plein aire

though the air was moving big time and after thirty minutes, wind-whipped, I retreated indoors

Colors of the times

Been indulging in art history and fascinated with a green from the late Victorian era (will maybe post more about that another time) but it led me to search out the forecast for the current year. As 2019 is well under way, the trends are becoming obvious, but Pantone among others will convene a panel years in advance and determine the colors, pigments, dyes, that manufacturing will start to produce in order to get products onto the shelves for consumers. The current year (and last, too) saw a lot of pink(s) and greens as well as black and other very dark colors. Matte Black? Hmmm, time to have a late 80’s revival?

Loving all the color

…in the front garden …

…in the apartment garden …

…womp womp, sad trombone. Back yard needs a bit of work!

Gonna need a tip jar

Yay at least the oligarchs got a tax break! It must be fatiguing counting all those billions.

It’s a tough tax season for lots of us, plus our health insurance (and it’s just crappy Blue Cross - it covers nothing!) has doubled thanks to ACA sabotage, so - please donate? My Online Store has the link, just tap on Buy Now. Wish I did not have to do this. Makes ya wonder what the big picture here is - - - and thanks, sincerely.

Yes I still remember how to draw

Maybe an MD-88? That is what we flew but this looks chubbier like a Boeing 737 - I draw whatever is available so I make no claims. Love to draw airplanes.

Some happy days

Making art constantly, interrupted to eat, walk or go to the gym, talk to the fam, then back into the studio.

Never been much of a floral person but this is like candy. There seems to be so much gloom and dread, it’s depressing. Yet spring has begun and it’s a great one, cool and more flowery than ever - thanks to the abundance of rain last year.

It’s an embarassment of beauty, a scandal of delight, a sweetness of color, brightness of scents; might as well give in to joy!

Like most people I have been very concerned about the future, specifically and especially here in the USA. This gives me hope:

HR1 For the People Act
Protecting and expanding voting rights and election security:
Automatic voter registration
Online voter registration
Same day voter registration
Make election day a federal holiday
Voting rights restoration to people with prior felony convictions
Expand early voting and simplify absentee voting
Prohibit voter purges that kick eligible voters off the registration rolls
Enhance election security with increase support for a paper-based voting system and more oversight over election vendors
End partisan gerrymandering by established independent redistricting commissions
Prohibit providing false information about the elections process that discourage voting and other deceptive practices

Reduce the influence of big money in our politics:
Require secret money organizations that spend money in elections to disclose their donors
Upgrade online political spending transparency rules to ensure voters know who is paying for the advertisements they see
Create a small donor-focused public financing matching system so candidates for congress aren’t just reliant on big money donors to fund their campaigns and set their priorities
Strengthen oversight rules to ensure those who break our campaign finance laws are held accountable
Overhaul the federal election commission to enforce campaign finance law
Prohibit the use of shell companies to funnel foreign money in u.S. Election
Require government contractors to disclose their political spending
Ensure an ethical government accountable to the people:

Slow the revolving door between government officials and lobbyists
Expand conflict of interest law
Ban members of congress from serving on corporate boards
Require presidents to publicly disclose their tax returns
Overhaul the office of government ethics to ensure stronger enforcement of ethics rules
Require members of the U.S. Supreme court abide by a judicial code of ethics

A little end of year review

in 2018 as always, it is fun to see my posters as they are installed in homes or businesses. Very proud to have created a home portrait (in center, below) - I cherish these opportunities to create for people who will keep them as memories of beloved pets or with personal meaning, such as a home.

Holiday season and honored to have designed and illustrated the card for State Senator Ebbin

Senator Ebbin does a great job for his constituents, which would include our daughter. So honored to do his holiday card for him.

Business

Amazon we are not. And that’s a good thing, Amazon is a disaster for workers and probably for the country - don’t get me started. We pass through shipping costs, because we have to and cannot engage in games like Amazon Prime, etc. And the Genius Tariffs have made an impact in the cost of supplies. To wit:

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Three new posters

These are just exquisite together. The colors are so vivid against the matte dark grey background. This series will be offered in a limited, signed edition. I am that excited about them! Currently they are exhibited without glass: the subtle grays and blacks are lost in the reflections of normal glass. There is a great solution, and that is museum glass, but we will have to arrange for that in a special order, as museum glass needs to be custom ordered and the cost is, well, museum-level cost. Museum glass is not only UV protective, but it is laminated with films that cut the reflectivity. It is some kind of magic technology that allows the true colors and all the detail to be seen, as if the glass were not even there.

As the Monarch butterflies are migrating through our area at this very moment, and the last of the other butterflies are still in the fields, these posters are reminders of fleeting summertime.

They are really stunning, and I hope they find homes together though individually they do hold up well. Come see them on display at Cville Arts gallery, or soon at the Crozet Artisans Depot.

Been asked for this poster

of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and cyclists. In the spring especially, groups of people often from Quebec come down to ride the scenic parkway. 

In Virginia, there is one tunnel on the BRP and it is fairly close by, near Buena Vista, in an area that is (like all of) so beautiful.

Rarely do I use much black - I do love color, and black is a spectacular color - one day I might post my studies of black, á la Ad Reinhardt, but for this poster perhaps a midnight blue tunnel is good? Or is there allover too much blue?

This is a quiet, peaceful, subtle and strong image

The view is a familiar one, from Skyline drive looking west towards Harrisonburg and the profile of Massanutten Mountain is sharp against the fading light of an afternoon sky. I love how the mist rises up from the valley at this time of day.

How this all happens

Studio scene

Commission work!

Love it! A tribute to a four legged friend. So glad to do this portrait poster.

Custom work

This series lends itself well to customizing the colors, shown here in warm hues to match an interior