Long Day

 

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 9"x 6"

#207

Not For Sale

This pretty much sums up my year. Dragging my way through it to the end. I really shoulodn't complain, I'm breathing and painting. I am also absolutely optimistic about 2016!

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Rain on The Chrysler

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 9"x 6"

#206

Click Here To Bid / Buy

This is a painting of the Chrysler Building, in NYC, during a torrential rain. What I chose not to include was the broken umbrella flapping around above.

Reflection

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 7"x 5"

#205

Click Here To Bid / Buy

This is a painting of the Brooklyn Bridge, as seen from the old Fulton Fish Market. I chose this scene because of the reflection of the bridge in the puddle. The more I looked at the wet areas around the puddle the more interested I became.

Autumn Shadows

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 7"x 5"

#204

Sold

This is a painting of Madison Square Park, NYC in Autumn. I've always loved back lit trees, especially in the Fall. It's like a canopy of stained glass. 

Spanners

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 3"x 7"

#203

Sold

Along the East River, in Manhattan there is a point just below the Williamsburg Bridge where you can see the Manhattan Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty all at once. It is humbling, and it serves to remind us that this city and its history is bigger than any one person.

Under the Exit

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 6"x 9"

#202

Sold

This is a painting of one of the exit ramps off the 59th Street Bridge, as Manhattanites like to call it, the Queens Borough Bridge for those living on the other side of the East River. For me it epitomizes the dichotomy that is New York, order and chaos all at once. It represents the patchwork infrastructure that is most noticeable when entering or leaving one of its bridges or tunnels.

Saving The WPA

2015, Oil on Hardboard. 5"x 7"

Scenes From a Train

#201

Sold

I've always been fascinated by the WPA creations that dot this country's landscape, especially the bridges. Many of the people who took part in the WPA were artists and their influence can be seen in the design details of every one of these structures. This bridge was probably built in the late 1930's and it shows, but the details on the upper retaining wall structure show just how important aesthetics were back then. Even on a bridge whose audience would consist mainly of a handful of railroad engineers. It says to us, "Everyone is important." The support columns are from a much later renovation, and they tell us, "There's no money in the budget for pretty."

Trestle Rust

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 5"x 7"

Scenes From a a Train
#200

Sold

Today's painting is another from my series, Scenes From a Train. I thought that a snow scene might be kind of refreshing right about now.

East Village Angles

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 6"x 8"

#199

Sold

This is a view of East 12th Street, in NYC. There are many instances when the sides and tops of buildings are much more interesting than the parts that were intended to be seen.

Twilight Time

2015, 8"x 6", Oil on Hardboard

#198

Sold

My favorite view from my favorite hotel. This was something of a waiting game. I took about a dozen photos during each phase of sunset. Right in the middle was, twilight time.

The Dance at St. Mark's

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 5"x 5"

#197

Click here To Bid / Buy

This is a painting of the courtyard at St. Mark's Church in NYC. More specifically, it is a painting of a very old locust tree hat happens to be in the courtyard at St. Mark's Church. I love New York and I love trees, so any time that I can combine the two is a red letter day.

Diagonals and Stripes

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 7"x 5"

#196

Sold

On First Avenue in NYC, just north of First Street, there is a staging area for a variety of safety barriers for a big dig on Houton. It has been going on for a couple of years now and I pass by it on my way to Russ & Daughters, the finest purveyor of smoked fish in the city. I have been looking at this photograph since December, wondering what to do with it. It occurred to me that the question was not what to do with it, but whether I had enough patience to work with it.

East Village Windows

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 7"x 5"

#195

Sold

One of the most interesting things about buildings in New York City has very little to do with the subject building, and more to do with the shadows cast by its neighbors.

The Grundy Stack

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 7"x 5"

Scenes From a Train

#194

Sold

Another Building near the rails. This one was interesting in so many ways. The first was obvious, that stack with the company name made of different colored brick. That takes pride, not to mention money. Then there's the treatment of the odd angle in the front. Instead of embracing it, ala Flatiron Building, it was ignored. Angle? What angle? There is an interesting cove detail in the cornice. There are, or were, huge arched doorways. And lastly, those Mediterranean style roof tiles. I wish I could have been in the meetings when this thing was being planned.

Room Service

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 7"x 5"

#193

Sold

The alternate title for this painting was 'Redrum.' This is a hall way in the Waldorf=Astoria, in New York. It's not as decadent as it might seem, since the rates are comparable to most other hotels. But, I love the history of the place, both real and imagined. They used to have Cole Porter's piano in the lobby.

East Village Haze

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 7"x 5"

#192

Sold

This is a scene that I happened upon during my quest for cannoli and cappuccino. The light show that is New York City at night is particularly evident in the cloud cover. In the '70's and '80's there were only a handful of buildings that were lit and the Empire State Building was the color of the evening. In recent years many other buildings have joined in, each with its own color palette. The result is a more neutral glow, and the color far usually much more subtle.

Sands of New Jersey

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 5"x 5"

Scenes From a Train

#191

Sold

This seemed to be a comination of the last two small paintings yhat I've done (water tower, smaoke stack, etc.). It had the added bonus of having heavy earthmoving equipment and mountains of sand.

Newark at Dusk

2015, Oil on Canvas, 10"x 20"

Scenes From a Train

Click Here To Bid / Buy

This is one of those scenes that epitomizes just how contrary the landscape can be along the railways.

Stack

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 5"x 5"

Scenes From a Train

#190

Click Here To Bid / Buy

One of the more impressive buildings along the rails. I'm afraid to find out what it's currantly being used for.

Forgotten

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 7"x 5"

Scenes From a Train

#189

Sold

Just one of the many water towers along the tracks, each in various degrees of decomposition and natural reclamation. 

Midtown Haze

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 7"x 5"

#188

Click Here To Bid / Buy

Evening in NYC. During a rain most people are looking to get home or just inside somewhere. Anyone out and about is hunkered under an umbrella and looking down at the pavement to avoid those lakes that form at intersections. It is at these times that I find myself virtually alone, constantly looking up and out. I'm usually soaked and my biggest concern is keeping my camera relatively dry. I am most proud to proclaim that I do not have sense enough to come in out of the rain.

Power

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 5"x 5"

Scenes From a Train

#187

Sold

Just one of the many Amtrak power stations along the Harrisburg to NYC route. I've enjoyed working with the images from this visit. The return trip was primarily during the golden hour. Lots of great shadows and that magnificent amber light.

RCA Victor Building

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 5"x 5"

#186

Click Here To Bid / Buy

This is a painting of the old RCA Victor Building, later named the General Electris Building after GE bought RCA. On a recent visit to New York I was afforded this magnificent viewfrom  my hotel window. Art Deco at its most lavish.

From the Shadows

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 5"x 7"

Scenes From a Train

#185

Sold

This is just outside of Newark Station. This is easily becoming my favorite train station.

Over The Tracks

2015, Oil on Hardboard, 3"x 7"

Scenes From a Train

#184

Click Here To Bid / Buy

When taking Amtrak to NYC this is the last vista seen before entering the Hudson River tunnel.