Pandemic And Loss

Like so many in the past year, I have been touched by the pandemic and the increasing ill effects of climate change. How am I, as an artist, to respond to such sustained devastation, to our planet’s apparent rage? The piece below, “Pandemic”, begins to approach the vulnerability I feel before nature’s wrath. A firenado, seen ever more frequently in the American west, truly encapsulates and symbolizes the path of destruction left by the pandemic, heatwaves and wildfires as they wreak havoc in our modern world.

The piece above, “Apogee”, relates to the farthest point in an orbit, speaking to the isolation of lockdown.

Back To The Land

This summer, I have been thinking a lot about our connection to the land, and how increasingly tenuous that relationship is. As I frequently look to the past for inspiration, I found myself painting stone barns photographed during a walking holiday in Yorkshire. They appear to have sprung up from the soil, perfectly integrated with the surrounding landscape, and are still an important part of daily life.

The painting above is “Farm Track”, and the barn features a massive doorway, while walled pastures hem it in from all sides. The other piece, “Cultivated Valley”, features a long view through many meadows.

Le Mont St-Michel

In the last weeks before the novel coronavirus changed our world, I had the opportunity to visit France for the first time. Mont St Michel has fascinated me since childhood. It appears out of the mists like a real-life sand castle, and has been a destination for religious pilgrimage for nearly eleven hundred years.

Upon my return, I was commissioned to do this painting, entitled, “The Pilgrim’s Sanctuary”. The result is hopefully a romantic’s homage to the past, the enduring present, and hope for the future.

- October 25, 2020 -

Step Back In Time

As one who is constantly inspired by the romance of things gone by, I am delighted to have been invited to participate as one of just four artists in a new exhibit at Windham Fine Arts titled “A Step Back In Time”. The work showcases the rich topography of the Hudson Valley and Catskills made so famous by painters traversing this same area nearly two hundred years ago. I have more than a dozen works in the show, including the newly completed “Enduring Glory”, seen above, and “Shimmer Of Gold”, below.

Summer Days

A warm breeze fills the air and birds sing in the garden. Thoughts drift toward favorite vacation spots, and memories come forth of summer activities past. As a romantic, I tend to paint such memories. This piece, “Sunrise Reflection”, recollects a hike in search of the Moodna Creek, and where it joins the Hudson. This was a view favored by 19th century artist Jasper Cropsey.

You can see this painting, along with other new work at Mark Gruber Gallery, New Paltz, NY. I am pleased to be exhibiting as part of a group show running through September 7, 2019. An opening reception will be held Saturday, July 13 from 5-7 PM.

- July 7, 2019 -

Light Of The Infinite

I have always felt that the sky creates a mood in a landscape painting. The way light falls through the atmosphere, cloud formations, mist or rain, all perform a role in influencing our feelings. The painting above, a view from artist Frederic Church’s Olana, is meant to convey lofty feelings about my Hudson Valley home. It is called, “Light Of The Infinite”, and is currently on view at Cocoon Gallery at the Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center.

There is an opening reception on Friday, June 7, from 5-8 PM, and the show runs through June 30. The gallery is located at 12 Vassar Street, Poughkeepsie, NY.

- June 4, 2019 -

Heart of a Romantic

I have recently returned from a long distance walk in England’s Lake District. With each footstep, I found myself echoing the past, as romantic poets and painters like Wordsworth and Constable found the area so inspirational to their reverent philosophy toward nature. Even Hudson River School painter Sanford Gifford painted there, soaking in the divinely picturesque and rugged landscape. This painting, “Derwent Water”, looks toward Borrowdale, thought to be the most central location to English Romanticism, embodying the sublime wonder of the natural world.

To walk such ground two hundred years after these famed creative souls, to still feel the pull of the landscape and the sanctuary it offers, as been a great gift indeed, and deepens my foundation as a modern day romantic landscape painter.

- June 23, 2023 -

Twilight Rain

It is spring here, and the tug of seasonal change reminds me of the passage of time. As a romantic, I frequently layer symbolism into my work, and in this new painting, “Twilight Rain”, the Hudson River is a metaphor for time’s flow. A shower at twilight becomes a symbol of life’s fleeting moments and sublime wonder, while the massive bulk of Storm King and nearby Breakneck Ridge suggest stability in a changing world.

This painting will be shown for the first time at the Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center, 9-12 Vassar St, Poughkeepsie, NY, as part of a June exhibition. An opening reception will take place Friday, June 7, 2019 from 5-8 PM. Regular gallery hours are Mon-Sat 1-5 PM, and the show runs through June 30.

- April 22, 2019 -

The Spell Of England

These past few months have been filled with new revelations and reflection, as well as a great deal of painting time. Seeing an exhibit of Thomas Cole paintings at The Metropolitan Museum of Art has confirmed that Cole was deeply influenced by his Englishness, and by the English Romantics of the time, Constable and Turner.

While I have always held a great appreciation for the Hudson River School, native to my own Hudson Valley, I am also under the spell of England, land of my ancestors. With this new series of English landscapes, I bring my romantic impulses full circle.

Bygone Days

In a little departure from my usual work, I’ve investigated the nostalgic world of memory. Inspired by faded photographs collected while preparing the family homestead for sale, the works portray family members pursuing hobbies, on visits, preparing food, and simply growing up. The mid-twentieth century world, with its stricter gender roles, bottle fed babies, and fin-backed cars has all but vanished, but live in a shared cultural memory. “The Archer”, seen above, depicts my older brother at practice in the backyard, around 1963.

See the show through October 31 at The Bakery in New Paltz. An opening reception will be held Thursday October 12, from 5-7 PM.

- October 8, 2017 -