The classic debate in Philly – where do you go for a cheesesteak? Two that are always neck-and-neck in the debate are Geno’s (the local favorite) or Pat’s (the originator) – the two restaurants being across the street from each other. I think it’s one of those debates not worth having – just go with somebody else, get 2 cheesesteaks, one from each place, and split them, and decide for yourself. You haven’t been to Philly if you haven’t experienced both Geno’s and Pat’s.

Left some onions on the counter a wee bit too long – started to sprout. Enjoyed painting the onion skin on this one. At a quick glance, onions appear to be pretty monochromatic. But, I had to pull a lot of different colors of paint out of the box – cad red, cad yellow medium, cad yellow light, burnt umber, titanium white, raw umber, and others – to create this.

Around Labor Day, there’s a hot pepper festival in a local town. Great event. Dozens of vendors serve various foods – jambalaya, habanero chocolate ice cream, steak on a stick – all of which have the heat jacked way up. A local farm has a great stand – they sell bushels of any kind of hot pepper you can imagine. We usually take a carriage ride to the farm – they have a “pick your own” area. A stand at the farm sells these wonderful heirloom tomatoes. Not too long after taking the reference shot for this painting, made a great tomato salad – extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, fresh garlic, fresh basil, Vidalia onion – writing this is making me look forward to next year.

Just a simple still life of onions we had on our kitchen counter. It’s amazing how much color you can see in an onion when you really study it. The title comes from an expression my wife used to say “you wanna smell my onion?” – have to imagine her saying this while making a fist. Means something similar to “you wanna knuckle sandwich?”

Saw these tomatoes sitting on our kitchen counter and was inspired to paint them. No real thought went into this one. Just liked the colors, and painting the tomatoes gave me a chance to relax. When I was finished, got some grief from my wife, Stacey – said “nice composition. Where was your mind.” I really didn’t know what she was talking about – she said I had my mind in the gutter – the painting looked anatomical. Hence, the name, “Nice Tomatoes.” As I’m typing this, she’s looking over my shoulder and she’s still giving me grief, “like you really didn’t know…”

This drawing is of my beautiful wife, Stacey. Was on a hike with her and the kids. Sunlight working through the trees was illuminating the side of her face – wanted to get a shot, so I asked her to stand still – knew the contrast of light and shadow would make a good portrait. She flashed me an annoyed glance. Coaxed her with, “come on, try to look pretty,” just kidding around. Got her to laugh, and I got an absolutely beautiful shot of her. Drew this while I was stuck in a hotel room at night on a business trip.

Been a fan of the Phili boxing scene since moving back to the area in the mid-ninties. Great scene! Fun place to “people watch.” Tried to capture in this painting some of the characters who are regulars at the fights.

Been a fan of the Philly boxing scene since moving back to the area in the mid-ninties. Great scene! Fun place to “people watch.” Tried to capture in this painting some of the characters who are regulars at the fights.

This is a simple pomegranate still life, but was wrestling with a lot of imagery as I was painting it. One of the few times where the title for the painting came early in it’s development. The pods lined up in a row seemed like family – “flesh and blood.” The colors have a very “flesh and blood” feel to them. Had fun painting this one because it’s larger than most of my other work. Wanted to keep it painterly yet have it appear realistic from a distance.

Les Deux Magots – great spot for some Foie Gras on toast and a bowl of Chocolate Mouse. Loved how all the warm and cool light sources – the Holiday lights in the tree, the neon of the restaurant signs – melded into the awning in this composition.