It's taken me 40 years,but....

I'm putting these paintings and more in an exhibit on war-time art in Philadelphia, where over 18,000 works from Army collections have never been on display before. I worked from photos I took, from memory, and from several howitzers from local memorials that served as models. I have several more, and will post them later.

Fitzgerald's Irish Bed and Breakfast.

This historic home in Painesville is rated as one of the top- ten best B&Bs in America. Tom and Debra Fitzgerald, the owners, commissioned me to build their sign about 12 years ago. I have to say that I think it was my best work in over 30 years of signmaking.

I painted this yesterday during the annual "Party in the Park", featuring some of the unique architectural features of the building. I enjoyed talking to the many onlookers that passed by on the sidewalk.

Busy weekend

I gave up tent camping this weekend due to an injury and painted instead.

This 57' Chevy is property of the police chief of Chagrin Falls. I always wanted one of these as a teen, but I'll have to settle for a painting of one. These cars ruled the streets in the 60's- an era that todays kids will never experience.

The city scape is of my home town, Painesville, Ohio. A movie was shot here in 1962 , "One Potato,Two Potato", about an interracial couple falling in love and marrying. Extremely controversial stuff then. This was about the time Obama was born. The movie shows these buildings and also included the ones that were destroyed when the Feds offered urban renewal funds to revitalize the city. Nice going!

Angels and Presidents

This morning I met my artist friends at the historic Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland to paint. It is a treasure trove of funerary art, much of it dating to Victorian times. President James A. Garfield is intombed there in a spectacular monument that is a work of art in itself. John D. Rockefeller, along with famed lawman Elliot Ness are among the notables buried there. I chose this angel to do a study of, and hope to do a larger studio version.

Visit this wonderful place! Now!

Tall ships in Cleveland

I went to the Tall Ships Festival at the Port of Cleveland today to explore my inner pirate. I got permission from the organizers to paint there, hoping to get about 3 8x10's in. After standing on hot asphalt for two hours and downing a gallon of water, my energy evaporated in the 98 degree heat. I met a lot of nice people there who stopped to watch me paint. I quit after one painting because I was flirting with heat stroke, and packed up. As far as wooden ships and iron men go, I'll have to go a long way to be as tough as those guys were.

How I spent the 4th of July

I went painting at an antique tractor festival. There were hundreds of old farm tractors, but I went for my favorites, the fire-breathing iron monsters, the steam tractors. The top one was operated and driven by a lady with grown grandchildren. What a nice group of people!

Common Ground Farm

I painted this house from the shade of a stand of trees on a hill overlooking my friend's farm. I stay here often; it's a part of Ohio where the stars shine brightly at night.

It's still a work in progress; sometimes it's easier to spot any needed corrections after it's posted. I'll repost it when I'm done and delete the earlier version.

Pleasant Valley Park

The Lake MetroParks aquired property that was formerly used as a nursery in Willoughby Hills, Ohio. It still retains an old red barn on the property.

The Jacob Bump House

This home is part of a local historic district of The Church of the Latter Day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio. Jacob Bump was a contractor that helped build the Mormon Temple on the crest of a local hill.

Food Processor

This old Farmall still puts in a good days work.