Agoraphobia

      This is the scene at the Saratoga Springs City Center last night during the take down.  The show, an adjunct to the home show organized by the Rotary, was three days, 20 hours, and a wash. I had one sale, (to a painter I know and respect), otherwise it was lots of talking, and more talking, and at times lots and lots of people walking by.  I made friends with some of my fellow painters and had some special visitors, all nice. But there may have been a reason I had my fears of doing a show like this, so risky, so public, so much a marketplace.  Not only was it an exhausting task, from building my booth, packing, installing, manning it, etc. This was the first of this type of show I've ever done, and it might be my last.  It may be that it was their first art show as well or it just wasn't the right fit, with the mix of crafts, wine, etc... If I never do a show like this again it won't be from the fear of the market place, it will be for the calculation of it's lack of profitability.

This morning.

Saratoga Springs City Center!

It's on, and I'm ready, so if you're in or near Saratoga Springs, NY. this weekend, stop in!

Hours are: Friday, 5-9,  Saturday, 9-7, Sunday 10-4

  Here is my booth, a little messy but lots of paintings!

Old Cambridge Road, and a new endeavor.

41  F  sunny  (yesterday)

    #718  Old Cambridge Rd.   2-23-16  9x12

I was drawn to the sweep of the road, the march of the telephone poles and the bright light.  

My van.

      Part of this painting life is figuring out how to get the work out.  Earlier this month I drew in from a gallery that had my work, It was my decision, they had sold 2 or 3 paintings a couple of years ago, but often my paintings were in storage, my prices were significantly lower than a lot of the other work and it was over a year since they had sold anything, in short I didn't feel it was a good fit.  I didn't think they were promoting my work, and wanted to regroup, and I'm happy with that decision.   So in some other state of mind I signed up to do an "art fair" type show, and it's this weekend.  It entails setting up a booth and manning it myself over three days and 20 hours.  I'm not sure this is going to work, I'm really not a "people person" so I expect to be exhausted by all the interactions.  Maybe it'll work, so I'll try it and go from there.  Wish me luck.

     This is the booth I made to fit the space: 10' wide x 7'deep by 8' high , I used 3/8 inch plywood (cut to 2' x 8' panels) piano hinges, 2x4's (split to 2x2's), a bunch of corner irons and sheetrock screws.  The whole thing can be taken apart, fit into my van then re-assembled on site.

I made 2 boxes to hold unframed paintings, large for the 14x16, 12x16 and 11x14, small for the 11x12, 9x12, 8x10 and 7x10, in total they hold over 80 paintings.  The booth will be able to display around 50 framed paintings.










So here is the information, if you are anywhere near, come and visit!

Saratoga Springs City Center, 

522 Broadway,

Saratoga Springs NY.

second floor

Friday, 2/26, 5-9 p.m.

Saturday, 2/27  9a.m.-7p.m.

Sunday, 2/28  10a.m.- 4p.m. 

Round House is up!

The Round House Bakery Cafe' is located at 1 Washington St. Cambridge, NY. 

 here is their Blog:

http://roundhousebakery.blogspot.com/

27 paintings  will be up for at least 6 weeks, there will be a reception, time TBA.

Fish Hatchery Rd. no fish?

22  F  hazy sun

#717 Fish Hatchery Rd.  2-19-16   7x10

I wanted shadows and something simple, I got it here.

      I've got two big shows coming up, when I get some previews I'll send them out, until then, thanks for reading my blog!                

Hoosick Falls and Coila; making hay.

21  F  sunny, a little wind.

                               Making hay while the sun shines, is a farmer's expression and it applies to a lot of things, and painting for me is one of those things. I don't like painting when it's overcast, the light flat and  and the shadows, practically non-existent.  The month has been cloudy, rainy, windy, so when the forecast was for sun, reasonable temperatures and little wind, I ditched some of the things that I can do on cloudy days.  Shop work and basement insulation can wait.

I don't like doing "Portraits" of houses or buildings, I would suppose that this might be one, but it's also a street scene, and the light and shadows also have a narrative.

The old "American House" has seen better days, I remember having lunch there when I rented space in the "Specialty Building" to the immediate right, also now abandon.  This was in 1988- 90.

#715  R.R. Ave, Hoosick Falls, NY.

2-18-16

14x16

This is a scene I decided not to paint, I'll often stop and walk around in an area looking for just the right place, and I didn't like the pattern of shadowed building, like they were marching down the road, so I moved. Still there are a lot more pictures to paint in this neighborhood.

There was  more beautiful light in the afternoon, so after I picked up Hope from skiing, I had time to paint here, along Coila Rd., right down the street from my house.

This was extremely quick.

#716  Coila Rd.

2-18-16

8x10

Hudson River @ Fort Edward, following hunches.

7  F  cloudy, no wind.

       On a hunch I went up to the Hudson River at Ft. Edward, about 1/2 hour drive North because I wanted to paint some black water and some ice, I did find it, in a location that I've painted before, but the 11 degree temperature in Cambridge turned into 7 degrees in Ft, Edward.   The clouds thickened and it snowed toward the end of my session. That happens a lot in this line of work.  I'll be following a hunch, I'll want a particular scene or place, and some other factors come into play that undermine (or so I think) the potential of the painting. Today the cold, while not unexpected was more extreme that I was prepared for and I got cold, a cold that sunk into my feet and my hands, so by the time I was in the mid session they felt tingly and my game was off.  Last year I was in the swing of this routine and was able to get out and paint. This winter has been relatively mild so I'm not full game, I'm not sure if this was detrimental to the results, or just a response to the world as it is, and maybe that's just fine, and maybe time will tell and judge the work along other lines, maybe it is a testimony to randomness or a record of the day.  Making art is full of mystery and unknowns.

  

Two bridges over the Hudson.

#714  Hudson River from Rodger's Island, Fort Edward, NY.

2-15-16

9x12

Finished January Paintings

    Here are the finished paintings from January, 20 in all, not bad for a month much warmer and devoid of the snow typical of this month.  I've got two shows coming up soon, so I'm a bit frantic as one is an "art fair" type show in which I'll be building a booth, setting it up with as many paintings as possible and manning it for an entire weekend. More on this later. As of now all paintings are available, if you'd like one please contact me, Thanks!

  #687 Plains Rd.  1-2-16  11x12 

 #688 Mohawk River @ Cohoes Dam  1-3-16  11x14 

  #689 Passenger Station  1-5-16  8x10 

#690  Black Creek Rd.  1-6-16  7x10 

 #691 Brownell Corners Rd. (near rte. 22)  1-7-16  7x10 

 #692  Hudson River @ Ft. Edward  1-8-16  14x16

 #693  Backlots from R.R. Ave. 1-11-16  9x12

#694  Old Cambridge Rd.  1-13-16  8x10 

#695 South Union St.  1-13-16  9x12 

 #696  Conley Rd.  1-14-16  7x10

#697  Depot St, Greenwich, NY.  1-18-16  11x12

#698  South Park St.  1-20-16   11x12 

#699 Factory Hill Rd.  N. Hoosick, NY.  1-21-16 

 #700  Hoosic River @ Hoosick Falls, NY.  1-22-16  9x12

 #701  Woodlawn Ave, Greenwich, NY,  1-24-16  11x12

 #702  Park Place,  1-25-16 12x16 

 #703  White Creek Ln,  1-27-16  9x12

#704  S. Park St.(rte,22)  1-27-16  11x12

 #705  Dunbar Rd.  1-28-16  8x10

#706  Brownell Corners Rd. @ Turnpike.  1-31-16  9x12 

Outback

14  F  sunny no wind.

         This morning I got out before the wind picked up, and painted a few feet from my shop doors. Sorry about the glare in the photo!

#713  Outback

2-13-16

6x8

It really makes it easy to work here.

Plains Rd, real winter is here!

14  F  some clouds no wind.

          It's comforting to have winter in the winter, comfort in the challenges of being in the cold, the wind and the snow here in Upstate New York.  Challenges when they can teach us something are necessary for growth, they're necessary to keep interest and fascination with the world. Challenges can take many different forms, I don't take much stock in external (I mean the cold is external), but the challenge is to paint outside in nature, as often as possible, in all the seasons, is an internal, self constructed challenge. The cold just goes along.

The silo on Plains Road.

#712 Plains Rd.

2-12-16

9x12