The Hot-Press Blog

Sketch Crawl/Mystic

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:18:05 -0400

I recently participated in a Sketch Crawl organized by fellow artist Laura Gaffke through the Mysic Art Center. It was a blast, Laura even arranged for Videographer Steve Conn of sconvideo to document the event. Here is Steve’s stunning video.

Winter Sun over East Beach auction item for Haitian Emergency Aid

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:10:57 -0500

I am auctioning this piece on ebay. Using their giving works feature I will donate the entire 100% of proceeds to help aid recovery in earthquake ravaged Haiti.

This is an original watercolor painted on Arches 140lb. cold press paper. This painting is unframed, but includes double matting and backing. Framing available, please inquire.

Image Size: 4-1/2 x 4-1/2 inches

Using the EBAY TO GO widget below click on the green “VIEW AND BID” button to be redirected to this auction item at ebay

Painted Bunting

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:29:10 -0500

The Painted Bunting is found in thickets, woodland edges and brushy areas, along roadsides, in suburban areas, and gardens. The male was once a popular caged bird, but now its capture is illegal. Populations are declining on the East Coast where habitat is being lost to development. The breeding range includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Montana and Louisiana.
This is an original watercolor painted on Arches 140lb. cold press paper.

Image Size: 5-1/8 x 5-1/4 inches

This painting is available for sale at Esty.

In Between

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:14:00 -0500

4 x 6 inches,
watercolor on Canson paper

European Bee-Eater

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 11:08:11 -0500

The European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds in southern Europe and in parts of north Africa and western Asia. It is strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, India and Sri Lanka. This species occurs as a spring overshoot north of its range, with occasional breeding in northwest Europe.

This is an original watercolor painted on Arches 140lb. cold press paper.

Image Size: 2-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches

This painting is available for sale at Esty.

Hunter’s Moon

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:35:32 -0500

Holiday Gifts!

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:50:02 -0500

I’ve designed a collection of holiday gifts and greeting cards available at CafePress. These can be ordered directly from CafePress. Click on over and have a look at the Newbury Collection at Cafe Press.

Unbounded

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:45:35 -0500

A small study before winter, painted where land meets the sea.

I include with this entry the music I was listening to while creating this painting. Colm Mac Con Iomaire is an Irish fiddle player. The title of his album, “The Hares Corner” comes from the ancient Irish custom of at harvest time leaving a corner of a field uncut as a refuge for the Hare to escape to. ( A custom also found among the Mayan Indians). Barn island, one of the last wild places in these parts, is “the hares corner” in my corner of the world.

SOLD

Renewal

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:56:01 -0500

A small study from Barn Island. This sketch was painted from an older reference photo, hence the spring hues.

I include with this blog entry the music I was listening to while creating this painting. Colm Mac Con Iomaire is an Irish fiddle player. The title of his album, “The Hares Corner” comes from the ancient Irish custom of at harvest time leaving a corner of a field uncut as a refuge for the Hare to escape to. ( A custom also found among the Mayan Indians). Barn island, one of the last wild places in these parts, is “the hares corner” in my corner of the world.

SOLD

Time & Tide

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:26:59 -0500

A small plein air sketch from Barn Island. I recently returned there the other day after a busy day at the studio. I walked the long slow hill leading from the woods above down to the marshes at sea level, then around the eastern end and back up into woods and into the old burial site. It is a place alive with spirit, and one of the last refuges of wild nature in our area. I include with this blog entry some music I listened to while returning home from my walk. Colm Mac Con Iomaire is an Irish fiddle player. The title of his album, The Hares Corner” comes from the ancient Irish custom of at harvest time leaving a corner of a field uncut as a refuge for the Hare to escape to. ( A custom also found among the Mayan Indians). Barn island is “the hares corner” of our community.

This painting is 4 x 6 inches. It’s available from Etsy.com,

Spirit House

Sun, 8 Nov 2009 18:44:04 -0500

A spirit house or san phra phum in Thai
(Thai ศาลพระภูมิ) is a shrine to animist spirits found in the Southeast Asian countries of Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. Most houses and businesses have a spirit house placed in an auspicious spot, most often in a corner of the property. The location is often chosen after consultation with a Brahmin priest. The spirit house is normally in the form of a miniature temple and is mounted on a pillar or on a dais.

The house is intended to provide a shelter for spirits which could cause problems for the people if not appeased. Offerings are left at the house to propitiate the spirits.

This painting is 6 x 9 inches. It’s available from Etsy.com, use the link to go there.

Above Black Rock

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:14:21 -0400

A bit off the beaten track, and away from the swells of summer crowds is Black Rock. It’s known well by surfers and nude sunbathers. I worked on this one with the aid of reference photos taken years ago. I wondered as I worked how weather-beaten and forever-altered has this coastline become. Eternally beaten by the surf, and falling away into the sea, as the Island marches steadily toward the north. Each moment to be never as it once was.
This painting is 6 x 9 inches. It’s available from Etsy.com, use the link to go there.

Autumn Sun, East Beach

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:01:25 -0400

This was a private commission, so this one’s not available for sale. I thought it important to add it to the archive anyway. East Beach is located on the southeastern-most tip of Rhode Island in Watch Hill. If you could pan to the right you would see the spectacular, newly constructed Ocean House. I recently spent a few mornings on the beach in preparation for this painting, not a bad spot witness the passage of time.

Island Theatre

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:18:12 -0400

Today’s painting is one done from the photographic archive. I snapped a photo of the Empire Theatre on Block Island a few years back while cycling around with the family. It’s the kind of architecture that is disappearing from coastal villages every time I close my eyes. I hope this one sticks around for a few more centuries, although I suspect the good people on Block Island are smart enough to recognize its value. This original watercolor is 4 x 6 inches and it’savailable for a availabe for a very reasonable price at Etsy, where everything handmade is simply marvelous. Click on over, use the link below.

Eastern Bluebird

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:53:42 -0400

Sunrise, Point Panic

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:51:38 -0400

This is an original watercolor of a cluster of summer cottages at Point Panic, in the coastal community of Weekapaug on the Rhode Island shore. Panic, as it is known by local surfers is also known as Noyes Point.
The images dimensions are 3 x 5 inches, framed dimension is 5 x 7 inches. It is framed in a delicate gold vintage wood moulding. It's ready to hang.
SOLD