I sold my first artwork in high school.  I used that money to buy Laurie and I cheesesteaks on a Friday night date. Now I have the good fortune that I don’t have to sell my paintings to pay the bills.  Moonlighting as an engineer for forty years allowed me to paint what excites me while developing my own style.  I officially retired the ol’ slide rule (look it up millennials and other newbies) eight years ago and I now find that I’m working pretty hard at being the artist I a

There’s something about the Historic Cavileer House in Lower Bank, NJ… it draws me in.  Standing against time on the east bank of the Mullica River, parts of the house predate the Civil War.  It’s old, it’s got character.  Porches, a portico, Victorian trim, out buildings, an outside dinner bell, old boats, peeling paint, history, antiques.  It even had a wood windmill and water tank till a windstorm blew it over two years ago.  It’s my “Olson House” for those who get the ref

sketches for "Winter Storage" "Winter Storage" (watercolor on paper, matted & framed, image size 12"x17") I’m paging through my well used sketch/note/journal book… it’s a few years old now and its looking ratty but there are still some pages to fill.  There are sketches, value studies, teaching commitments, student goals and progress notes, phone numbers, new contacts, notes from museum visits, gallery i

Mid-September to early May, my favorite time of the year.  Changing colors, amazing sunsets and sunrises, empty beaches, Payne's Grey skies and seas, and quiet... it's a different quiet... an introverted quiet, a peaceful quiet.  When it comes to painting and mixing fall greens its time to add more dark blue in that mix. The vibrant greens of spring and summer are gone.  My green, a mixture of American Journey Yellow Ochre and you guessed it Winsor Newton Payne's Grey. WN's P