Enduring Legacy

These cottages have been painted about every way possible there is to paint something and that's okay. But I must confess, I have fallen in love with old Nags Head and I wanted to paint them for what they are to me. Icons of a bygone time that have stood the test of many storms and endured all of them with grace. Here in a line from left to right is Buchanan, Skinner, and Woods. The Nags Head Pier is in the background. I had to do some editing on the sand fence, it was just too new. One evening when I was out walking and taking these reference photos I happened upon the couple who own the center one and we had a nice chat about the old days and the old cottages and what living in one was like. He said many is the time he's gotten up to take a look at the ocean in the middle of the night. I lived along the sound about 3 feet above water level so I could relate very well to his concern. This is pastel on Wallis sanded paper, inside dimension is 12" x 16", outside dimension 16" x 20" matted and framed, $175.

The Sentinels

This is a painting I have been wanting to do for quite some time. On my way to work I pass a large salt marsh on the outskirts of Wanchese and Manteo. I don't know of a bigger expanse of grass on the Outer Banks. It is always fascinating to see what color the grasses are each day. When it has rained for a long time they are almost black. Sometimes in the spring they are bright green and in autumn they turn a pale golden color. After Pirate's Cove, as you are heading west, on the left there are three tall pine trees. I always think of these trees as the sentinels guarding and watching over the marsh. I added a flock of geese. They are darker than they look in this photo because of the studio window reflection. But they are not in silhouette, just sort of a gray fleeting presence. That was how I wanted them to appear and they do. Interesting note: I was going to paint in the reflections of the grass and was about to take a reference photo to get them right and just then a breeze came up and riffled the water near the grasses but left the cloud reflection alone. So I left it the way I had it before and put a little riffle in the keyhole too. I thought maybe God was trying to save me a little work by sending a breeze right then. This is my first oil painting (ever). I really got into it and forgot it is paint that doesn't dry fast like acrylic and had it all over me and all over the studio all week. I've been finding more of it in the carpet and my clothing every day since I painted it. Just when I think I've got it all... I find some more. This is oil on canvas, 16" x 20" $199 framed. Email for information.

Retired

People collect old tractors. Even people I know. My Ohio background kicked in this winter and I began to get interested in them as an artist, in the shapes and state of the rust, and constructed this image from several photographs my mother took of Ohio farms. I call it "retired" because it was a valiant warrior now out to pasture... okay, even literally. On the way to the Outer Banks, if you are coming from the north down 158, in Currituck County you will pass a large farm market and they have what seems like 50 old tractors all around the property propping up signs, advertising lots of goodies. It is a great place to shop. I highly recommend it. This is matted to 11" x 14", inside dimension is 7 1/2" x 9 3/4" watercolor on Arches. $60