This work is of the Belmont section of Charlottesville painted in the morning sun of June 2010. It is of a group of buildings that has gone under a complete overhaul and renovation during the past five years. Now housing a group of popular restaurants, these buildings are quite a nice site grouped together in the "downtown Belmont" section of Charlottesville, Virginia. The orientation for this painting was such that it was painted from an old Texaco station that now houses a tire company. And because of that the Texaco sign dominates the scene but not so uncomfortably that it seems out of sorts here in the middle of my canvas, I see it as setting the tone of this painting. It is making what was once old and forgotten back to something fresh and new. The title of this painting is : "Belmont Summertime"
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What Has Worked;

Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth, creator of Rat Fink: A son remembers

Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth, creator of Rat Fink: A son remembers Here is one of the early influences of my artwork. I use to love seeing his model caricatures in my neighbors window. Chris Pegg certainly didn't know it but it helped my develop an idea of "My People" in my caricatures that I've done over the years. Big Daddy Roth showed my how to have fun with my pen and paper back when I was fifteen and had a vivid imagination to share with 'the world of art'....I have much to thank this guy for,,,his nerve is one of them,,,he didn't mind it if he offended the more conservative of those with his outrageous gory big tooth rats and such...I really enjoyed it. It was an age when being offensive wasn't nearly as extreme as it is today, his work was cutting edge for the time. Afterall, the Beatles had just come to New York for there first concert if that gives you any idea of how unique he was at his height.
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Plans of Mice and Men Sooner Can Go Astray

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Upon our early springlike weather I popped out and put up my easel with canvas upon a local avenue that is titled :"Belmont Ave", it is here where I did a preliminary drawing before rendering it in oils this past Sunday. I have yet to photograph the oil painting but I did have this pen and ink which I will post. It's going to be a pleasure to get out once again into the elements with my equipment and in such accommodating weather it is very pleasurable to work in the outdoor air, and sun here in Charlottesville. I am hoping to get something done this spring break or the very first week in April, but we will wait and see....one never knows in this ever changing world with all the problems we have, have had, and will be having that are not even known about now. I know that the truth is always subject to revision when it comes to making plans for my future. I've learned to just put somethings aside of my own self interest for the sake of the common good of ...
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Photos and Editing After A Night of Shooting

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The days are long, the night is cool : an excellent time for photography and I got to it this past weekend. I like the new way of editing photos with software such as Picasa 3 that I only plug because I am using that in doing these photos. I went to the sepia-tone in some of these night photos. We who take photos (which seems to be most everyone thesedays) can take night photos if you can change your ISO to a higher number, the higher the number the higher the amount of light that will register in your camera's sensors. So night photos are now able to be done quite readily due to the amazing speeds that ISO can go to now with the advent of digital photography. It's just amazing to me and so I have been trying it out with good results. Then I tinker with the image changing it to a sepia-tone and sometimes giving it higher color plus adding a grain texture...truly something else.
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Photgraphs: my Dad's influence on me

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There is a historical side to me. I like revisiting the past of my family as I'm sure most people do other wise Kodak wouldn't have been so popular in the past selling memories to family upon family. Now with digital photography the past can be seen closer to the present than ever before. But I digress, the past of my childhood has recently come to my attention with regards to some photographs I rescued from my mother throwing them away. They are photos that my Dad took and with the help of a friend I was able to digitalised them and print them on a few CD's for safe keeping. I am currently working on paintings that deal with using those same photos as reference points for artwork of my own. My Dad as it was noted was really good a composing a photograph from life events. I'd like to think some of that trait got passed down to me. In art school a professor and artist said he liked my composition a lot in an early painting of my cartoon style at the Academy...
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More Work: It's Been A Labor of Love

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I've been doing some preliminary drawing of sites I want to paint before diving into the oils. I am able tso retouch them once I get home into something that can be seen as worthwhile if one is to favor pen and inks. I enjoy pen and ink on some good paper. I am working on these terrifically well done and new buildings that have come from the ashes of the little section of town that I live in called Belmont. They are good studies of these redone buildings, and a few of the people who are now coming to this part of town in search of something to eat. This quest to paint these buildings is taking up a good deal of my time this summer painting season, and it's proving to be a good thing. I have enjoyed the results of my oils have given me, but I have yet to even photograph them. My drawings are much easier to put into digital form so I am post them right now. More to come in short order, just give me time because right now the thing is to draw, paint and pai...
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