America's Parks I Exhibit

I have so much catching up to do, I'm just going to hit the highlights of the last year so I can bring this blog  up-to-date.

My biggest excitement over the winter centered around the show America's Parks: Through the Beauty of Art. Comprised of 50 two-dimensional works of art depicting any park in North America, the show is now traveling to different venues around the United States. After.opening at the Ella Carothers Dunnegan Gallery of Art in Bolivar, MO,  it traveled to the Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown, NY, and will end up at the Kenosha Public Museums in Kenosha, WI, from August 17 to October 13, 2013.

My painting, Marsh at Round Pond, was accepted into the show. . . and shortly thereafter I got a call from curator David J. Wagner who told me that I had won the prestigious Juror's Choice Award! I was thrilled. In all my years of landscape painting, this was the very first time I had ever won a major, top award for a landscape.

Marsh at Round pond, oil on linen, 22" x 40"

Here are a couple of links to the press release and review of America's Parks:

Press Release

Article in Outdoor Painter

Week-long Workshop

I wanted to share some photos from my workshop on Mount Desert Island, Maine, that ended last weekend.

This summer in Maine has been WET! It has rained almost continuously since June-- a worrisome sign of climatic change. The ponds and lakes of Mount Desert were full to the brim, so full that the water level is just under the trees, and hardly a rock is visible along the shore from a distance.

Apart from being concerned about the implications of this weather, I had more immediate concerns that the workshop week would be one long rainstorm--but luckily there was enough sun to give some variety to the weather. One completely sunny day allowed us to paint in two prime locations, Ocean Drive and Cadillac Mountain. On cloudy, foggy, damp days we painted at the Beaver Pond across from the north end of Eagle Lake, and Somes Landing. We painted at many of the key locations on MDI.The talented and dedicated participants worked hard and we all had a lot of fun.

I'm so glad I was able to work with my painting partner and long-time friend Diana Cobb Ansley in planning the workshop.We stayed in her historic home in Somesville, and she provided hospitality and made sure things ran smoothly. Every day for lunch she ordered delicious gourmet sandwiches from Mother's Kitchen which we brought along for picnics on location. She also knew the best restaurants on MDI for dinner. By the time I got home, I actually felt that I had had my fill of popovers!

We're looking forward to doing this again next year. There are so many themes for plein air landscape workshop, and so many more painting locations on MDI.