Slice of Life

Slice of Life | 5"x7" | oil on hardboard

This is a painting that was commissioned by someone who had seen an earlier cake painting. That slice of cake stirred up memories for her of a special cake that was often baked by a loved one in her family.

Food conjures up memories for people. Do you associate certain foods with particular holidays or events each year? I'm pretty sure most of us do. For our family, this cake is always a birthday dessert created by my Mom and enjoyed by the whole family.

I plan on enjoying some great food at our family Thanksgiving dinner, and hope that you are able to celebrate as well. Thanks for viewing my work on a regular basis. I appreciate it.

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Wide Open Spaces

Wide Open Spaces | 5"x7" | oil on hardboard

This is a loose painting where I had fun laying on generous amounts of paint. Especially in the lower part of the painting. I like the freedom to just push the paint around.


Most of this was painted with brushes, but I also utilized a rubber pointed tool/brush to add texture and actually scrape away portions of the paint.

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Allendorf Elevator #2

Allendorf Elevator #2 | 5"x7" | oil on hardboard

If you didn't look carefully, you might assume this is the same painting that I posted a couple weeks ago. This one has been simplified a little bit. I'm going to paint this a few more times, and simplify it with each version.

I am a believer in the saying "Less is more". I have to remind myself frequently of this simple phrase and remove things that are distractions or the things that just really aren't very important. That applies to both my art and other areas of my life as well. Remove the things that aren't important and it gives focus to the things that are.

Often the most elegant, refined and beautiful things are the ones that are simple. I can't say that I like this painting better than the first one, but it does have a different quality to it. I'm looking forward to seeing where this leads.

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America's Prettiest Towns

Forbes Travel.com names America's Prettiest Towns

I've shared this news with some of you, but thought I'd share it with everyone. I was recently invited to be on the "Expert Panel" for Forbes Travel's selection of America's prettiest towns. Why me? Who knows–but the guy who wrote the story found my blog and asked if I'd be interested in helping make the selections.

It was difficult narrowing down America's towns to just a select few. I'm sure you have your favorites as well and of course everyone's definition of pretty is different. Take a look at the list and hopefully you'll agree with some of the choices.

Make sure you watch the slideshow as well if you have the chance, as that has some of my picks and quotes too. You can see the results online by clicking here.

I figure it's not every day that someone asks you to be an expert, right? Thanks for indulging me.