Umbria, Italy - Oil Painting

This is the first oil painting I've done in over 35 years. The subject are fields in Umbria, a region of Italy just east of Tuscany. The strange color of the soil is due to its volcanic origins. I painted it from a photograph that I took along the road. Tweet

The Bouchard Gardens - a new pastel

I finished my 2nd pastel. It's a Spring time view of the beautiful Bouchard Gardens on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The day was a little misty but it was warm and there was a gentle breeze. The garden itself started life as a gravel pit. The owner's wife thought it was an eye-sore and was determined to do something about it. She took over with an army of gardeners and the result of her vision is like walking into a fairy tale.

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Varsity Football - the Niagara Wheatfield High School Team

Number 71 is my nephew, Andrew

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It was a great day for his school; they beat the socks off the other team.

Getting a good shot of him without just telling him to turn around and stand still was impossible so I ran the risk of embarrassing him in front of his friends and just hollered at him. Now if only the light had been better so you could see his face.

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Erie Canal

The Erie Canal stretched across New York State ending at Buffalo on the shores of Lake Erie, one of the five Great Lakes. Pictured here is the recently excavated Commercial Slip built where the canal met the Buffalo Harbor.

The old Buffalo lighthouse built in 1833 still stands at the head of the harbor.

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Wedding in The Finger Lakes

My cousin Heide married her special fellow, Jim, on September 21st at the Belhurst Castle on Seneca Lake near Geneva, New York.

Paul and I joined cousin Joan and her husband Jim and family and friends to celebrate. The ceremony took place out on the lawn with the lake for a backdrop.

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Somewhere to Fly

Paul bought me a ticket for a glider flight for my birthday. On September 19, we drove to the glider field on top of Harris Hill near Horseheads, NY and I did it. My pilot was a charming man who was a Korean War Veteran. He told me that none of the pilots are paid. They all belong to the glider club which runs the field and volunteer their time to take people up. The income from the tickets they sell goes toward the maintenance of the field, hangers, tow planes and gliders.

The tow plane that took us up to our first thermal where we cast off and floated on our own.

The view from my seat as we took off.

The view from 12,000 feet.

My pilot took this photo after we landed.

No motor meant that the only noise was a soft hiss as the glider wings cut through the air. It was a wonderful experience.

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Demonstration Night at the LICG

Every year, at the September meeting of the Long Island Craft Guild, we have 5 or 6 members demonstrating some of their techniques. The Guild is made up of people who are involved in such a wide range of crafts, that this is one of the few times they get to see how the other guy does it.
This year I demonstrated free form rug hooking using yard, ribbon, and strips of cloth in the same design. These pieces are used for bags and wall hangings rather than rugs. Tweet

Every Once-in-a-While ... Mt. Rainier

You can't always see it but you know it's there. A view of The Mountain from Whidbey Island in Puget Sound taken on a beautiful day in August. Tweet

Blythe Horman - An exhibition of her work

Blythe, a Freethinker and my niece, was asked to put together an exhibition of her work for her local library. One of the people who works there had seen some of her paintings encouraged her to do it. It's the first time she has shown a body of her work. I am, of course, very proud of her. Tweet

On the Road in California

I have a habit of shooting photos out of the window of the car when it's going bombing down the highway. Every once-in-a-while, I get something good. This was shot looking west on I-5, somewhere between Los Angelos and Sacramento, on August 8th. Tweet