First Winter Storm of the Season

Christmas weekend, we had our first storm of the season, a classic Nor'Easter. Not a lot of snow, but we had incredible winds with gusts in the 45 to 50 mph range. The wind came in over a large field, and thankfully, my cottage is protected by a line of pine trees which buffeted the intensity a bit.

After the winds had died down I headed out to check for any damage on the property, thankfully, just a lot of branches. As I turned around my barn and looked out over the corn field behind my house, I was stuck by the beautiful late day light and pattern of drifts and barren soil which were the results of mother nature's handiwork.

This painting will be available at Artists Gallery in January

Title: First Storm, Last light
Medium: Oil on Linen
Size: 11 x 13
Price: $750

This blog is about my work as an artist living on a farm in Bucks County, PA. I'm not a traditional "Bucks County artist", I'm simply an artist who happens to live in Bucks County, a neighboring county to Philadelphia, PA.

This area is rich in cultural heritage and has once been referred to as the "Genius Belt". Both artistic and literary / academic giants have called this county home; Painters such as Edward Redfield, Daniel Garber and George Nakashima are just a couple of the hundreds of (great) artists who have called Bucks County home. Add to that list, Pearl S. Buck, James Michener, Margaret Mead, Oscar Hammerstein, and you begin to get the picture (pun intended) as well as the scope and magnitude of the talent that has lived and worked in this region.

The carriage house and 2 story barn I rent on this farm has a long and creative history. The main house, a beautiful 2 story stone farmhouse, was built in 1850 and this land was originally a dairy farm. The carriage house I live in was originally the caretakers house. The two story barn I use for my teaching studio and private studio was once the calving barn. Needless to say, it has seen some significant aesthetic and climate control improvements since "Bessie" laboured and gave birth to her young in the space.

Several successful, creative people have passed though this place. The prior tenant, artist John Murdoch lived, worked and taught here. Due to his success, he moved on to a larger house and studio space. There have also been interior designers and the musical group "Ween" lived and recorded a lot of their music here. Hey, they've been on Letterman, so there's something good going on here.

So there's the history, now I hope to share with you, through my paintings, the inspirations, challenges, and events of life here.