Thought I would share with everyone one of the items that my daughter and daughter-in-law produce under Milk Moon Kids. They will be next to us tomorrow at the Upper Arlington Labor Day Art Show. This is in Northam Park from 10-5 (200 artists). It is always fun to watch your children develop a following. Here's to a rain free outdoor art show. Stop by if your in the area.

Well, the word is out. I was very excited and very nervous about being asked to create the image for the 2011 Lancaster Festival. With the honor came pressure (my own) to create an image. When I asked what they would like me to paint, the answer was whatever I thought would reflect the spirit of the festival. I worked for months and created quite a few end "products". The chosen works depicted the tools of the artist and the artists and their tools. I hope that my work will do justice to the spirit of the festival and to the many local artists in our community who make Lancaster a great place to live. I hope you enjoy it.

It's Friday night. My yard is manicured. My house is spotless. My paintings are on the walls. It's that time of the year. My annual open house. As I get older this annual event gets harder to do. But I would miss it and it certainly helps keep me active mentally and physically.

This painting was created for a magnet. I hope that you are "attracted" to it. This piece , actually, is not the finished piece. After living with what I thought was the "finished " piece for a while, I saw that it needed a little tweeking.
What might you do to tweek this work. Hey, no fair saying, "Start over!"

I've called this particular painting "Simply Red". The image does not do justice to the final piece due to the size differences. I enjoyed creating all of the subtle changes in the background area. Each brushstroke forces me to think about the impact it has on the piece. Painting in this fashion certainly underscores the need to think about every part of the painting. The confines of not creating a photographic image certainly changes the mindset. Here 's to stepping outside of our "comfort zones". Have a great day!

It's time to be thinking about spring. In this painting, I have used a floral theme with an emphasis on the use of flat decorative shapes and black outlines. After painting the flowers,I was hesitant to use the flattened pattern and black outlines. It would have been very easy to treat my subject in a much more traditional manner, but my curiosity always factors into my decisions....... the old "what if" philosophy. So here's to taking a few risks.

When I first started this piece, I thought it was going nowhere fast. I got to the point where I had nothing to lose. I think that I might have turned it around and created an interesting painting. It has the feeling of fire blazing in the background. I enjoyed doing the negative painting in the background. Got to take a couple hour break.....my sanity is important to me....then it's back to painting. Enjoy your free time.

When working toward my open house, I have the mind set of delivering both my traditional work and new directions. It's the new directions that after 32 years get me "fired up"" about the creative process. As I told a group The Central Ohio Watercolor Society in a talk this past Saturday, I do not want to fill my house with the same painting style for my annual open house.
This piece was inspired by a trip to Italy. The figure is part of a Corinthian column. My daughter feels that this piece has the appearance of an illustration for a child's book. I hope that it touches the child in all of you. Have a great week. Now......it's back to creating.

It's that time of the year. We are now in the process of getting ready for our annual open house. I will try to post a few of the pieces that will be available for 2011. Life always gets a little more hectic during this time of the year. Stay tuned..................