previous updates: april 2006 | october 2006
| fine art | photography | writing | design and illustration |
paintings and sketches portraits  other commissioned works  |
color black and white  photoshop  |
logo printed materials  web  |
| fine art | photography | writing | design and illustration |
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paintings
and sketches ____________ Summer Sketches
I love to do extemporaneous sketches whenever possible, and sketching musicians is especially challenging and fun. I attended two music events this summer where I had the opportunity to stroll with pencil and sketch pad. See more sketches from this summer... ____________ Shadow, Casey and Ralph I've done two portraits for this client, and this time it was a gift for mom for Mother's Day. They even brought mom to my studio so I could see her reaction when she received her gift. ____________ May Flowers Still lifes are always popular, and tulips are a favorite. This one was designed by myself and the client from photos of vases of flowers and backgrounds taken from catalogs when we couldn't find a photo that worked for her. Also, she had wanted to include a photo of one of her schnauzers somehow in this piece, and so, in the lower right corner you'll see a blank spot that will be a small framed photo of the dog when it's finished. |
color Reel Pittsburgh
A typical view of one of Pittsburgh's neighborhoods as seen from the Gateway Clipper Majestic. The view is the domes of St. Nicholas Church on Rt. 28 topped by the row houses of Troy Hill. I have a series of images in mind that I've been calling "Reel Pittsburgh" (because they are film, get it?, even if they are digital), images that are unique to our terrain, neighborhoods and social systems which means that every image must contain at least two of the following: a church, a hill, a body of water and a tight group of older homes with character. _______ Stripes
That old man is one of my favorite subjects, but how could he knowthe perfect compositions he makes? Here, the early morning sunlight creates diagonal stipes of light and shadow on the decking boards, covering even the small table with the same pattern, and Stanley, too, who is also striped but in swirls, reinforcing his own pattern by curling up in the center, the anomaly in the pattern. It's his habit around the house. ____________ Moving Thistles I spent about a half hour with a thistle plant in Settler's Cabin Park in September and while I have a number of beautiful photos to show for it, I didn't get the one I wanted--the seed pods flying away. I decided to play with a few images when I got them home, and used the finger-smudge tool in PhotoShop to do what I was trying to do in the field--make those Santa Clauses fly away and catch the blur of movement. ____________ One of my many photos of one of my many cats won "photo of the month" from the Animal Rescue League of Western Pennsylvania's monthly contest! I've got another from that series, plus last year's winner. Peaches and Peonies Cats are creatures of habit, and Peaches chose this spot to have her after-dinner bath every day for a few weeks when the sun was right; I actually shot 50 or more photos of the scene over several days. I think I'll end up doing a painting of this scene (visit "My Cats"), and, since Peaches was a senior foster, my plan is to use some of the proceeds of the sale of prints to benefit adoptions of older animals at shelters. Please visit the Animal Rescue League of Western Pennsylvania, the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society and Animal Friends. Peaches and Toes Keeping an Eye on Things Winner of May 2006 photo of the month. Sophie watches me leave through a part in the lace curtains, right above the masses of blue forget-me-nots . I simply loved the colors.
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essay ___________ "In Memory of 'Summer', and Too Many Others"
Where I used to be able to take off on the spur of the moment for a burst of inspiration or a drawing session en plein air, I now have to check to see if that space still exists. [read the rest of the essay on my manuscripts page] "Apples For My Love" I read a poem I am proud to announce that I have had poems published on the Autumn 2006 edition of hotmetalpress, an online poetry journal! The above poem was one that was chosen. ________________ "Loving Care for Your Senior Cat, Part 2"
[Please visit my Manuscripts page to read the rest of the article, or visit the My Three Cats & Co., Inc. website to read this and other articles I've written for this client. I also designed the website and created most of the artwork for it, even photographed a lot of products!] |
Carnegie Community Development Corporation
______________ Allegheny Land Trust Newsletter
_______________ web |
| miscellaneous |
A ride on the West Busway, my usual route, shows a variety of scenery from the verdant hills and open space of the still-suburban areas through small neighborhoods and shopping districts to the bustle and congestion of downtown and oakland and the open vistas along the rivers.
