A painter in Italy with whom I share membership in International Plein Air Painters posted an essay about why painting is a miracle & why we put a brush to canvas. Link to his complete essay on www.about.com. I understand & agree with him, but when he linked to my close-to-favorite-painter-&-artist-writer-philosopher Robert Henri I knew we were on the same page.

Robert Henri

American 1865-1929

SNOW IN NEW YORK, 1902, oil on canvas

National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

The Real Reason We Paint ....."when we make a mark on a canvas, it becomes possible not just to create a thing, but to become a human being. It becomes possible, then, not simply to make a picture of something, but to create ourselves. That is the miracle. That is the reason we paint......to make a mark on a canvas is to open the door of possibility of being moved profoundly and to move others. That is what painting is all about. That is the heart and soul of painting." Jerry Fresia

Formerly Niagara Falls High School

The NACC celebrated with the Italian Festival on Pine Avenue last month, I painted this corinthian capital while the music played on the steps & the sun descended in the sky. Using the NF colors, red & grey, with yellow & brown for LaSalle, & of course the Trott red & white this painting named itself.

Unusually, I mixed the paints with extra oil, so it took forever to dry enough to photograph without glare!

History of the NACC oil 8x10 2008

Music is Art in Buffalo

Yeah, it rained, but hardy umbrella toting families crawled the grounds of the Albright Knox Art Museum on Saturday, September 13. It was successful for me, I met new people, heard great music & comments about my work & shared my concepts with new patrons. My favorite moment of the day was when a Dad said 'My son said he wanted to own this ship when he was six'  referring to this 'ghost' ship painting of the former giant floating casino/cruise ship wannabe in the inner harbor. He brought the print home as a gift for his son, now grown. I think that print found a wonderful & appreciative new home, & the family will get lots of laughs over their memories. I hope the other pictures find joy in their new homes, too!

It was wonderful that the Robby Takac Foundation provided tents, table & chairs for this event-no walls to dry tomorrow, and a lot less work to pack & do this show. I painted a soon to be dry architectural piece of the AKAG, too.

Once shown at Art Dialogue Gallery, the original is a record of a ship now gone. It was loved or hated but never ignored. This was a very ambitious early plein air-even before I turned to oils.

Ghost Ship  16x20 acrylic 2006 

Music is Art at Albright Knox Art Gallery

This Saturday---I'll be there with my artwork. Bringing prints & cards & a few originals for the walls, but mostly I am looking forward to a chance to paint outdoors at another festival.-find me with the artists on the Lincoln Parkway side-11am until the music stops.

More water

Standing on the overlook between the American Falls & the Rainbow bridge to paint this, large groups of tourists would occasionally pass by-walking in cadence. The bridge would vibrate with the impact of their footsteps, & remind me of my precarious perch, easel leg wedged into a hole in the deck, my back to the crowds. However, it is an awfully nice vantage point.

We passed the cashier with a 'Hi, we'll just be going up to paint.' It seems if I act like I know what I am doing, then I can get away with whatever I choose. Life is Good. This was an early evening painting, before the glorious sunset when the sky lit up in all the colors of the rainbow, from gold to violet, one at a time.

Sensational Falling 11x14 2008

An apple a Day

The title is only relative to the fact that it is the night before school starts, and all over teachers & students are flipping in their beds, trying to get that important 'good night's sleep' before the big day. Not me. I do have several important responsibilities tomorrow, but I will make every effort to have a-perhaps-final swim as well as a bit of massage therapy. AHHHH, summer continues for me.

Jay & Kathy at Sheepshead Bay