Part of my “Tastes Of Home” series. This painting honors my Mom and her mother and the love they showed through food. If I had to make a choice of last meal, one of the many (there’s not just one) would be a ham sandwich and fixings meal the day after Christmas and Easter. My Grandmother made homemade potato salad for the holidays. Real simple – red potatoes (or, as she pronounced it, PEE ta tos), chopped eggs, chopped celery, and Hellmann’s mayo – plenty of salt and pepper. The best! My grandmother would give a mason jar to our family, and then she would make up a separate, special mason jar just for me, she knew I loved it so much. I knew I was loved. She would also make homemade horseradish, pickled in red beet juice. Awesome on a leftover ham sandwich on marble rye with Swiss cheese. The horseradish stained the top sandwich layer a neon magenta. The plate would also include ring bologna (a Berks County staple) with Pilsudski mustard, slices of kielbasa and other meats, Good’s potato chips, red beet eggs, a cheese assortment (Munster a must), assorted pickles and olives, an A-Treat grapefruit soda, and sand tart cookies for dessert. My Dad always got a laugh out of my giant spread of food. In 2023 over the Holidays, I casually mentioned Grandmom’s potato salad to my Mom – a few days later, she showed up at my house with a potato salad container. Food is love. I’ve tried to make the potato salad on my own, but it never tastes as good as when someone makes it for me.

Johnny Marr is the guitar player for The Smiths, one of my favorite bands. Saw Marr and the band James in Philly at The Franklin Music Hall in 2024. 3rd time seeing Marr live. He played a bunch of Smiths songs, a few songs from Electronic, his collaboration with Bernard Sumner (Joy Division/New Order), and a bunch of his solo material – he actually plays “the good stuff” – always puts on a great show. Great venue as I was able to get real close and get some nice reference photos. Given the colorful back lighting, would be better, more dramatic, and more fun to do some small paintings of the photos on a dark background. But, felt like taking a painting break and playing around with pencils. Love the S-shape of this composition.

In 2024, Stacey and I went on a trip with our friends, The Carswells – Rhine River cruise through The Netherlands, Germany, France, and Switzerland. Didn’t have my supplies, so grabbed some printer paper, a ball point pen, and cranked out a few sketches. One day on the ship, wanted to sketch – found a comfortable sofa and asked the woman already parked there if I could join her. She obliged. Started sketching. She lost interest in her book and gained interest in my sketching. Struck up a conversation – we immediately connected – the lovely Elena. She was traveling by herself – asked her to join our group at dinner, and she immediately clicked with the rest of us – became our companion for the rest of the trip. Wonderful, wonderful person. Drew this and gave it to her at the end of the trip as a memento our time together.

In 2024, Stacey and I went on a trip with our friends, The Carswells – Rhine River cruise through The Netherlands, Germany, France, and Switzerland. Didn’t have my supplies, so grabbed some printer paper, a ball point pen, and cranked out a few sketches. This sketch is of one of the many sculptures on a wall of the cathedral in Cologne, Germany.

In 2024, Stacey and I went on a trip with our friends, The Carswells – Rhine River cruise through The Netherlands, Germany, France, and Switzerland. Didn’t have my supplies, so grabbed some printer paper, a ball point pen, and cranked out a few sketches. At one point of the cruise, we boated past a series of castles in Germany, one every few miles. Loved capturing the textures – foliage, rock, masonry – of this one castle perched on a cliff.

In 2024, Stacey and I went on a trip with our friends, The Carswells – Rhine River cruise through The Netherlands, Germany, France, and Switzerland. Spent some time in Amsterdam and saw the windmills at Kinderdijk. Didn’t have my supplies, so grabbed some printer paper, a ball point pen, and cranked out a few sketches. Amazing to see the windmills in person.

In 2024, Stacey and I went on a trip with our friends, The Carswells – Rhine River cruise through The Netherlands, Germany, France, and Switzerland. Spent some time in Amsterdam and saw the windmills at Kinderdijk. Didn’t have my supplies, so grabbed some printer paper, a ball point pen, and cranked out a few sketches. This one is of a windmill with The Carswells in the foreground.

In 2024, Stacey and I went on a trip with our friends, The Carswells – Rhine River cruise through The Netherlands, Germany, France, and Switzerland. Spent some time in Amsterdam and saw the windmills at Kinderdijk. Didn’t have my supplies, so grabbed some printer paper, a ball point pen, and cranked out a few sketches. This one is of a windmill with my wife in the foreground.

In 2024, Stacey and I went on a trip with our friends, The Carswells – Rhine River cruise through The Netherlands, Germany, France, and Switzerland. Spent some time in Amsterdam. Went to the Van Gogh museum. Had a station where you could grab a pencil and paper and draw a portrait. Did this quick sketch of my muse, Dave Carswell.

Was on a business trip to Seattle. Saw these Pike Place Market street performers playing music while wearing cat masks. Weird, creepy, and cool – worth a drawing.