GVPAP Show (2011) and End of Year Thoughts

These are the 5 paintings I submitted to this years sixth annual Genesee Valley Plein Air Painters show. I'm happy to report that 4 were accepted , only the smaller one in the upper left was rejected. I believe all of these have been posted on this blog previously, except for the one in the upper right called "Windbreak". I forgot to get a good close-up of that but will do so at the show reception, which takes place on Saturday, January 8, from 4 - 6 pm. Hope to see you there! The show runs through the 27th of January and is located at the Barnes and Noble in Pittsford.


It's been an eventful and productive year for me. I received several best of show awards, including the one at the Artist Row festival in September which I'm particularly happy about. Perhaps the biggest event was having my work accepted by the West End Gallery in Corning. They've already sold one painting ("January Thaw" which was previously posted) and are using one of my images on their postcard for their upcoming "Little Gems" show. I'll have a bunch of small (6x8 and under) paintings at that show, so stop by if you're in the Corning area.

I'm not typically one for new years resolutions, but I do have several art-related goals for the upcoming year. A major one is to become more focused and serious about my painting. I'm going to concentrate mainly on studio work for the next couple of (winter) months, and try to develop some larger paintings based on the many plein air studies I've accumulated. I'm also planning to participate in at least one plein air festival this summer, and attempt to get some work into a national show, probably through OPA. I'm looking forward to these challenges and will report on progress along the way.

Finally, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and all the best for 2011. I truly appreciate all of the supportive comments I've received, and hope to have many more paintings to share this upcoming year.

Winter Solstice 2010

Our local plein air painting group has an annual holiday tradition - painting on the day of the winter solstice (December 21). This year we were fortunate to have deep snowcover, a rarity at this time of year (this is actually the first year since we moved up here in 2003 that we're having a real "White Christmas"). The sun actually was out, another rarity, and the moderate temperatures (upper 20s) and light winds made for a very pleasant winter painting experience. I set up at Northampton Park in Spencerport and painted a field of wild dogwoods. These plants have the most amazing red-colored stems and twigs and they absolutely glow in the sunlight. This plein air study is 9x12, oil on canvas. I'm thinking it will probably be used to develop a larger painting in the studio this winter. Note there is some glare on the lower left of the image, I'll have to see if I can re-shoot and eliminate that.

Merry Christmas to all, and best wishes for a wonderful new year.

"Finger Lakes Morning" and West End Gallery

As the snow is falling, I'm thinking about warmer times...like the day depicted in this painting, called "Finger Lakes Morning". This 10x12 oil painting was completed en plein air late this summer at Vitale Park at the north end of Conesus Lake. Beautiful cloud formations created an almost "reverse sunset" experience which I tried to capture. Most of this painting was actually done after the clouds had cleared away, but the vivid colors left quite an impression as you can tell! This may be used as the basis for a larger studio painting this winter.

In other news - my work was accepted by the West End Gallery in Corning, NY! I've got several pieces hanging in their annual holiday show which continues through the end of December. Even better, they've sold one - "Altostratus" which was posted a while back. I'm very happy to have my work in this excellent gallery - stop in if you're in Corning to visit the glass museum (less than a mile) or the Rockwell Museum of Western Art.