beach house trio

Foreshadowing of the seasons to come.
3x5" min-art.

salt marsh bird houses

Cape Cod birdhouses in the salt marshes of Yarmouth. Ink and crayon.

FREEB!RDS

Parked in front of a burrito restaurant in San Marcos, Texas. "Image, Peace, Love"

back yard birds

Another drawing from snowy New England. I've been here for two weeks, still haven't seen the ground beneath the snow.

This is a compilation of several scenes. The bird houses are from a backyard in Salem. The birdbath and picket fence are from the next door neighbor in Peabody.

A few weeks ago I listened to a story on National Public Radio about John Steinbeck's novel, "Travels With Charlie". It's the story of his cross-country drive in a camper with his standard size poodle, Charlie. It turns out that most of his stories were...uh...slightly embellished, or, just plain made-up. He wrote about the folks he met along the way, and the simplicity of life and travels in a camper with Charlie, his canine companion. Turns out that a good deal of his travels included his wife and quite a few comfortable hotels along the way.

I've been doing this with landscapes and scenes all of my art life. I was thrilled to hear that my favorite writer did the same. Kudos to you, Mr. Steinbeck (and Bill Steigerwald)! And thanks for the encouragement and inspiration!

Here's more from journalist Bill Steigerwald and his adventures,

"Travels Without Charlie"

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10262/1088350-37.stm

back yard

Deep snow in the suburbs of Peabody, Massachusetts.

feed me!

I know we're not supposed to feed the wildlife, but with the drought and extreme heat, the deer have little natural food to forage. Everyone in town is feeding them, including me. In the mornings they stand in my yard, endlessly gazing at me while at my desk. It's alittle unsettling to be constantly watched, with their thin craning necks and big, watery unblinking eyes . How could I not feed them? They love bananas, apples, carrots, iceberg lettuce and corn tortillas. Oddly enough, they don't care for celery.

the art of noise

My hippie neighbor's porch. He has a large collection of windchimes, so on windy days, you can hear his house from far away.

birdhouse

While working on a commissioned art piece, I've been painting this on the side. I bought this birdhouse for five bucks with no intention to get so involved with it. I do love painting whimsical three dimensional objects like this.

houseplant

yard art

Left; an old clinky clonky bamboo windchime. I love these things. Right; an old purple martin bird house. The wood is rotting, so I doubt it's been inhabited in in quite some time.

Large moleskine with Faber-Castell PITT pens.

the birdfeeder and the hopeful cat

Throughout the winter I have had many birds feeding and living very close by. They are so much fun to observe. Clarence, my cat co-exists nicely with them for the most part. Only once, I found cardinal feathers on the ground. They are either the least suspecting, or the bravest of the birds.

bones

tree house

It took several sittings to get this one. Sometimes this method works best. Other times it's just fast and furious energy.

flight

The large moleskine sketchbook has been evolving into a place for more imaginary and whimsical ideas and art. The small moleskine is still perfect for location sketching. I love doing both.

T-Shirt contest

Last month This American Life (Public Radio International) held a tee shirt design contest. This was my submission. After a month of Sundays, the final design was finally announced. http://thisamericanlife.org/

Not being the winner, I was slightly dissappointed, but it was a great challenge nevertheless. Kudos to Jon Shkiele for the chosen design! http://www.thefiresign.com/

The neighborhood

I drove past a wooded yard filled with all sorts of wonderful birdhouses...I just had to turn it into art. The tree is from their neighbors up the road...a combo-neighbor art scene.

Something to crow about!

Last week I went to a Missouri and Kansas with a friend to visit his family and the places of his childhood. These are Charlie's chickens in Odessa, Missouri. They were way too interesting to not make a moleskine entry!