I participated this past weekend in the 4th Annual Northport Plein Air Event in the beautiful harbor side town of Northport, NY. I always look forward to this weekend as it is the first of these events which I do every year and, as such, is the first time I get to see a lot of my colleagues after we have all been tucked away for the winter. As is usual with events like this, the artists paint on Friday and Saturday and then the still wet paintings are auctioned off on Sunday. In the case of the Northport event, the auction is held at LaMantia Gallery on Main Street.

I arrived early and set up down by the harbor to paint. I was really impressed with the stillness of the water and the way the reflections seemed to drip off of the bottoms of the boats. I was very happy with the result for two reasons: first, I felt I accomplished most of what I set out to achieve and, second, it is a really wonderful feeling to know that on the morning of the first day of painting that you already have something good enough to submit for the auction. I called it simply "Northport Harbor".



I took a long break, visited with some friends, had a bite to eat and then set out to paint some more. If you are in the NY area then you know how hot it was during the afternoons over the past few days. My friend Ward Hooper suggested a view he liked from the parking lot of a local marina. When I arrived I liked the view as well and immediately set up and went to work. While the view was appealing, I was set up on the blacktop in the marina parking lot without any shade and, after about an hour, the heat started to really get to me. I started to feel a bit nauseous, thought heat stroke, and decided it was time to pack up and find a bit of shade. I don't normally post unfinished paintings but in the spirit of full disclosure, here it is.



After a good nights sleep and lots of re-hydration I was back early the next morning. There is a green market in the parking lot by the harbor every Saturday morning and every year I think to myself "I'm going to paint the green market"...and this would be the year. I set up in the parking lot between two cars and went about getting some paint on the canvas. From my perspective the market is situated in another parking lot which is bordered on one side by large trees. It was pretty easy to see that the overall color harmony was green and I set about covering my canvas with a warm green and transparent red oxide wash. With clean turps on my rag I drew the tents by carefully wiping out the green wash I had just applied and set about rendering the market without paying any real attention to rendering the trees. I loved the millions of shapes and colors and kept after myself not to render anything too completely. I was trying to prove to myself something that I had heard from a very fine painter named Ralph Oberg who said that you can "suggest" a great deal more detail with a well placed and very thick directional brushstroke than by actually attempting to render it. This is an unusual painting for me and it was difficult to complete on site as the green market attracts a huge crowd of people, most of whom would eventually make their way over to where I was set up to watch what I was doing. I really enjoy chatting with folks who stop by but it also had the effect of turning what is usually a two hour job for me into an almost four hour job. That coupled with the fact that the shade I had originally set up in had evaporated and I was now on an asphalt parking lot in the noon day sun. Having no real desire to repeat what happened the day before I decided to pack up and retreat to the shade for some lunch. I call the painting "Green Market-Northport, NY".



Sunday's auction was VERY successful for the Northport Arts Coalition and for myself. "Northport Harbor" enjoyed multiple bids! As has become an annual custom a group of us then head down to Skippers which is a great pub near the water to toast our success. Northport in June...I look forward to it every year!

The weather forecast wasn’t grim. It just wasn’t calling for bright sunshine but rather for the chance of thunderstorms late in the afternoon which is precisely when I set out to paint. I checked the radar map on line before I left and assured myself that I would have time to get in a few hours.

I drive past this spot often on my way to Huntington as well as my class at the Art League of Long Island. It is on top of the hill leading out of Cold Spring Harbor toward the east, the land owned and operated by the Nature Conservancy. I usually drive past here in the morning and always think to myself that the light would be great on this stand of trees in the late afternoon.

I arrived to find bright sunshine and some rather gusty winds and was immediately impressed with the way the late day light illuminated and warmed the trunks of the trees. It wasn’t until I was faced with rendering the foreground that I noticed all of the cool greens and violets that lived in the shadows cast there. One of the things I love most about painting from nature are the surprise color harmonies that are there for all to see and, if you happen to have paint and canvas before you, to capture in your painting.

Note that all of these small sketches are available for sale directly from me via this website. Simply click on the “Paintings and Prints” tab and then on “Available Paintings”. The price includes shipping costs.

Memorial Day. Two words which mean different things to different people. There is what I hope is the obvious meaning where we all remember and honor the courageous people who have fought to protect this country in both past and current conflicts. We owe these people our freedom.

But, for me, there is also the extra and implied meaning…the unofficial beginning of summer. Everyone has their favorite season and, to be quite honest, summer is not my favorite season. Summer brings humidity to the Northeast and I do not like humidity. So that we are clear, let me repeat…I DO NOT like humidity.

But what I do like to do is to paint outdoors and, while that can be done in any season, there is nothing like the promise of a full summer laid out before you. Most likely it is the vestigial imprint on my brain reminding me of time spent watching the calendar, counting the remaining days in the school year until I was free…FREE for two whole months! Memorial Day, to me, means freedom in a number of different ways.

The day promised to be a beauty and I knew immediately where I wanted to paint. I set off in the plein air mobile for Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park in Oyster Bay, NY. I had wandered through this beach on a few occasions in the past and knew it had everything I wanted for a painting on this day…blue sky and the blue waters of Oyster Bay, people strolling and relaxing and, most importantly, the American flag flying free in the slight breeze.

Note that all of these small sketches are available for sale directly from me via this website. Simply click on the “Paintings and Prints” tab and then on “Available Paintings”. The price includes shipping costs.