Fine Art:
As I try to decide what regional and national juried fine art exhibits to enter this year, I wanted to share a few little landscapes I recently completed. All depict the English Countryside, and all are from my photos which I shot while on walking holidays there (Gloucestershire to be exact.)
Landscapes aren’t really my best subject matter, but I did these partially for fun, and partially for a permanent loan to a family member who wanted more pieces to accompany another larger landscape they have which I also painted. All of them are below in situ. The small one on the top left is actually a print on canvas of an original oil I did years back which sold shortly after I painted it. The large one is another I painted from my British photos and shows a scenic view of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.
I had so much fun working on these landscapes, that I decided to start another one from my archive of British holiday reference shots. This new one will feature a dramatic sky over Wiltshire.
Other than that I am always coming up with ideas for the next few Christmas-themed images I can create. I will use those on future printed Christmas cards I design for my wife and I to send out. Below on the left is the one from Christmas 2024. I did this one in pastel. As usual I had a better idea for it after it went to print, so I created the one on the right in conte and watercolor pencil, then used it for social media.
History:
Sometimes people will ask me if I listen to music while I paint. I always tell them it depends on how the work is going and what stage I am on in the process. But most often, what I listen to are podcasts. History podcasts. Right now my favorites are The History Extra podcast (from BBC History magazine) and one called Not Just the Tudors. I learn all kind of stuff listening to the likes of Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Dan Snow, Tracy Borman, and others. I get so interested in some of the subjects of these podcasts that I buy the books they sometimes discuss. Below are some great books I’ve been enjoying as a result of listening to the podcasts. A couple of them are catalogs to exhibitions which I never had the chance to see in person. Those are the ones I value the most!
Graphic Design:
I continue to be busy this new year with all of my graphic design clients asking me for work. At this writing, I am in the second of a three month long project for the largest of them. This is the next phase of a project I successfully completed for them last summer. Thankful for them and every opportunity I get to expand on my recent years of ad agency experience. I like to say, I offer clients ad agency experience minus the ad agency attitudes! I’m always doing graphic design stuff on my own too. Below is a poster I created for fun that is a tip of the cap to those old British travel posters you come across sometimes.
I designed and created this using one of my shots while on holiday over there. Are you sensing a pattern here??
