m. I needed a break for a little shut eye. After breakfast it was back to this painting. At 1:30 I needed to be in the hills to put up my display for the Lilyfest this weekend. Two hours later I returned home. After working a short time. I stopped to make a quick trip to Columbus. Arriving home I continue to work on this painting. Because I must produce a large quantity of work in order to do outdoor art festivals, I find myself going many different directions. This helps make my days(and nights) more interesting. We carry about 30 framed pieces with us to all shows. If I sell work then I must replace it. Undoubtedly I always find passages in the piece that I would do differently if beginning again. (Paintng is much like life in this aspect-there are so many things that I would approach differently given the opportunity.)
Hope to see you at the Lilyfest.

This red sky painting was completed before yesterday's post. While I started yesterday's painting first, I felt that it was not working so I began to paint this image. I completed it and then returned to the red sky painting that I posted yesterday. This painting is a little more straight forward in its subject and does not invite as much participation on the part of the viewer. As always, when painting things that are similar in subject matter, I find myself comparing the works. One Christmas I decided to give my daughter and daughter-in-law a painting similar to one that hangs in my kitchen. My daughter had stated that she really liked it. I decided that I could not paint two because when the first picked her painting the other would feel that they got the lesser of the two. My solution- I painted three. They each, therefore, had a choice. The remaining painting was sold to someone outside of the family.

As I paint, I find myself returning to many of my favorite things . I have used red as my sky in quite a few of my works. I think that the hue is a warm and exciting addition to the painting. In this work my thought process is as always- move my hues throughout the painting. If I use the hue in one area I repeat it in yet another area. This helps hold the work together. This work also includes curves that are repeated. In order to create the illusion of a large space, I take my elements off all four edges of the painting. Rhythms are created through the repetition of hues, lines, shapes. I attempt to create a landscape that is both familiar and still new. I have attempted to let my viewer see the landscape through my eyes. I encourage them to enjoy the elements(color, shapes, textures, lines, values). The landscape has merely been a vehicle used to enable me to work with these elements.
Due to the nature of doing outdoor shows, I find that many times I do not get the opportunity to "live with" the painting. Given the opportunity to have the work long enough to put it away and return to it days later, I will find areas in the composition that I can improve upon. Returning to the piece a few days later often permits me to "see" my work in a different way. This particular piece sold one day after I created it. I hope that it will bring pleasure to its new owner with each look.

This is a cropped area of one of my paintings that my Father gave me. It was created by his mother, Tella Kitchen. Her story telling was always one of her assets. Being able to tell stories with images was even better. What a wonderful way to communicate your life stories to others through paintings. I find myself always thinking of my life and the images associated with it. I tell Mary Anne( my lovely wife) that I, too, am going to paint many of the events of my life growing up in Lancaster, Ohio. Did you ever stop to think about all of the changes that you have seen in your lifetime? Do you think about those friends and family members who have shared these same changes? Maybe you could create a keepsake for someone you love to cherish. It doesn't have to be painting. It might be a scrapbook with all of your family identified. I created a calendar book with all the important days and people in our life for my dear sister. It also gave me the opportunity to continue that sibling rivalry. It might be a written story about your life. I wrote books to my children as they grew. They received them at a wedding rehearsal dinner. I gave my son a blank book hoping that he will take the time to write "love" notes to his children. My wife and I created books for her brothers and sister using Snapfish. It made a one of a kind Christmas present. Maybe you can pass on a keepsake to someone while your both here to enjoy the exchange. I know that we are all busy but....these gifts are gifts that only you can give someone. It doesn't have to be big or elaborate, it has to be personal. Have a great day.