New Paintings 11.24.09

Autumn Moonrise XI
Original 48" x 20" x 0.75" painting
Three 16" x 20" canvases
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Tall Red Trees X
Original 48" x 20" x 0.75" painting
Three 16" x 20" canvases
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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View of the Hudson River from Olana at Sunset (Commission)
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

My newest work includes new editions of my popular Autumn Moonrise and Tall Red Trees compositions, and a commission of my composition View of the Hudson River from Olana at Sunset for my friends at The Croff House Bed and Breakfast in Hudson, New York.

Quote of the Day
"You are like a candle. Imagine you are sending light out all around you. All your words, thoughts and actions are going in many directions. If you say something kind, your kind words go in many directions, and you yourself go with them. We are ...transforming and continuing in a different form at every moment."

Thich Nhat Hanh

New Paintings 11.3.09

Autumn Yellow Forest
Original 24" x 30" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Sunset on the Hudson River, Looking from Olana
Original 24" x 30" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Mountains Beyond the Quaking Aspens
Original 24" x 36" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Autumn Moonrise X
Original 54" x 24" x 0.75" painting
Three 18" x 24" canvases
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvases

Busy week completing some commissions, getting new commission orders, and painting for my sales venues. These paintings are variations on and new editions of some of my signature compositions and reflect the beauty of the autumn season as the leaves start to dwindle on the trees.

Quote of the Day
"Waking up this morning I smile.
Twenty-four brand new hours are before me.
I vow to live fully in each moment
and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion."

Thich Nhat Hanh

New Commissions

Winter on Sawkill Creek
Original 24" x 30" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Autumn Reflections
Original 24" x 30" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

These paintings are recent commissions from some of my signature compositions. Winter on Sawkill Creek is a composition I created fairly early in my full-time painting career. Autumn Reflections is a composition that I've recently painted as a new edition.

Quote of the Day
"Assertiveness is the ability to express your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and desires in direct, honest, appropriate ways that do not violate the rights, needs, and self-esteem of another person." --Dr. Henry A. Virkler

Work this Week

Abstract Poppies (Commission)
Original 24" x 36" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Looking North on the Hudson River (Commission)
Original 24" x 36" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Autumn Aspens (Commission)
Original 54" x 24" x 0.75" painting
Three 18" x 24" canvases
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Poppies on Blue Sky (Commission)
Original 84" x 24" x 0.75" painting
One 24" x 36" and Two 18" x 24" canvases
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Autumn Aspens (Commission)
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Red Trees IX
Original 48" x 20" x 0.75" painting
Three 16" x 20" canvases
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

I've been painting like a mad woman since I returned from my vacation! I already had several commissions in the hopper, and received several new orders while I was away. There are literally not enough hours in the day for me to paint! However, this is a good thing, and I'm working hard to fulfill my orders--now I just need to find the time to paint new work to list on my sales venues and web site.

Quote of the Day
"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude." --Denis Waitley

The Vacation Series 8.8.09

Looking North on the Hudson River
Original Acrylic Painting

Here's another painting from the archives, which a New York patron also recently ordered as a commission. There are many inspiring views such as this one along the shores of the Hudson River near where my parents and one of my brothers live.

Quote of the Day
"Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging." --Joseph Campbell

The Croff House Bed and Breakfast - Hudson, NY

Interior photo of the Croff House Bed and Breakfast
Hudson, New York

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Exterior Photo of the Croff House Bed and Breakfast
Hudson, New York

Duncan Calhoun and Russell Gibson purchased this historic home in Hudson, New York in September of 2008 and spent seven months renovating the property and converting it to the Bed and Breakfast now known as The Croff House in honor of the original architect of the property G.B. Croff.

Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Gibson have honored me by purchasing several of my paintings to decorate their B&B, including the Autumn Path painting depicted in the interior photo above. You may see more photos of this lovely B&B, as well as make reservations by visiting their web site www.thecroffhouse.com.

Hudson River from Olana

Hudson River from Olana
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

As we celebrate the Memorial Day weekend, I wanted to post some paintings from the archives that celebrate our great nation. This piece depicts the Catskill mountains from Olana, the estate of Frederic Church, of the Hudson River School of painters, located in upstate New York. The Hudson River School flourished between the mid-1830s and the mid-1870s. Its subject matter is often landscapes from the Hudson River valley, the Catskills, the Adirondacks, and the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Church's Home at Olana State Historic Site

Church designed the landscape and his Persian style home on and around the same hilltop where, as an eighteen year old student, he sketched spectacular views of the Catskills and the river alongside his mentor Thomas Cole.

Visit the Olana web site at: www.olana.org.

Photo of Church home and portions of this post are courtesy of the Olana State Historic Site web site.

Quote of the Day
"Life has got a habit of not standing hitched. You got to ride it like you find it. You got to change with it. If a day goes by that don't change some of your old notions for new ones, that is just about like trying to milk a dead cow." --Woody Guthrie

Today's Paintings 5.15.09

Utah Sunrise - Manti La Sal National Forest VIII
Original 60" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Hudson River from Poet's Walk VI
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's work includes the newest editions in the Utah Sunrise and Hudson River from Poet's Walk series. I just sold the previous two editions of Utah Sunrise, and a commission of Poet's Walk for a patron buying a gift for her daughter's college graduation. I continue to have new commission work, and appreciate my patrons' business.

Tip of the Day
If you're going to make a business of selling your art you'll need to do some research on what the market is looking for, and what prices it will bear. Let's face it--in this market, if people are making choices between paying the mortgage and buying a painting the mortgage will win every time. So what's the solution? Working hard, smart, and having faith that you can make it happen.

Quote of the Day
"The greatest gift you can give to somebody is your own personal development. I used to say, 'If you will take care of me, I will take care of you.' Now I say, 'I will take care of me for you, if you will take care of you for me.'" --Jim Rohn

Eastern Shore, Hudson River

Eastern Shore, Hudson River
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's work includes a painting depicting my native land of New York. I spent my teenage years in the Hudson River Valley, and loved to go down by the river and look west at the Catskill mountains. For me, this painting is a little slice of home.

Tip of the Day
Include business cards with your artwork when you ship it to your patrons. They may have friends or acquaintances that may be interested in buying your work too. My business cards include my email address, web site and blog URLs.

Quote of the Day
"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." --Calvin Coolidge

Today's Paintings 4/14/09

Aspen Grove in Autumn
Original 72" x 30" x 0.75" painting
Three 24" x 30" canvases
Golden, Liquitex, and Atelier acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Path to Bard Falls Commission
Original 18" x 24" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Atelier acrylics

Today's work includes a new composition - Aspen Grove in Autumn - as well as a commission of the Path to Bard Falls series. Aspen Grove is a new composition in my decorative line, and was inspired by the lovely autumn scenery here in Colorado. Path to Bard Falls is a composition I've enjoyed painting since I started painting as my day job, and depicts the path to Bard Falls on Sawkill Creek, a tributary of the Hudson River. Bard Falls is on the campus of Bard College, west of Red Hook, New York where my parents live.

Tip of the Day
Customer service when selling your art online is as important as--if not more important--than selling your work in a face-to-face setting. Your feedback on a sales venue is your "report card" from previous buyers of your work, and has a direct influence on how well regarded you are within the buyer community of any sales venue. The way to get great feedback: provide great customer service.

Honor the terms of your sale. Communicate often and well with your buyers so they're in the loop on every step of the transaction--the sale, when you receive payment, when you'll ship their purchase, when you have shipped their purchase. Ship your product as quickly as possible without sacrificing quality. Buyers also like to receive a tracking number so they can monitor when they'll receive their purchase. Attention to detail is important.

Leave feedback for your buyers as well, so that other sellers have some insight into what kind of customer they are, as well as providing good will and expressing your appreciation for the buyer's purchase.

Quote of the Day
"If life wanted to hand me lemons, I'd not only make lemonade, but I'd use the zest for cookies, plant seeds for future fruit and turn the rind into compost to grow flowers, all the while giving thanks for lemons." --Bridgette Mongeon

Young America Road Commission

Young American Road Commission
Original 34" x 40" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Atelier acrylics

Today's work includes a commission from my Young American Road series. Young America Road is where my brother used to live in Germantown, New York, by the Hudson River. I spent the latter years of my adolescence in the Hudson River Valley, and often draw upon my memories and family photos as inspiration for paintings of that area.

Quote of the day: "Peace begins with me." --Thich Nhat Hanh