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A house is just a building, but when does it actually become a home? Capturing the shadows on the porch, rear dormer, power lines and the side entrance fence are reminders of independent features. The size of the trees, seasonal colors & light on the windows invoke memories. Painting a house captures it at that particular time, as a home it is subject to constant change.

The corner at 91st & Jayne oil 8x10 2008

Lewiston Art Festival

Lewiston Council on the Arts sponsors an annual juried fine art show. Nothing is to be mass produced, commercial or less than best quality art. 

Text from their website...

The Council's original event, the annual  Lewiston Outdoor Fine Arts Festival  (now in its 42nd year), will be held August 9 & 10 this year, and has become the premier show in Niagara County.  Festival attendance is estimated at 30,000 with over 170 participating artists from the U.S. and Canada.

My art tent-space #222-is  in Academy Park, halfway between Tops market and Hibbard's Ice Cream. It's the same location as last year, with a bench & shade. The park lot will be open to cars----you can park on the grass again there this year.

I plan to release my 2009 calendar next week at the art fest, as well as many new paintings of the area. Be sure to say hi, Carl & I are looking forward to seeing lots of friends strolling among the tents next week.

Historic Frontier House, 1824, Lewiston, NY oil 16x20

Bursting Bud

Lifted from the Perry, NY website-with permission, of course, this is the rose bursting out of it's borders at the Perry Chalk Festival July 12.

Click on the link above to see more images from the festival.

Perry Chalk Festival

July 6 Buffalo News stated that the July 12th Perry Chalk Festival was a 'best bet' in entertainment for the day. The Central NY Times & Perry News both published lengthy articles that included my pictures & photo. Having been selected as 'master pastelist' at this festival kept me busy preparing a sketch, a plan and a presentation. In addition, I brought my tent and some prints & cards featuring my pastel art in particular.

Perry is a lovely small town, nestled in a particularly pretty area of rolling hills, near the center entrance to Letchworth State Park. They have a particularly nice bookstore in the center of town-good books, excellent magazines, assorted books, fresh coffee & pastries.

The fest featured 20 adult artists chalk painting on the street & about 10 teens on the sidewalks and was accompanied by the Saturday morning farmer's market, two live bands, some crafts & food tents. Everyone was very friendly & interested in the artworks.

The morning setup was bustling with volunteers & the sun was cooperative, too. It got ridiculously hot on the asphalt, so the shade of my tent was welcome to many. I painted a demo square using a rose closeup; not bound by any rules, petals & stem spilled out of the frame. This was a technique the kids always wanted to do at Lewiston Chalk Walk & couldn't because of their rules.

Returning home from an overnight in Perry, I had a jar of local honey, cherries, and a bag of vegetables to add to my art experience.

Letchworth State Park Paintings

So many beautiful days to make paintings & other public art responsibilities in such a short time set my paperwork, record keeping & photographing back a bit, so here are the late  Letchworth pictures-finally.

1. Letchworth Falls & Train Trestle, watercolor 5x8

2. Clearing Behind 'A' Cabins, oil 16x20

3. Early Morning Cabins, oil 11x14

4. Old Gorge Staircase, pastel 12x9

Featured at the NACC

Click here--
The NACC - Niagara Arts and Cultural Center

That's my painting, 'Youngstown Secret Garden', featured on their website & in the press release for their annual 'Beyond the Barrell'  show!

Secret Garden 12x24 oil, 2007

Positively Main Street

All day Saturday, people were smiling & visiting on Main Street of Niagara Falls from Cedar to Chilton for art, music, food and entertainment. I set my tent up with only two walls showing some representative work, cards and small prints.

Since this was the first event of this kind, I also brought my easel & was able work on a small painting of City hall. It took all day due to the fact that it was nearly impossible to see the building with all the trees around it. It is possibly the best collection of elegant full size trees outside the parks & cemeteries in one place in town. 

Carl & I sat in the shade in our new 'art chairs' with pockets, water bottle cooler & attached table & enjoyed one of the nicest days of the year so far. It was great to see so many familiar people come out for the beginning of the renaissance in Niagara Falls-you think??

City Hall from Cedar 8x10 oil, 2008