Amish Countryside in Pensylvania

I was asked several months ago to teach my style of painting and I agreed to do another class in Pennsylvania at a place called Steph's Folk Art Studio where primarily they teach decorative painting. I taught a few classes back in the 90's and it was nice to return to Amish Country when first coming off the Pennsylvania Turn Pike heading towards Strasburg. I look forward to having a collection of Amish paintings maybe sometime this summer.

Some of the class students hadn't ever stenciled before but did fine work and they are looking forward to more classes. Perhaps some will even travel to the Wayside Inn for a class but that's way off right now.

Janice and I knew for sure we were in a different part of the country when we saw our first Amish sighting along the road. I caught the young Amish boy right before he waved. I wonder what he was thinking?

At the stop sign in the road, clip-clopping at a quick pace I took this classic photo of an Amish horse and wagon taking a left turn. We never got tired of hearing seeing this sight. On the way back, I missed the Garden State Parkway and had to cross the George Washington Bridge. It took one hour to drive a mile before reaching the toll booth! We thought of the spring greens of the Amish countryside and horse drawn wagons we just left as we drove back to Connecticut. Well....there was a little green out the car window but not quite the same.

Marblehead Lobster Buoy

July 4th has always been a very special time in my old home town of Marblehead. The buoy I did for the Marblehead Arts Association's silent auction is one of many in a collection of other artists that will be unveiled at the gallery at the King Hooper Mansion, 8 Hooper Street in town on June 3rd. This very special celebration of America, Town of Marblehead, The Spirit of '76, the harbor illumination of flares surrounding thousands of boats, the skyline of Abbot Hall, Fort Sewall, memories of the USS Constitution visiting 1n 1996, the 1812 Overture and of course the fireworks are all things that I enjoyed capturing in my lobster buoy. Lobster buoys are scattered around the waters of Marblehead with the hopes of capturing lobsters at the end of the line.
I wrote a small book back in 1981, with twelve illustrations of my one and only time lobstering with my friend Arthur. I think of that time when I have decorated the different buoys over the years............... Marblehead Forever!

Signed copies of "A Lobster Tale" are available at $10.00 each postage paid.
CT residents at sales tax.

Good Morning View

This is the "good morning view" each spring day from the kitchen window........ when of course the sun shines. I didn't waste anytime to capture this image as it doesn't last too long. On May 1st, I also noticed that there was a very striking blue bird amongst the sparrows in the feeder so I got my camera right away.

I first thought it was a blue bird only because my neighbor Becky has them nesting in her yard. I took many photos and gave her a few which she knew right away and excitingly told me it was an "indigo bunting". She never had seen one and later would try to capture a view as it came back for three days early morning or late afternoon. But she had no luck.

The indigo bunting is a most beautiful blue with a darker blue on the top of it's head and I hope everyone has the opportunity one day to experience seeing one.

I still look out with hopes for a sighting again but it would be nice just to see a blue sky.

Country Travels in Kensington,NH

I recently stayed overnight with my son and his family in Exeter, New Hampshire. Taking the Amesbury Road(Rte.150) back to Newburyport I thought it wasn't every day to have the opportunity for the ride early in the morning and a chance to take photos for future subjects to paint. The road was clear of traffic and as soon as I started I saw a tree that was particularly interesting. A car was close behind so I couldn't safely stop. Everything has a reason because shortly a little further was the old school house I've seen many times but not in the early morning light. I stopped to "freeze" the moment and soon saw a lot more.

Right beside me at the corner from the school house was a peaceful reflection of spring in this little pond and a lot more. I could have stayed there for a while just absorbing nature realizing the changes from all the snow this scene went through last winter.

There was a sign FRESH EGGS and behind it was an old hand watering pump I'm sure in years past much appreciated.

Across this little intersection was a house I remember when it was for sale a long time ago and dreamed of buying it. There are beautiful barns that also went with the property.

Right across from the egg sign was the Kensington Esquarian Center with horses enjoying their morning eating which I was thinking about too. Well, right down the road was the Country Brooke Cafe and I thought that I would go in. I was warmly greeted and offered with a choice of seating at the counter or the several booths. This is not your usual kind of place but a real "country" place with a pleasant atmosphere "where you come in as strangers and leave as friends" as it says on their business cards. I had noticed the muffin sign and one was interesting ........ Coconut Lime ! Never heard of that but they are home made and my waitress Heather said the cook is always offering different flavors such as peanut butter and jelly, or even a snickers one. I wanted more than a muffin, so I ordered a scrambled egg with home fries and raisin toast. Best raisin toast I ever had! I would be sure though to take home a couple of muffins. I mentioned the place to several friends in Newburyport and they too will be making a visit there some day.

A very short distance from having breakfast is this familiar scene and made famous by Samuel Chamberlain in his New England photo books from years ago. I did yard work for him as he sat watching me pull up weeds when I was twelve living in my home town of Marblehead.

Here is the Coconut-Lime muffin and also a Blueberry muffin where Janice and I are looking forward to eating them. I've done many works using the blueberry muffin theme and have a few prints left which you can see on the "print" page of my site. I can't offer a muffin to you but I'm glad to share the trip along the road of Kensington, New Hampshire.

Tobacco Barns & Boxes

It was a hard winter on many Connecticut barns....and a few houses with all the never ending snow that caused over three hundred to collapse. These wonderful tobacco barns on the way to the Rocky Hill Ferry, I'm happy to say are still standing for yet another season. I remember seeing them for the first time on a beautiful fall day in 2002. It was so different to experience them from my moving from the North Shore of Boston where I lived many years enjoying the coastal views.

In the spring there was yet another view of the tobacco fields and I wondered how this all was harvested. I was told that this tobacco was used in making cigars where the harvest is dried in the barns scattered around the fields.

The sides of the barns have hinges that fold out so that the air can circulate through.

I wondered, when I had a request to refinish a cigar box that was brought to me last fall, if any of the tobacco crop was once in the box? A funny thing happened with this box. After painting it back in March I was surprised when my customer came to pick it up and said it wasn't hers! I thought I painted the right one but it was another box that family had given me. I couldn't remember where my customer's box was realizing I had misplaced it! I even wondered if I painted it and sold it around Christmas! Well, we were both surprised and relieved when I called to tell her the good news! Janice and I searched all month but I found it under some stored away papers in a cupboard! It was needed in May to be given as a present so I still had plenty of time to work on it and finished it with time to spare!

The box had a lot of paint to remove and then quite a bit of sanding ........but it worked out in the end. If you have a special box you would like to have painted please let me know. I also have many many boxes of all kinds, sizes, shapes and subjects here at my studio barn in Glastonbury. I'll be having an open house Saturdays in June and will be posting this event and others soon on my web site.

Spring Signs

It seems like a short time ago that I was snow raking the roofs, shoveling and plowing where all the signs of winter were everywhere. I still have it in mind how nice it is when the sun shines on what winter snows hides. Just like the sunless, dark setting above is much different when the spring angle of the sun shines and casts shadows on the same setting below.

Where there once was six plus feet of snow each day brings more and more of changes to come. I am still reminded of winter but appreciate nature's kind turn to spring yet I feel very aware of the challenges of so many other's battles this spring in other parts of the word. I like to sit out in front of the barn and feel the gentle warmth of the sun as I have a cup of coffee and see the ants march out of their winter time. I didn't think they would come out until later when it got really warm. I do take an interest in their being.

The first flowering crocus is a good sign after being covered with tons of snow.

The leaves are never completely raked especially when they are oak leaves that fall after the first snow. Raking and clean up time is a chance to renew and appreciate the season.

One sure sign of spring is the changing of the lobby painting at the Wayside Inn from the winter one to the summer one. There are signed and framed 8 x 10 prints available at the Inn's gift shop.

The summer will be here sure enough and there will be a book out from Judy Condon entitled "Joy of Country" which will be available in July. Janice and I will have our house and barn featured in a chapter of the book. She has written many "country" books and it will be available at gift shops or on Amazon.

Spoons and Walk In scenes

Janice and I were cooking a spaghetti sauce and stirring as you do , when the spoon broke. I looked at it and realized what I could do with it. Many years ago I helped paint a mural in a museum diorama that had a slight curve overhead and thought the spoon had the same feeling.... if a scene were painted on it. I thought it would be particularly nice as a background for the "Dime House Collection" that I make, each no larger than a dime.

These spoon tops are really ideal with a thin wood base and will give a little accent to the right place. It's certainly a different feel from a mural painting but it does look just fine for the little houses.

I also thought it would different to create a "backdrop" to some of the other houses that I make. After first making them as a stand up scene alone, I thought yet another way by including the houses with them. I wanted to create a feeling of taking your mind into the scene's setting, to let your mind wander for a few seconds back in time.

This particular one with the ship tied up at the pier reminded me of when I lived in Newburyport. I imagined it in the 1800's with the activity on the wharf, Rings Island across the Merrimac River and the river boat Sabino steaming along. The Sabino is now a part of the Mystic Seaport in Connecticut. If you are interested in this collection just email me or visit this spring at my Studio/Gallery where I'll have them on display as well as several others.