'A Brisk Pace'

Oil on canvas
12" x 9"
' A Brisk Pace'
Available

Fresh Paint

'The Crooked Tree'
Oil on Canvas 12" x 16"

Sold

Poster for the latest Show

 

Outcropping II

11" x 14 ⅛" Oil on Panel

Anyway you paint it, the coastline of the Bay of Fundy is always there, beckoning to be painted again, and again.

I've used this specific size because it will fit one of the assortment of old frames we've come across over the years, and I cut the Masonite panel to match it. Although, upon second look of the particular frame, I chose not to include it in the photo because it has sustained irreparable damage. Really quite a shame, since it was quite handsome.

Saint John's Reversing Falls

16" x 16" Oil on gallery wrapped Canvas This is one of the paintings I worked on during my week long output at the Saint John City Market as hundreds of passerbys watched, and walked through.

Reversing Falls

Twice a day, the powerful tides of the Bay of Fundy, the highest in the world, do something very unique – they push the St. John River backwards, a phenomenon called the Reversing Falls. Here’s how it works: during high tide the water rushes through the mouth of the Saint John harbor and into the Southward-flowing St. John River. This creates turbulent rapids as it encounters two ridges and a bottleneck gorge at Reversing Falls. As the tide continues to get higher, and the water in the harbor rises, the downward flow in the St. John River is slowed, then stopped. This is called "slack tide". The push of the bay’s high tides continues until the river runs in reverse – upstream. Much of Saint John is built on rock, and is situated in and around the harbor. It can enjoy a cool, foggy atmosphere in the summer, though this can change as any particular summer may not receive as much fog as the following summer.The city does receive slightly milder temperatures in the winter, over inland New Brunswick, such as places like Fredericton, the capital of the province . Looking out the north facing arched window from the stairwell landing Just took this picture a few minutes ago from the second floor stairway landing. Seen through the window is part of the rear, attached garage roof, and the unattached woodshed and its roof that extends past it. The world outside is still covered in ice, and snow, and we are receiving yet, another wind swept bit of snow as a small weather system is moving through. I was just in the woodshed a few minutes ago loading up the wheelbarrows, and bringing more wood into the house for the 2 woodstoves. On the wall is a large, blank canvas awaiting the right kind of inspiration. A few thoughts on artistic house design The interior window opposite, is a salvaged piece we placed into the wall to let more daylight enter a small room, although the room does have its own, narrow, north facing window as well. Raw cotton curtains Gwen made, drape inside the window from a steel rod, and allows for privacy. In dark shadow relief, near the bottom of the photo, is the railing and top of two banisters. They too are also salvaged from various places in our abandoned farmhouse, and country auction expeditions over the years.

Cape Enrage II

16" x 16" Oil on gallery-wrapped Canvas Available

This is a different painting of Cape Enrage. You can see the other painting immediately below. You can also see the obvious differences between the two. Though I used the exact same angle and perspective of the cliffs, trees, ocean, and distance, the color scheme of the foreground is radically different. One is muted, whereas the other has a vibrant cliff and beach area, along with the trees on top.

Cape Enrage

12" x 12" Oil on Canvas Available

Cape Enrage is on the New Brunswick coastline of the Bay of Fundy. Its always breezy there (anytime I've visited). It's probably a good place to generate power from the wind there). You'll find fossils on the beach when the tide is out. Beautiful, rugged place.

Yellow and Red

12" x 12" Oil on Canvas Available for Purchase

This was a fun one to do. Just let myself go with the flow...

The Dining Room

24" x 24" Oil on gallery-wrapped canvas - Personal Collection With a few, key, salvaged architectural elements such as this arched window frame above, we were able to design our house to incorporate other similar items before actual construction began. This painting is a very close reproduction of what the dining area in our house actually looks like. We found the old, arched church window frame in extremely poor condition. It needed pulling back together, gluing and clamping, having caulking and putty chiseled off both sides, bolting with lag bolts, belt sanding and hand sanding, and finally I cut, drilled, and bolted steel bars onto it for both added strength, and aesthetic reasons.

Where Land Ends

24" x 24" Oil on gallery-wrapped Canvas Available for Purchase

Living in a maritime environment allows for walking on beaches shrouded in fog. Watching the water churn pebbles, seaweed and other small treasures strung along the sand, and listening to the sound of far away places in your imagination.

There are times when you'd swear the rest of the world had ceased to exist. Time is on your side here, as your bare toes shuffle across the sand. You allow an existential game to develop in your mind....

Are you back at the beginning of time before humankind came into existence, or are you at some point in the near future?

If you are alone, then you're immediate concerns are the basic ingredients of survival anywhere - food, shelter, and clothing. These you are confident you will find somehow. But for now you take luxury in how your exposed skin feels in the light mist that floats around and engulfs you. Afterall, it is just you, the ocean, and where the land ends...

Max and Toby

24" x 24" Oil on canvas Personal collection

Summers at Brown's Beach
kids, and dogs, and seagulls, and sand dollars
sun, saltwater, and seaweed
sandstone rocks, and cliffs
the tide going out leaves an enormous sand beach to run on
you can watch the fog way out over the water
sometimes there are fishing boats at the edge of distance
once there was a pup seal sunning itself
these are things found in the summers at Brown's Beach

Tabitha

8" x 10" Oil on Canvas Personal Collection

My family and I have the pleasure of sharing our lives with three lively dogs. The largest is Tabitha, though she is barely a medium-sized by most larger dog standards. She's a Basenji-cross
( an African hunting breed mixed with something else - so the vet tells us). True to her would-be heritage, Tabitha is crazy for the hunt, disappearing into the ground through hollowed out stumps, and other burrows. Tabitha also has a larger than life personality, and tail chasing is a daily routine that she enjoys to everyone's amusement. It really is a pleasure to have a dog like Tabitha around.

Max

22" x 18" Oil on Panel Personal Collection

This is a portrait of my fourteen year-old son, Max. The setting for this portrait is the scenic Fundy Trail Parkway in New Brunswick. It was the last day the trail was open in November '07. In the background are some of the cliffs and ocean water you see when traveling, or stopping at the many lookouts along the route.

Book Reader

20" x 16" Oil on Canvas - unframed. Available for Purchase

What's in a book?
The feel of it in your hands as you open it
The quiet, crisp sound as you turn a page
printed letters become words, and the words become thoughts
then the magic begins to happen as the immediate world around you begins to dissolve
visual imagery from another place fills your mind
you reach to grasp new perspectives and ideas
and characters who were at first strangers to you, become familiar
as you find common ground to identify with them
and a few of the more memorable characters, over the course of several hundred pages, even become friends...

Three Crows #2

16" x 16" Oil on gallery wrapped canvas. Sold Collection Of Ruth Ross.

This painting is a bit of a departure from what I normally do in my choice of palette, but it happened in a very natural way. Outside my studio window, walking together through the grassy field, were three more crows. This day however, the sun was intensely, dazzlingly bright. Everything appeared to have a brilliant shimmer to it. The water in the bay sparkled like diamonds, as well did the iridescent feathers of the crows. It was a good moment...

This week I'm taking part in "Wet Paint" at the Saint John City Market. Local artists set up small displays, and paint. We're there for whoever happens by, and/or wishes to stop and watch. It's going well, and I'm enjoying myself. It's interesting to see some of the reactions the artwork gets from the public. I'd like to think its providing a momentary pause in the lives of whoever sees it. I'm getting tremendous feedback...