Saddle Up is a special blend of an old saddle complemented with an old wagon wheel.

Saddle Up is in a box frame.

The composition is exciting. Notice the buggy and tree roots extension beyond the drawing’s boarder, and the use of color accents to capture your eye. “Coming Home” has become one of my favorites. I hope you feel the same about it.

“Serenity” is about spatial design. The interval placing of the picturesque birch trees set in a fresh deep snow opens the space. The location of the deer retains the visual open space. 

Looking out the dining room window during the Summer and Fall months, this hanging pot of bright red geraniums and dusty miller kept calling me to create a lasting image. Finally, I couldn’t resist, and in October, I began drawing the Hanging Flowers.

Winter Wonderland opens the viewer’s eyes to a tranquil peaceful winter scene. India Ink.

Flowers & Pumpkin Wagon is one of a series of four mini drawings focusing on a Fall theme. India Ink & Watercolor

Flowers & Pumpkin Wagon is one of a series of four mini drawings focusing on a Fall theme. India Ink & Watercolor

Flowers & Pumpkin Wagon is one of a series of four mini drawings focusing on a Fall theme. India Ink & Watercolor

Flowers & Pumpkin Wagon is one of a series of four mini drawings focusing on a Fall theme. India Ink & Watercolor

“Violets” has been a long time in the chain of drawings. It took one last push from my wife to make “Violets” happen. ENJOY

Sand Trap painting was included in today’s newsletter. It is 30" X 45" acrylic on canvas.

I am not making any claims that this painting is “magical,” but my execution in the sand trap dramatically improved after I painted “Sand Trap.” Hope you will have the same good fortune!

India Ink & Watercolor on hot press watercolor paper

Garden House is from a photograph taken in Southern Lancaster County. The art required color to make it visibly appealing. It took me a few years to convince myself to use so much color on one of my drawings. Once I convinced myself to create the art, the challenge became where to place the color and still maintain the pointillism style. I feel good with the result. Hope you do too.

Snowy Owl is a change from my usual subject of landscapes. The ghostlike snowy owl has unmistakable white plumage that echoes its Arctic origins. The Snowy Owl is one of the largest species of owl with a four to five foot wing span, it is the only owl with mainly white plumage. Males tend to be a purer white overall while females tend to have more extensive flecks of dark brown. India Ink and watercolor.

SECOND PLACE WINNER Winter Birch is a two-fold winner. The drawing includes the beauty of a fresh deep snow with the undeniable beauty of birch trees. The stream pulls the eye through the birch trees to the back of the drawing. The snow laden holly bush has just enough red berries peeking through to capture the eye but not overbearing. India Ink and watercolor.

Snow adventures is one of winter’s pleasures for the Amish children, and this slope by their school provides just the right location for sledding.   

India Ink & Pastell.

Prints Available

Looking through a window into a room from outside the house is a common scene in paintings. What makes Open Window different? You do not see a vase of flowers – a very common theme. Open Window is mysterious. I was intrigued by the darkness and not knowing what is there. It was left for my imagination to create.

India Ink & Watercolor

“Amaryllis Belladonna (AKA) Naked Ladies or Resurrection Lilly ”

Such a beautiful delicate flower with an appropriate AKA. As the plant approaches late Spring, the leaves fall back leaving the stems bare and naked. The delicate pink flower blooms early August.

India Ink & Watercolor

Unframed Prins Available

Lake House was a commission drawing, and sold to the family who asked to have made.

Amish wagons along the road’s edge loaded with different types and sizes of pumpkins and gourds is very common during the Fall season among the Amish communities . And to add a variety of color, the wagons are surrounded by Fall flowers like Mums.

Flowers bring love and beauty into our lives.  Without flowers, plants would merely be green, and the world would be a less colorful place in which to live. Along with their appealing visual qualities, their scent and shape improve our overall quality of life. The Rhododendron flowers, which are a specie of woody plants, fit right in to this woody setting. And were added to brighten your life each time you look at the art. Original made with India Ink and chalk pastels.  

“Monday Morning Wash Day”  Seeing laundry hanging on a line is not uncommon in Amish country. They do laundry two to three times a week. But, have you ever seen laundry going through rows of corn. Definitely. A first in my life and probably yours. I just could not resist taking this picture and creating this art for others to enjoy, and perhaps a - “Really!!!” 

The Old Shack is a remake of a drawing I did in the 70’s. The drawing displays a different fence that helps set the drawing’s atmosphere. The weathered fence, like the Old Shack, clearly shows how nature creates the beauty around us. The background is totally different and refreshing with a portion of the sky visible with clouds.

Winter Bench depicts the beauty of freshly fallen snow. Silent, clean and undisturbed. The pristine scene interrupted only by the presents of the three blue birds.   

FIRST PLACE WINNER The Ford Sedan was not part of the original old building. But it certainly belongs there. It found a home. Just an FYI on the Ford Sedan. The car was fully in tact in the picture I used. The challenge was to make the car fit into the environment of an old building.

“Fall Scenery” is a scene from New Hampshire. There are several breath-taking scenes in New Hampshire; this one is along the walk to reach The Flume. It is the cluster of trees along the stream which originates at The Flume that caught my attention. Although it was Fall, the leaves had not yet fully turned color. But I could not envision this drawing any other way except in full Fall color.

Birch trees set a breathtaking scene in the woods with their green leaves against the white tree bark. Sadly, birch trees have a relatively short life span for a tree. The Barred Owls are small in status, and are noted for their rich baritone hooting. The Barred Owl's hooting call resembles, “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you-all?   

Historic Cuttalossa farm and gristmill cabin in the woods, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. How nice it was to throw grains of corn or wheat into the big cog wheels and then listen to the crunching as the cogs crushed them into wheat for baking. Gristmills were once a staple in communities. Now that these old beautiful mills are fast falling into ruin and disappearing, this one is captured to be appreciated for many years. 

SCHOOL DAYS

Those countless wonderful days that you remember and miss so much once out of school. Those memories that quickly return each time you pass by your school, or any school. Do you remember the time on the playground? Do you remember your special friends and how you always hung together on the playground? 

For the Amish children, the sound of the school bell signals a time to shift attention from field work to school work, a time to drop the hoe and pick up a pencil. The one-room school takes the students through the eighth grade, and restricts worldly influences and stress the basics such as reading, writing and arithmetic. The importance of the community and cooperation among its members are also emphasized. India Ink and watercolor.

The Old Shack certainly needs the roses to increase its resale value. Note the structure. Tit was built above ground. This concept was often used to keep snakes from entering the house.

While the original purpose of a spring house was to keep the spring water clean by excluding fallen leaves, animals, etc., the enclosed structure was also used for refrigeration. The water of the spring maintains a constant cool temperature inside the spring house throughout the year to preserve food that would otherwise spoil. I found this one in southern Lancaster County. Only a few spring houses remain, as well as fence posts made from tree limbs. The beautiful sculptures created over time through exposure to nature are giving way to manufactured fences. LOST BEAUTY!

Hex signs are a form of Pennsylvania Dutch folk art. Barn paintings, usually in the form of "stars in circles", began to appear on the landscape in the early 19th century. Distlefinks, which are stylized goldfinches, are looking back over their shoulder because that is where you would find good luck. The hearts represent love, romance, and marriage while the border symbolizes long life because a circle never ends.  

Hex signs are a form of Pennsylvania Dutch folk art. Barn paintings, usually in the form of "stars in circles", began to appear on the landscape in the early 19th century. Distlefinks, which are stylized goldfinches, are looking back over their shoulder because that is where you would find good luck. The hearts represent love, romance, and marriage while the border symbolizes long life because a circle never ends.  

Hex signs are a form of Pennsylvania Dutch folk art. Barn paintings, usually in the form of "stars in circles", began to appear on the landscape in the early 19th century. Distlefinks, which are stylized goldfinches, are looking back over their shoulder because that is where you would find good luck. The hearts represent love, romance, and marriage while the border symbolizes long life because a circle never ends.  

Hex signs are a form of Pennsylvania Dutch folk art. Barn paintings, usually in the form of "stars in circles", began to appear on the landscape in the early 19th century. Distlefinks, which are stylized goldfinches, are looking back over their shoulder because that is where you would find good luck. The hearts represent love, romance, and marriage while the border symbolizes long life because a circle never ends.  

Prints available. This idea is attributed to a similar image viewed while driving on a back road. The original layout included two open doors; one with an old car and the other with a piece of farm equipment. Being rushed to meet an exhibit deadline, the second opening was eliminated.

If you live among the Amish, you might have noticed the colors of their shirts and dresses have intensified. Enough that discussions actually take place between the elders and the younger Amish.

This drawing was inspired when I watched a buggy going by with a very young child looking out the window.

Prints available. Well Pump is a spinoff of Barn Door. The main focus of Well Pump was to establish depth. The viewer is placed deep in a barn with a view through the open door that takes the viewer to the distant horizon.

Prints available. I got up early after a deep snow fall to discover winter's beauty. Didn't really find much that excited me except for a couple of streams which were combined and included in the drawing. As I pulled into my drive, there in front of me, staring me in the face were these beautiful snow laden evergreens which you now see in the drawing.

Prints available. One of the beauties of a winter snow is to see the bright sun glaring off of the new snow. Everything appears so clean and crisp. That is what I tried to capture with this drawing. 

Prints available. Winter's Wrath portrays a heavy country snow that socks everything and everyone in. Much of what exists is covered with a blanket of deep snow.

Prints available. Barn Door is a compilation of subject matter from five different locations. Lancaster and Chester Counties. My wife felt strongly about selecting the framing for this drawing. It is framed with fabric mat, a beautiful wood frame, and museum glass. Beautiful rustic subject framed in an equally beautiful rustic frame. This hangs well on a stone wall.

Prints available. Mystic Connecticut is a beautiful experience. That is where I saw the building by the water. With the addition of the crab pots and net hanging on the side of the building, the image of a fishing village is complete.

Prints available. Reflection represents the addition of color BIG time. Not just a splash of color with this drawing. But color in this drawing is used to set the atmosphere. Chalk pastels were used to create the smoky mysterious atmosphere. 

Prints available. What a great opportunity to find these treasures living among the Amish. That is where I found this worn out wagon. Couldn't think of a better location to place it than among an unattended field. There were a few challenges with this drawing. First was laying out the drawing as if the viewer was at ground level looking up the field. Then came the fence post in the foreground. It had to capture the viewer's attention. Then came the field of weeds. Hundreds of weeds individually drawn. The final challenge was to create a sky that continued to draw the viewer's eyes toward the focal point; the space between the wagon and the end of the fence row. 

Prints available. Once again I felt the need to include color to complete the drawing. The color is used to hold the viewer's attention and move their eyes throughout the drawing.

Prints available. Gristmill was the last drawing started but not complete before I began my thirty-four year hiatus in art. Although the initial gristmill drawing was very different than this one. It still exists uncompleted.

Prints available. This is one of my earliest drawings and one of the few that includes a resemblance of life. It exist about a quarter mile from our first home south of Strasburg. I couldn't help but see the beauty that existed while looking down the valley at this pristine farm.

BEST OF SHOW WINNER Prints available. Abandoned is a very good example of nature's impact on objects left to its forces. The old truck and barn come together from two different images my wife captured from Chester County. Drawing old buildings is not new for me. Making them take on the appearance of aging and unattended, I've done a few times. But, drawing a metal object and making it appear as metal was a new adventure.  

Original & prints available. Just a bit of a funny story behind Barbwire. The drawing was sketched on the paper and the top portion of the fence was completed. The portion with the extension on the top left of the post. My wife's cousin and her cousin's mother visited while I was working on the drawing. With the portion of the post sticking out and the oblong pencil sketch of the wire, the image of a “pig” came to their mind. There was a moment of pause on my part and then an explanation of the actual subject. However, I felt compelled to include a plant named “pig wort” in the drawing. Can you find it?

Deep Snow represents my return to art after a thirty-four year hiatus from art. The snow storm took place in Northwestern Pennsylvania in 1987. The 20” snow fall created a strong visual image of the power of nature. 

Deep Snow II came from the 1987 snow storm that left 20” of light fluffy snow. A beautiful irresistible white setting for the image of the Amish farm. Black on white is perfect for this setting.

Mailbox is my second drawing after returning from the thirty-four year hiatus. I found this image at the end of a very long Amish driveway. With the disfigured mail box and the area around it totally covered with vines, it becomes a rarely seen topic. The plane white background allows the vines to be the focus of the drawing. 

Who could pass up this serene image of hanging tobacco in a red barn with a painted pony watching over the area? The pony came out from inside the barn to strike the placid posture when I stopped. The drawing incorporates items from two separate locations from the southern portion of Lancaster County. Original made with India Ink and watercolor.

After 49 years, it finally happened! Wheelbarrow is the very first drawing that includes color. The scene comes from the Magnolia Plantation in South Carolina. The wheelbarrow was situated between two remaining slave houses. By its appearance, one can almost see it being used by a slave.

As you travel along Skyline Drive at a leisurely speed of 35 mph or less, you roll down your windows, feel the breeze and experience every curve and turn of this beautiful drive. You stop at one of the nearly 70 overlooks that offer stunning views of the Shenandoah Valley. Picture just one. This one. India ink and chalk pastel.

Weathered Fence is one of my favorites. It represents my very first pointillism drawing. The drawing strongly depicts the ability to create very dark areas with detail through pointillism.

Amish buggies vary in style and size. A standard buggy size is 40” wide X 68” long. Let’s put this in perspective with a small car. Do you remember that cute little VW Beetle? It is 72” W X 169”L. Nearly twice the width of a buggy, but three kids in the back seat of a Beetle was a tight squeeze. Yet, three and sometimes four children in the back seat of an Amish buggy is common. And don’t be surprised if you get a smile and a wave from a little hand.

First Snow brings out the image of serenity following a dense snow storm. Snow takes over your world. You can't get out. You can only appreciates its beauty.

Hitchin’ A Ride is from a photograph I took in 1980 while driving in my car. The use of rollerblades by the young Amish was not uncommon. But seeing an Amish youth on rollerblades hanging onto a buggy going down the main street in Intercourse, PA is not something you will see frequently. And like our car, the buggy has changed over the years.

Morning Glory is one of those rare instances when you are at the right place at the right time, and capture that special moment. This is from a picturesque Amish farm along Mt. Pleasant Road in Southern Lancaster County.   

Stormy Weather illustrates that wild, blustery beginning to a summer rain squall that forces you to hunker down for the duration of the storm.   

This stately tree is located on your drive on Route 772 from Intercourse towards Leola. But be cautious. You will spy the tree as you go around a ninety degree turn to the left. One can only imagine what this imposing tree has been through to survive. Broken limbs, a 40 degree lean to the left, roots being ripped from the ground, and look for the opening at the base of the tree.

Enjoy the tree and enjoy your drive. 

The things you can’t see from the road as you drive past a building. You will find this structure on Route 741 in Paradise Township, PA. But you will need to drive around to the other side of the building which is located on Rohrer’s farm to see what the drawing illustrates.

Mystic Boats is a portion of an earlier drawing titled Mystic Seashore. As I worked on Mystic Seashore, my thoughts kept leaning toward adding color to the bottom of the two boats. But coloring the bottom of the boats in Mystic Seashore was not right for the composition. Coloring the boat bottoms in Mystic Boats was needed and completes the composition. Mystic Boats is not only different with the boat bottom colored; it has several changes from Mystic Seashore.

Beautiful sunsets make it worthwhile to see the coming of the end of the day. The 2021 winter months created some of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen in a very long time. It just makes you want to immediately take a picture. It turns out, as the temperature drop, sunsets become brighter and display robust color. Surprisingly, the myth of smog and pollution creating the stunning colors just might not be factual

Beautiful sunsets make it worthwhile to see the coming of the end of the day. The 2021 winter months created some of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen in a very long time. It just makes you want to immediately take a picture. It turns out, as the temperature drop, sunsets become brighter and display robust color. Surprisingly, the myth of smog and pollution creating the stunning colors just might not be factual

This is the last sunset in a series of three. The 2021 winter months created some of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen in a very long time. It just makes you want to immediately take a picture. This one was special. Seeing our flag silhouetted against the beautiful end to the day made me proud that I live in a country where such beauty can be appreciated. It turns out, as the temperature drop, sunsets become brighter and display robust color. India Ink & Pastel.

On a drive north on North Belmont Road in Paradise, PA, I encountered a couple embracing in the covered bridge. It was so beautiful with their form silhouette against the light grey of the road. But WHY were they kissing in the covered bridge? This question prompted me to research the topic. To my surprise, some covered bridges are referred to as “Kissing Bridge”. It's an old tradition from the horse-and-buggy days, when a boy would stop halfway across a covered bridge where it was quiet to give his girl a kiss. Old-timers used to call all covered bridges “kissing bridges”. Some say “if you take your first kiss in a covered bridge, you will be together forever.” 

Open Door represents my return to how time and nature creates beauty. This beautiful old structure is located in Southern Chester County. It comes alive with the addition of a table and the remains of a potted rose.