Was in New York City with some friends. Had some time to kill and stumbled upon a parade – decided to hang out and watch it. Have always been an incessant people watcher – decided to take a bunch of shots of various characters in the parade that caught my eye – was inspired to create a series of “Parade” colored pencil drawings. Since the NYC trip, have happened upon a few other parades at the Jersey Shore – have taken shots of characters at these parades as well. This drawing is part of this parade series and features a bar-crawl parade during the July 4th Holiday.

Was in New York City with some friends. Had some time to kill and stumbled upon a parade – decided to hang out and watch it. Have always been an incessant people watcher – decided to take a bunch of shots of various characters in the parade that caught my eye – was inspired to create a series of “Parade” colored pencil drawings. Since the NYC trip, have happened upon a few other parades at the Jersey Shore – have taken shots of characters at these parades as well. This drawing is part of this parade series and features a bar-crawl parade during the July 4th Holiday.

Right around the New Year, my family took a trip to Sea Isle. On a rainy, cold afternoon, we decided to visit Cape May, New Jersey, to check out the Christmas lights. Liked the composition of the docked fishing boats next to a famous seafood restaurant, The Lobster House (one of my favorites), in Cape May. Have done a few early evening paintings at the shore (see Sea Isle Sunset, Sea Isle Promenade, and Beachcombers) – like the contrasts of the bright lights against the subtle value changes of the deep blues. Like using minimal detail – your mind fills in the details.

Over the Holidays, we spent a few days at the Jersey Shore. I love going to the shore in the Winter – no one’s on the beach, it’s peaceful, and all the natural noises seem enhanced because they’re not drowned out by the sounds of people milling about. One rainy afternoon, we decided to drive down the coast and do some shopping in Avalon and Stone Harbor. As the afternoon wore on, it started to rain. Nothing else to do, so we decided to drive to Cape May to see the Christmas lights on the houses. Great idea. Right before it got dark, the sky was bathed in a beautiful indigo blue. Since the streets were wet, the lights created warm reflections off the sidewalks and streets. Got weird looks from a number of people (4 of which were my family) as I stood in the rain, in the middle of the street, snapping pictures. Got soaked, but it was worth it. I probably took 50 reference shots in all, a number of which will make great paintings. This is the 3rd painting in this series.

Over the Holidays, we spent a few days at the Jersey Shore. I love going to the shore in the Winter – no one’s on the beach, it’s peaceful, and all the natural noises seem enhanced because they’re not drowned out by the sounds of people milling about. One rainy afternoon, we decided to drive down the coast and do some shopping in Avalon and Stone Harbor. As the afternoon wore on, it started to rain. Nothing else to do, so we decided to drive to Cape May to see the Christmas lights on the houses. Great idea. Right before it got dark, the sky was bathed in a beautiful indigo blue. Since the streets were wet, the lights created warm reflections off the sidewalks and streets. Got weird looks from a number of people (4 of which were my family) as I stood in the rain, in the middle of the street, snapping pictures. Got soaked, but it was worth it. I probably took 50 reference shots in all, a number of which will make great paintings. This is the first of the bunch.

Was on a Jersey Shore boardwalk. Stopped at one of our favorite sea food places to grab dinner. Caught a reference shot of my daughter, Em, that I used to create this painting. Loved how she was daydreaming while she patiently waited for her dinner. The early evening sun, about an hour before sunset, casts a wonderful orange glow – tried to capture that glow in this painting.

Was at the fights in Philadelphia with some friends. We go to the fights a few times a year – started at the Blue Horizon. But, Russell Peltz, the hall-of-fame fight promoter, moved to The New Alhambra in South Philly. Love this place – didn’t think he would be able to maintain the magic of the Blue Horizon, but he did. It’s a big event for us – we usually go to Tony Luke’s for a cheesesteak before the fights. And, we’re there from the first fight to the last fight of the night.

During the championship fight of the evening, my friends, Prentis, Eric, and Vidal, struck up a conversation with some people in front of us. Turned out to be the father, brother, and wife of the fighter. Came in from Mexico City for the fight. Real nice people. So, we started cheering extra loud for this fighter. Was a great fight – went the distance. In the last round, I guess the fighter’s wife couldn’t take the pressure, so she had to stand. Eric said, “check her out – wouldn’t that make a great painting.” She was fidgeting, had her hands over her mouth, and, in general, looked as stressed as someone could be. Snapped a few shots of her and panned the camera around the arena to get some other shots. The wife is the figure on the far right. Originally wanted to title this “Fighter’s Wife,” but changed my mind – wanted the painting to be about the entire fight experience. Thanks for the idea, Eric.

We had just gotten back from a local orchard – try to pick apples with the family every Fall. Sun was low in the sky. About an hour before sunset, on a clear day, the sun creates a wonderful orange cast. Staged some of the apples in various settings and snapped some shots. Finished shooting, and laid the apples on the kitchen table – just threw them there randomly. Sat down to review the shots on my camera, and, out of the corner of my eye, saw this interesting pattern of apples and a strong light reflecting of the kitchen table coming through the patio window. Created these wonderful blue, green, and purple highlights on the table and strong highlights on the top edges of the apples. Liked the challenge of creating subtle value changes in the shadows. Just goes to show – sometimes the best compositions are accidental and good lighting is available when you least expect it. I find that some of my best painting ideas come when I’m not trying.

Love the story behind this one. Every Fall, my family tries to take a weekend day to visit Hawk Mountain, a hawk sanctuary in the Pennsylvania Blue Mountains near the Appalachian Trail. At the head of the main trail, they hand out maps. About a half mile into the trail, the light filtering through the trees, my son stopped – I caught this shot of him. Asked him “what are you doing?” Said, “reading the map, Dad.” Understand, my son was 4 – he can’t read a map. Wanted to capture the sweetness of that scene. Particularly like his gnarled walking stick he found along the trail. Forced myself to use larger brushes and looser brush strokes to complete this painting. Finished it in one night.

Cranked this one out in under an hour, but have gotten a strong reaction to it at shows. Was in the studio painting with the kids. Didn’t feel like doing anything too detailed. So, snapped a shot of a pear on the counter, and went to work. Used a Pointillistic technique on this one – used dots of various colors to create the overall color – your eye blends the colors. Colors opposite on the color wheel (like green and red) placed next to each other vibrate and draw your eye in. Colors close to each other on the color wheel (like green and yellow) placed next to each other on the painting tend to recede.