"Turkey Day"

Watercolor 9" x 12"

Every Thanksgiving the Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial Page runs the official Thanksgiving Proclamations from the president and Virginia's governor. Instead of a cartoon to the right of the proclamations, we've run variations of cornucopia art I've done or a drawing I did many years ago of the first Thanksgiving at Berkley Plantation. This year, I decided to paint this watercolor of a pair of wild turkeys.

"On the Rocks"

Watercolor 10" x 13"

One of the great resources available to a newspaper editorial cartoonist is access to the paper's library (in the old days it was referred to as the morgue). The library of the Richmond Times-Dispatch is an absolute treasure trove of photos going back many decades, and I have spent countless hours over the past 30 years rummaging through many of the hundreds of thousands of photos neatly filed away alphabetically in huge file cabinets. One day, I came across an old black and white photo taken in the 1940s of an Army ship that had broken its moorings in a nor'easter in Maine and washed up on some rocks near a lighthouse. I decided to use the photo as reference for a watercolor. I did the whole painting using only burnt sienna and cobalt blue.

"Maymont Morning"

8" x 10" Acrylic on linen panel

For the past several years, I've donated cartoons to the Maymont Foundation for its annual fundraising auction. This year, I decided I would instead donate a painting. Maymont is a great place to find subject matter, and I've done several paintings "en plein air" on the grounds, mainly during workshops. So an August morning found me wandering the estate in search of something new to paint. I decided on the chickens at the Childrens' Farm.

"Lime Green Chevy"

9" x 12" acrylic on canvas panel

I loved this old Chevy pickup I saw in a rural community south of Richmond. Wish I had it.

"3rd St. Diner"

9" x 12" oil on panel

The 3rd St. Diner is a couple of blocks from the Richmond Times-Dispatch downtown facility. Open 24 hours a day, it has served burgers and beers to patrons for many years. It has recently undergone changes inside and out, and, unfortunately, the great old orange awnings (as well as the tattooed waitresses) are now gone.

"House on Carter's Mountain"

9" x 12" oil on canvas panel

On a beautiful October day a number of years ago when our sons were kids, we were picking apples on Carter's Mountain south of Charlottesville. This house was on the eastern side of the mountain overlooking a large orchard. I painted this from a couple of photos I snapped as we rode on a hay wagon pulled by a tractor.

"Antonio"

18" x 24" oil on canvas

This was a new painting challenge for me. Everett Raymond Kinstler, one of America's premier portrait artists, was in Richmond to jury a show at Brazier Fine Art Gallery, and was also to teach a one-day workshop in portrait painting. I've admired his work for many years, not only his portrait painting but his early cartoon and illustration work, so I didn't hesitate to sign up for the class. Ray began the day with a quick, thirty-minute portrait of a young lady that was, to say the least, terrific! After that, we were to pick a model and get to work. I suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to run out the door . . . I had no idea what to do, or how to even begin. I looked around and everyone else was happily throwing paint on their canvases, so I did likewise, not really knowing what the heck I was doing. Ray came by several times during the morning, offering advice and constructive criticism. When we broke for lunch, I felt more confident, so the afternoon session went much better. At the end of the day, I felt like my first, and so far, only oil portrait painted from life, was not bad. And being taught by Ray Kinstler was a wonderful experience.

"Domineckers"

9" x 12" oil on canvas panel

Dominique chickens, more commonly called "Domineckers," are closely related to Plymouth Barred Rocks. Both were bred from barred chickens that were common in the eastern United States by the mid-1700s. A hardy breed, their heavy plumage made them desirable as providers of feathers for pillows and beds in addition to their eggs and meat. After other breeds of domestic chickens were developed, especially following WWII, interest in Dominiques declined, and by 1970, only four known flocks survived. However, efforts of conservation groups and breeders have brought their numbers back up substantially. I enjoyed painting them because they're just plain good-looking chickens.

"Chicken coop at Meadow Farm Museum"

8" x 10" oil on linen panel

This small, white-washed old chicken coop grabbed my attention at Meadow Farm Museum. Several Dominecker chickens and a trio of turkeys wandered over to the fence next to where I set up not long after I began to paint. They watched for a few minutes, made some rude noises, and wandered off again scratching through the tall grass in search of a snack. I took a few photos and later added the chickens in front of the coop.

"Bryan Park Bridge"

9" x 12" oil on canvas panel

This small, concrete bridge is in Bryan Park in the Lakeside area of Richmond. It was painted during another workshop I took with Roger Dale Brown. Again, it was a hot, humid day, but the dark trees beyond the bridge had a look of cool refuge from the heat.

"Farm near Asheville"

8" x 10" oil on linen panel

I painted this scene from the edge of the cemetary at Mt. Zion Baptist Church several miles northwest of Asheville, North Carolina on a beautiful Fall afternoon. The farm across the road actually had a house and several outbuildings, but I chose to simplify the picture and only portray the red barn with a bright, tin roof. I now wish I had added at least the farmhouse.

"Path to Dooley Mansion"

9" x 12" oil on canvas panel

This one was painted the day after the workshop ended. It shows just a portion of the roof of the historic Dooley Mansion beyond the trees. A footpath worn in the grass leads around from the back of the carriage house past a fence up to the side of the house. I remember the day was quite hot and humid (it was Richmond in the summer, after all).

"Maymont Carriage House"

9" x 12" oil on canvas panel

This painting of the Normandy-style carriage house was done from beyond the stone wall on the back side of the attached buildings. I spent far too much time pushing the paint around, and what should have been an hour-and-a-quarter painting quickly turned into three-plus hours. By that time, late in the day, the shadow had moved from one side of the round tower to the other. This was a real lesson in why plein air artists have to slap on the paint quickly with real conviction.

" Dooley Mausoleum at Maymont"

4" x 6" oil on canvas panel

This was a very quick, 20 minute painting done during the same workshop, this time with a session lead by North Carolina artist Dee Beard Dean. The subject was the masoleum of James and Sallie Dooley. The structure is a short distance behind the Dooley Mansion. Unfortunately, the scan is not so good due to the varnish.

"Shed at Tuckahoe Plantation"

8" x 10" oil on canvas panel

This was my first attempt at plein air painting in oil. In 2005, Loryn Brazier, a Richmond portrait painter and owner of the Brazier Gallery, convinced me to take a plein air workshop, held over three days during Labor Day weekend in 2005. We had several terrific instructors, and my first morning class was with Roger Dale Brown from Tennessee. We were at Tuckahoe Plantation, the boyhood home of Thomas Jefferson. Following a one-hour demonstration by Roger, we set up our gear in a cow pasture (complete with cows and a very protective bull) and went at it. This small shed was at the far end of the pasture. For my first effort, I felt it wasn't too bad.