Behind the Wall

I love the texture of peeling paint and crumbling concrete and this old building had an abundance of both. It's so sad and beautiful at the same time. The figure in the doorway is from a vintage photo I came across awhile ago but never found the right place to use him until now.

The Inner Path

Another montage featuring friend and model Mary Anne Christiano. During our photo session I had Mary Anne do some yoga poses to capture that part of her personality (she's an avid practitioner of yoga). The bank of this peaceful, winding stream I captured in rural New Jersey seemed the perfect place to insert her Lotus pose and thus became "The Inner Path".

The Twelfth Moon

"The Twelfth Moon" started with a photo taken at Mill Creek Village, New Jersey several years ago. I always loved the textures involved with the wood of the old shed, the falling down fence and the rocks in the foreground but I never found the right composition until now. I was arriving home a few nights ago just after sunset, looked up and saw a perfect crescent moon with a beautiful lavender sky behind it. Of course, I ran for my camera and was able to get an image that created just the mood I wanted for the background. The title is a Native American name for the December moon which marks the onset of winter.

The Gathering

I took this image at Cross Estate Gardens in New Jersey earlier this year and was pleased with the composition and artwork I used but always felt something was lacking to make it work for me. I tried adding a figure but it still wasn't right. Then, as if on cue, while I was working on the image, I heard lots of commotion outside my window and realized my birds were back! This huge flock of blackbirds comes to my neighborhood every fall filling the trees and sky and covering the ground! I grabbed my camera and got as many shots as I could before they moved on. They were just what I needed to complete "The Gathering"!

Hallowed Ground

"Hallowed Ground" is a montage created from a photo session I did recently with friend and model Mary Anne Christiano. My plan was to photograph her in a local cemetery to make use of the beautiful old trees and architecture of the mausoleums. Luckily, I took a variety of test shots prior to our session because we were rained out that day and had to do the whole shoot indoors. I had Mary Anne pose with some of the locations in mind and I was able to montage the two images to get the composition I wanted. Worked out okay after all!

And Winter Came

Another piece from last week's trip to Annandale. I loved the peeling paint colors in this room but the view from the window didn't fit the image in my head so I replaced it with an image I took last year of a flock of birds headed south for the winter and it worked perfectly! The Converse sneaker (which happened to match the color of the walls) was in a shot I took of another room in the house so I placed it on the windowsill to complete the end of summer feeling I was going for.

The Teacup

Okay, so its been way too long since my last post. Wish I had a really good excuse but other than life keeps getting in the way, I don't. Took a road trip last week to the quaint town of Annandale New Jersey and came across a fabulous abandoned property wide open for exploration- not one boarded up window! (quite unusual these days). It was a little precarious in places but I always play it as safe as I can and don't take unnecessary chances. "The Teacup" room was quite an odd one. It seemed to be a bedroom but in the corner was a small sink. There was no sign of any other plumbing in the room and on the windowsill sat a dainty china teacup. Quite puzzling, leaving one to ponder "why?".

A Quiet Corner

Another road trip, this time to the quaint riverside town of Lambertville, New Jersey. Situated on the east bank of the Delaware River just across the bridge from New Hope, PA, it's filled with art galleries, antique shops and wonderful restaurants. It dates from the middle 1800's and is loaded with historic homes from that era. Raritan Canal State Park runs through the heart of town with a picturesque path along the canal for walking or jogging. Many of the backyards of the row houses butt up against the path and this one became "A Quiet Corner". It seemed a perfect spot for daydreaming or reflecting according to the cat lying lazily across the wicker table.

The Ruby Slippers

On a recent Sunday afternoon drive, I ended up at the amazing Cross Estate Gardens in Bernardsville, NJ. Although I was familiar with it's reputation, this was my first visit but definitely will not be my last! The photo opportunities are endless with huge, ancient trees, formal gardens and lots of stonework! As I worked on this image, I experimented with different filters including infared which gives anything green a glowing white luminescence. In the end, it seem to take on a fairytale kind of feel and even though "the yellow brick road" is only a path and the shoes are my version of "the ruby slippers", it still seemed possible that Oz was just around the bend.

Benefit for Haiti Big Success

The fundraiser for Haiti went really well! There was a nice turnout, people bought art, drank a little wine and we raised a lot of money for a good cause! The evening began with a wonderful performance by the Good News Community Gospel Choir directed by Mark Miller and ended with the reception and art show featuring myself, Ivan Lo, and Jeremy Langdon. A big thank you to the organizer of this event and all around fantastic lady, Farah Pidgeon, who made the whole thing happen! And finally, (before I leave the podium!) many thanks to all the art lovers whose attendance and purchases made the evening such a success!









My print "The Raven's Wood" actually sold twice, once to the very nice Joan Ludwig and again to the also very nice, Phil Schafer!

















Me and good friend and client, Pat Rubin of PM Studio in Edison, New Jersey.


















The room had lovely, soft lighting from the beautiful chandeliers overhead.

















Me, my sweetie, Tom and friend and mentor, Bernard.

Good friends for 33 years (and counting), Bernard and the lovely Virginia Carroll.

Help Haiti Smile

If you're in the New Jersey area, I'll be participating in an art show for Haiti relief Saturday, 3/27 at Grace Episcopal Church in Plainfield, a beautiful old church dating from the 1850's. Admission is $10 with proceeds benefiting Haiti relief funds. Hope to see you there!

Charcoal Portraits

I've always loved working in charcoal, sometimes more than painting. Something about the relationship of the darks to the lights is very appealing to me as is black and white photography. When I began to paint digitally, it seemed easier somehow to make the transition in the color mediums (oils, watercolor, etc.) than charcoal or pencil, so that's where my concentration has been. Recently, however, I had a client inquire about drawings so I decided it was time to seriously give it a try, but only if I could make them look just as they would if I were doing them on physical paper with charcoal in hand! After a lot of trial and error, I think I've succeeded! The drawing above is my first effort and I have to say, I really enjoyed it (although there's still nothing like the feel of charcoal on your fingers!).

Seeking Solace

"Seeking Solace" began with a photo taken at the amazing ruins of the Wolf House in Glen Ellen California not far from San Francisco. It was to be the dream home of author Jack London ("Call of the Wild") and his wife Charmain but burned to the ground just days before completion. Located deep in the woods of Jack London State Historic Park, when I was there in 1998 it was only reachable by a long, narrow path thru the woods. The hike was well worth it when at the end a clearing revealed the majestic ruins of the stone house rising before me, hauntingly beautiful. If you're ever in the area, I strongly recommend a visit to the Wolf House.

It's Valentine's Day!

Hope everyone's having a good one! The flowers and candy are from my sweetie and since we all know gargoyles are ga ga for chocolate, one of my pets agreed to pose atop the box for a little valentine still life. He does have a bit of a lovesick expression, don't you think?

The Raven's Wood

Now that the holidays are behind us, it's time to do a little creative catch up, get the juices flowing, and start making art again. I always seem to hit a slump around the holidays when priorities seem to be everything other than my own artistic endeavors. So here's the first addition of the new year! I captured this image (minus the ravens) a few years ago in Millcreek Village New Jersey, a fantastic historically preserved early American village. I would love to know what happened to the amazing tree in this image- some huge storm or maybe lightning. It's limbs were so contorted and angled it reminded me of a giant insect. I used this photo in color for a painting once but in black and white, all of the detail in the grass and brush reminded me of an etching. So again, it has new life as "The Raven's Wood".

Messenger of Peace

Happy holidays to everyone with wishes for a peaceful new year! I actually created this image last year but recently submitted it to Empty Easel where it was featured today along with some beautiful work by other artists. They will be posting holiday related art by different artists every day until Christmas so stop by and take a look!

The Morning After

I first photographed this old stone building in 2006 on my New Jersey backroads travels. The resulting piece became "Shelter from the Storm" with the drying cornstalks trailing off into the tall grass in front. I never seem to remember to document the location of the subject for future reference (note to self- document locations!!) in case I want or need to revisit so I was pleasantly surprised when I came across it again this year. The scenario was totally different. The cornstalks and grass were down revealing trees and fields in the background that weren't visible the first time around. The new image seemed to lend itself to minimal color and starkness that became "The Morning After".

Arts on Amboy Best in Show!

Needless to say, this has been a very rewarding past few weeks for me! "A Wing and a Prayer" won Best of Show at the 1st annual Arts on Amboy exhibit in Edison, New Jersey! There was a great turnout of artists from student to professional with some amazing artwork in all different categories. I particularly enjoyed a long conversation with artist Marcel Truppa who had some fantastic collage work in the show. He has a rich history as an artist with lots of interesting tales to tell. I think you'll enjoy checking out his work and reading his story.

Winning this award was made even sweeter by the fact that one of the judges was a photographer/digital artist whose work I greatly admire, Jim LaSala. I think you'll feel the same way after seeing his incredible images.

Many thanks to another great photographer, Mitch Rubin of PM Studio, for taking the photo of me with my ribbon!

2nd Place in Poetry of Art!

I'm on a roll for ribbons this month! I know it can't last, so I'm enjoying it while I can! "Miles to Go" took second place in the Poetry of Art exhibit at the Edison Arts Society! Alan Rosenberg (fellow member and photographer) was nice enough to send me this photo from the opening reception.

2nd Place in Art on the Green!

It was a really good day for an art show! Not only was the weather just perfect but I took 2nd place for "Miles to Go"! Yea! Laura Williams ( a wonderful artist, teacher and nice lady) took 1st place for a beautiful portrait painting. Interestingly enough, our spaces were side by side! That's Laura below. All in all, it was a great show- met lots of interesting people and received a lot of nice compliments on my work!