Flowers by Orange Cat

The 'Orange Cat' is a favorite coffee shop in Lewiston, with a line out the door and plentiful outdoor seating. With two days to spend at the festival, I set up my easel and captured these models on the patio. They must have had extra large coffees because they sat for a long time. 

'Flowers at Orange Cat' 12x9, oil on birch

Pete's Tavern in NYC

I grabbed an opportunity to paint for a weekend with Nancie King Mertz. She is a pastel painter from Chicago who I met in Cuba and offered a workshop with the American Pastel Society by Gramercy Park.

Slightly damp, a bit of wind and temperatures around 60, we watched her do a street scene including the glorious white ConEd building, trees, apartments and cars. Fortunately there were protected spaces to do our work. I tried Nancie's alcohol under paint demonstration and will add this to my pastel process, I love how it fills some of the areas with color, ready for texture and details. 5 minutes at home and I fix a few little spots and be thrilled with his.

That rock between islands

One of my favorite places (I have several favorite spots) at Niagara Falls is the Three Sisters Islands. This area actually has 4 islands and some locals call the last one 'Little Brother'. I'm not sure if there was a brother, but I do know that anyone who wants to go there may have a death wish. The river flows so furiously that I've never seen or heard of anyone trying to get there. 

When I first visited, years ago, there was a large tree trunk wedged there, now there is a large rock visible. The depth of the water drops nearly a foot in just a few yards, it swirls and churns around this rock furiously. I always stop to admire its adamant defense of the space.

16x20 oil, not yet titled!