A toast to the new year!

Some new doilies

The Grandmother from the Ulkin's clan in Coudersport made many doilies - her grandson Duane sent some to me to use in my artwork. The deal was that I would make him a painting in trade. Here it is -
A smaller work done with the same doilies can be seen below. It hangs in grandson Doug's home.

Another ABC challenge on Gurney Journey

This 25 year old business card was the prompt for this month's ABC challenge. Below is my "Cinderella" business woman. See all the solutions at Gurney Journey.

New painting - "Science"

Somehow this one reminds me of Howard Jones' old hit - "He blinded me with science."

Self Portrait done in Drawing class

Intro to Drawing assignment - triptych self-portrait. Yikes.

The "Schaeffer Swirl"

My student teachers visited my cellar studio last month. They worked with my texture makers and the plaster from their own perspective. Dan Schaeffer spun a comb in the plaster and I have used that technique in the following paintings -

My photos for the December meeting of the Grand Cayon Photo Club

Every year at the GCPC we celebrate the Christmas season by gifting our club with some of our best photos of the year. Above is a detail of a display at Trimtex in Williamsport. Below, Corey is practicing his shaving. Above is a photo taken through a piece of wavy plactic and below are the butterfly sculptures (by Jeff Tice) in my friend Sandy's garden.

Below Mimi fits Lana in her beautiful gown while mom Linz holds on!

A drawing using at least 4 kinds of perspective

I decided to use a colored paper so that I could manipulate the lights and darks to help give the illusion of depth. Below are two preliminary drawings in which I developed my idea.

Check my other blog that shows all of the students' solutions.

Check out the Santa Express!

Darryl Abraham and his advance sculpture class at Mansfield University have constructed a North Pole Christmas Village for the Tioga Central Railroad. Below is Darryl's publicity drawing -
"Hop aboard the Tioga Central Railroad's Santa Express this winter for a magical journey to the North Pole. Wear your pajamas and bring a blanket if you like. The train will . . . " Below is a preview of some of the things you will see on the train ride (besides beautiful Tioga County) -

Another ABC challenge on James Gurney's blog

Here is my entry to the Art By Committee challenge:
The quote that inspired this drawing - "He is shorter than I remember, and thin. His fur is grayed to white in a fringe around his head, just below his ears. His coat is dull, thinning and coarse. His eyes, so bright I..." Visit James' blog Gurney's Journey to see all the solutions this Sunday.

The Keller Group Photo Show

A group of local residents, who formed a small group linked by their love of photography, recently opened a show in North Hall on Mansfield University's campus.

Above, witness Martha an ART professor and Mardi the chairman of the ART department at Mansfield enjoying the show. Below, see part of the large crowd on hand listening to Wolfram Jobst the force behind the group. Actually the crowd was the largest in recent memory for an opening.

Above, the director of the gallery, Bob Geroux, also listens to Wolfram explaining the group and their approach to photography.

A new artist in the family!

Here is our little Miss Lana in one of my textured paintings. (I learned a new way of making transparencies that will allow me to use my own photographs. More on this later.) Below is one of Lana's drawings done recently at the age of 15 months. Below is a new black & white painting -

Newest Painting

A wedding painting - 36" wide by 24" tall.

Distinguished guests visit the cellar studio

My two student teachers Dan and Ciara along with Dan's co-op Rachel actually learned "hands-on" how I work the plaster (joint compound) to make my textured paintings.

Of course we talked about student teaching, too.

The three guests were excellent students with high powers of concentration! Below is Ciara's work featuring her daughter's name. Above is Dan's work - I've since used the circular grooves in a couple of new paintings. Below is Rachel's Baroque looking piece! You may wonder where is the color? Ah, the plaster needs 48 hours to dry. The color will be added another time.

Some of the new work.

Most of these are going to Connie Sickler's Settlement House on Rt. 6 on the west edge of Sylvania, PA. It was Connie who suggested that I make long and tall paintings for above doors and between windows. These are 31 inches by 8.5 inches.

Twenty new paintings

I recently started 20 new paintings - many of them the long or tall size. The plan was to get the preliminary stuff out of the way so that I could take advantage of a two day "Fall Break"! I did OK. I have 10 framed, 6 ready to frame and four that need one more color layer. Below are most of the paintings in the first stage - plastered and textured.
Below I have the first color layer (out of three) applied and manipulated.

Below many of the paintings are done and framed. Some only have two color layers and are waiting for me to add the third.

I have a new customer!

I'm proud to say that the daughter of a former student, and grand daughter of a former colleague, purchased one of my paintings at the Night & Day Coffee Cafe. Looks like a great match to me!

Andy Wales visits our Intro to Drawing Class!

Andy Wales spoke to us about his passion for drawing and the art form that he has chosen - comic book production! Andy shared with us his story about the birth and growth of his desire to create images. Check here to see an early drawing of Andy's and to discover his blog if you haven't already! For more on Andy's visit, go to our Intro to Drawing Blog here.

A wedding painting for this weekend - Peter & Robin - 3 color layers