Created this drawing of my son, Cole, from a reference photo taken on the train between London and Paris.  Family vacation the Summer of 2014.  Cole’s really in to soccer – wore soccer jerseys almost the whole trip.  Pretty amazing – in the U.S., no one comments on his shirts.  As soon as we landed in Europe, he received a steady stream of comments on the various shirts he was wearing.

Took the family to Europe the Summer of 2014.  Two wonderful weeks in London, Paris, and Rome.  Took the train from London to Paris.  Did this drawing of my two beautiful daughters – Sarah and Emily – from a reference photo taken just after we entered France.  Love the extreme highlights and shadows.

Took the family to Europe the Summer of 2014.  Spent time in London, Paris, and Rome.  Got a huge number of great reference shots – should keep me busy for years to come.  Have a number of interesting character photos that will compliment my “Parade” series of drawings.  This drawing was completed from a photo of a Beefeater guard at The Tower of London.

Love New York City. Love New York City hot dog stands. Just don’t love the feeling after eating at one. Took some reference photos of this stand on a rainy afternoon. Great highlights coming from the uncovered light bulbs. Like how they’re used to keep chestnuts and pretzels warm. Was at a show in the Fall of 2014 at the Salmagundi Club in NYC. One of the winning paintings was of a street seen featuring a hotdog cart that looked almost exactly like the one I painted. Just goes to show – many of us like and are inspired by the same things.

I love painting large, complicated, jumbled-up still life paintings. For my painting, “Super”, I collected a number of great superhero toys (and I borrowed a bunch of toys from my kids – ashamed to say that more toys were “collected” than “borrowed”). Given that the painting had what could seem like an overwhelming amount of detail, I tried to find some objects that had large, flat plains of color and were very simple. The Funko Pops action figures were exactly what I needed – gives the eye a chance to rest in the sea of detail. Was having too much fun painting the figures for “Super” – didn’t want to stop. Thought it might be fun to line up some of the figures in a classic line-up pose. Just needed to line out the Justice League collection by picking up Superman and Batman – figures that did not appear in “Super.” Yeah, I know – for those who really want to split hairs, I’m missing Cyclops, who rounds out the current Justice League. But, I decided to go with some of the classics. My dining room table is the background for most of my still life paintings. Great warm brown background. On the day I snapped reference photos, was getting some great reflections. Waited for the right lighting and amplified the effect – love how this one turned out.

I love painting large, complicated, jumbled-up still life paintings. For my painting, “Super”, I collected a number of great superhero toys (and I borrowed a bunch of toys from my kids – ashamed to say that more toys were “collected” than “borrowed”). Given that the painting had what could seem like an overwhelming amount of detail, I tried to find some objects that had large, flat plains of color and were very simple. The Funko Pops action figures were exactly what I needed – gives the eye a chance to rest in the sea of detail. Was having too much fun painting the figures for “Super” – didn’t want to stop. Thought it might be fun to line up some of the figures in a classic line-up pose. Just needed to line out the Justice League collection by picking up Superman and Batman – figures that did not appear in “Super.” Yeah, I know – for those who really want to split hairs, I’m missing Cyclops, who rounds out the current Justice League. But, I decided to go with some of the classics. My dining room table is the background for most of my still life paintings. Great warm brown background. On the day I snapped reference photos, was getting some great reflections. Waited for the right lighting and amplified the effect – love how this one turned out.

Spent Father’s Day 2013 at the Philadelphia Zoo with my family. Hadn’t been to the zoo in a while. Philly redid the big cat exhibit. Pretty cool – the cats can now move their way through different sections of the zoo through overhead tunnels. Really gives visitors a chance to see the cats close up and gives the cats room to roam. Got some great reference shots. Enjoyed exaggerating the cool shadows and warm highlights. This drawing is the second of two tiger drawings created from reference photos taken on this trip.

Spent Father’s Day 2013 at the Philadelphia Zoo with my family. Hadn’t been to the zoo in a while. Philly redid the big cat exhibit. Pretty cool – the cats can now move their way through different sections of the zoo through overhead tunnels. Really gives visitors a chance to see the cats close up and gives the cats room to roam. Got some great reference shots. Enjoyed exaggerating the cool shadows and warm highlights. This drawing is one of two tiger drawings created from reference photos taken on this trip.

Every Christmas, a slew of us go to Jim Thorpe, PA to take a train ride through the mountains. Great family time. The train cars are old antiques. Christmas music plays the entire time – not modern stuff, but the good old-fashioned stuff that puts you in the mood. I make it a point, every year, to embarrass my nephews and my son – as people are exiting the train, I grab the microphone and start singing “Santa Claus is Coming To Town.” Never fails – can always get others to join in. Every year, there’s a Santa that works his way through the train, taking pictures with kids and handing out candy canes. In 2013, the Santa was especially good. Check out some of the extra details on his suit – Santa had a bit of a hippie vibe going on. Snapped a few photos and was inspired to draw. Cranked this one out in one sitting January 1st – great way to spend New Year’s Day.

Love to visit Longwood Gardens with the family. Great botanical garden in the Brandywine Valley. I especially like to visit the fruit and rose gardens and the bonsai trees in the main building. Also love visiting the Gardens around the Holidays – all the large trees are lit up, great fountain show, Nutcracker music – great day trip. On an early Spring visit, found these tulips on an outdoor path. Loved the color combo – like the cool deep reds and pinks against the warmer yellows/oranges – knew I had to paint what I saw. Took reference photos on my cell phone – surprised that the reference photos were strong enough to use. Had fun manipulating detail and color to create a sense of depth.