Another oil painting in the “Tastes Of Home” series. Called clear toy candy, clear malt candy, malt sugar candy, or any combination there of. Brought to Pennsylvania by German settlers, this candy was a staple during the Christmases of my youth. My mom and dad always gifted a few pieces in our stockings. And, my dad’s work had an annual children’s Christmas event at the Rajah Theater in Reading – watched cartoons and Three Stooges. Exiting the theater, all kids were given a toy, an orange, and some candy which included clear toy candy. I also have a vague memory of my dad taking me into center city Reading, where a neighbor of an aunt always had a big clear toy candy display – one year it was a Christmas scene, another year it was a manger scene. Traditional colors are clear/yellow, red, and green, but I’ve seen others. Getting harder and harder to find this candy each year – becoming a lost tradition. In many of my paintings, I use temperature, value, and saturation to create depth. In this painting, used subject clarity to create depth. Enjoyed the challenge of blurring out the background items to put the focus on items in the foreground. My “Tastes Of Home” series features foods and food brands local to Reading/Berks County, Pennsylvania Dutch Country, and the Greater Philadelphia area.

Another painting part of the “Tastes Of Home” series – this one is #34 in the series – “Wos-Wit Bacon Dressing.” This one is one that only hard core Pennsylvania Dutchmen will understand. Bacon dressing is a sweet and sour creamy dressing with hunks of cooked bacon in it. Bacon grease, flour, cider vinegar – It’s heated up and served over fresh spinach – the spinach wilts slightly in the dressing. Then sliced hard boiled eggs are added as garnish. Spinach is the most common base, but some eat the dressing over dandelion greens in the Spring. My Mom made bacon dressing when I was little – I loved it. I like the Wos-Wit brand of products because the name and graphics represent PA Dutch culture well. My “Tastes Of Home” series features food brands local to Reading/Berks County, Pennsylvania Dutch Country, and the greater Philadelphia area.

Another painting in the “Tastes Of Home” series – this one is #33 in the series – “Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews.” For those not familiar with this Philadelphia staple, imagine a Snicker’s bar – caramel, peanuts – but wrapped in dark chocolate and in nugget form (“6 pieces per pack”). Firmer and denser than a Snickers. And, the dark chocolate coating adds the perfect bitterness to the sweetness. Goldenberg’s are my movie go-to candy (when I can find them). My “Tastes Of Home” series features food brands local to Reading/Berks County, Pennsylvania Dutch Country, and the greater Philadelphia area.

Part of the “Tastes Of Home” series – this one is #32 in the series – “5th Avenue Candy Bar.” The 5th Avenue candy bar used to be manufactured in Reading, Pennsylvania, my home town, at a factory on 5th Avenue, hence the name. Original factory sold to Ludens, the cough drop people, and then ultimately sold to Hershey, and the Reading plant was operational until the early 2000’s. The bar is still produced by Hershey, but not in the area anymore (I think production moved to Michigan). My “Tastes Of Home” series features food brands local to Reading/Berks County, Pennsylvania Dutch Country, and the greater Philadelphia area.

Early Spring 2026, my wife and I were driving home from Connecticut – coming down Route 100 from Allentown before sunset. “Golden hour.” Setting sunlight bouncing off of dozens of small clouds and a small storm created these amazing oranges contrasted against deep purples and blues. The storm appeared as if it was on fire. Breathtaking. Pulled off the road – “what are you doing?!” – to get some reference shots. Almost as soon as I snapped some good reference shots, the colors changed and scene was gone. Painting pretty true to the actual scene/photos. Colors didn’t seem real – Mother Nature is something – tried to do her justice.

Painted this self portrait because, 1) always wanted to do a self portrait “my way”, and 2) there’s a few portrait/self portrait competitions I haven’t been able to enter because I haven’t had work to enter. When you think of someone, your view of them is formed on the context by which you know that person. Impossible to capture all of a person in a self portrait. Wanted to do better. Wanted a portrait that captured as much of me as possible – the dad, the husband, the son, the brother, the gas company executive, the teacher, the classmate, the friend, the teammate, the artist – all in one painting. And, I’m a product of so many influences and have been formed under/with so many great people that I wanted a self portrait to celebrate those others as well. Those who know me, hope you enjoy seeing yourself or something about our shared past in the details.

Visited the Cayman Islands for the first time back in 2024. Beautiful place. Enjoyed watching the chickens that were everywhere on the islands. Apparently, a number of years ago, the islands were hit by a hurricane. The locals freed their chickens so they could fend for themselves and not get caught in a precarious position in their cages during the storm. After the storm, was too much work to recapture the chickens, so they began to roam wild. The locals protect the chickens – have become a ubiquitous symbol of the islands.

Every year over The Holidays, my family and my wife’s extended family visit Jim Thorpe, PA, for a train ride along the Lehigh River and through the mountains. Fun to walk around Jim Thorpe, all decorated for Christmas, after the train ride. Every year, a Santa visits everyone on the train. The past few years, Santa has been a singing Santa. Got some great reference photos I used to create this colored pencil drawing.

Part of the “Tastes Of Home” series – this one is #31 in the series. I love apple butter, on toast or with cottage cheese. For those not familiar, it’s a Pennsylvania Dutch thing – an apple sauce simmered much longer until most of the liquid boils off and the sugars carmalize. Becomes a thick, brown, jammy paste. There are lots of very local farm brands that I like – I find great producers at the farmers markets around me. Chose to paint a larger regional brand, Wos Wit, because I like the PA Dutch fraktur-style graphics on the label. Hard to screw up apple butter – sweetness varies by brand – but all are good. Why the bright background? I envision this series being exhibited together, so mixing up the colors – wanted a bright pop and I like the play between pink and yellow/orange – and I had a big wad of magenta, a color I rarely use, on my palette from a previous painting and didn’t want to waste it. My “Tastes Of Home” series features food brands local to Reading/Berks County, Pennsylvania Dutch Country, and the greater Philadelphia area.

My college friend, Bovie, is one of these people that lights up a room. When he’s around, everything just gets better. Today (2025), he’s a business executive, and he looks the part – wouldn’t recognize him from this painting. During Covid, don’t know if he was just bored or going a bit stir crazy – wasn’t seeing clients – didn’t need to be “reserved”, so he grew out this thick, goofy mustache, shaved his hair into a mowhawk, and dyed it bright red. He and his wife were going to a gender reveal party, so he bought this bright pink suit. Did a photo shoot. Loved the pictures – captured who he is to the extreme – asked if I could use the photos to create a painting. Completed this using a half dozen different shots as a reference. Hope this puts a smile on your face and you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating this and thinking about Bovie.