Lonely Lola

Lonely Lola

Oil on canvas, 16x16

sold

Painting in plein air - outdoors, right in the middle of the scene I'm painting - is just about my favorite thing in the world to do. So when I realized that I had time to stop and paint between Omaha and Chicago, where I spent a couple nights with friends between shows, I jumped at the chance. 

It was late in the day when I started this painting, and I knew the shadows would be growing longer and more interesting as the sun went down. The light became warmer and softer as dusk wore into evening. Birds flew and sang, and a rabbit ran across the driveway ahead of me. 

At one point, I looked up and saw a large cow staring at me. You can just make her out, behind the fence on the left side of the painting. She was in pretty deep shadow, and I don't know how long she had been watching me before I noticed her. 

We looked at each other for a few moments, and then I went back to painting. When I looked up again, she was gone. 

Later, after I'd finished the painting, I walked up the short driveway to see if I could find her. But there were no cows to be seen. 

Above, my painting in the landscape. Below, the happy buyers! 

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Our smart, beautiful and accomplished daughter Erika is getting married today! She's marrying Paul Chiaradio, the twin on the left in the photo above (Peter is his brother, in the checkered shirt). Paul is a great guy, and we are happy to have him in our family! 

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Dog of the Day

Here's me in the front seat of the car, with Woody (white), Jojo (black and white) and parts of Abby (striped) and Smokey (gray blur on the left side of the photo). We're waiting for Peter to get breakfast, on our way to Rhode Island for the wedding. It was a long drive with five dogs, but they did well. 

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A Final Thought

"In our time, there are many artists who do something because it is new; they see their value and their justification in this newness. They are deceiving themselves; novelty is seldom the essential. This has to do with one thing only; making a subject better from its intrinsic nature." 

- Henri de Toulouse Lautrec