Media Art Show and Hurricane Sandy

On November 17th from 10:00 - 3:00 we will be in the PennCrest Christmas show behind the Granite Run Mall with paintings, prints and some new originals.  I will also go through my paintings and have some on a special rack that are my end of the year specials.  We are trying to get into one more show in early December.

Well this past week when Hurricane Sandy came to the New Jersey coast to leave destruction, we were not without some damage......fortunately no loss of life or major damage.  However our art show tent was in our garage since my next outdoor show was going to be in Ocean City in May of next year.  This tent has served me well and it only got salt water on some of the pipes and the outside of the tent walls.   That has already been cleaned and is already to be returned to the OC garage.

However, we were in Ocean City on the Friday after the storm and this is what we saw........on Central Avenue
   

     

 

the Pier at 59th street or what is left

Our tent is cleaned and the different poles can be replaced, so we feel blessed as the Hurricane passed about 10 miles inland north of our home.   We look forward to seeing Ocean City recover over the next few months.

Thanks to everyone who came to Ocean City and Media

Just back from Ocean City where the weather was really nice and the crowds were great.   We sold paintings in both shows and in Ocean City we sold our sweatshirts and T shirts with my photo on it.

Booth in Media see the trolly track running down the back of my booth

So now I am working on several new paintings for my last show this fall in a local high school that allows me to sell several new prints and as well as some of my older paintings that I have had for awhile.   So if you come, you can take advantage of some special sales.....so if you are looking for some Christmas presents, come out on November 17th to the PennCrest High School in Media behind the Granite Run Mall.

I have a new painting of potted flowers and a wicker chair I just completed and that will be in the show as well as some prints of it.  I am also taking plenty of photos to use for future paintings.

I wil be here all day on Saturday with original watercolors and a selection of small watercolors from $ 25 , some Plein air paintings and a number of framed originals.......so stop by.     Bruce

Andrew Wyeth Reminds Me of God

This will take you to my daughter's post where she shares some interesting thoughts about Andrew Wyeth, so check it out.......

I love the amazing and profoundly unique, Andrew Wyeth. Though he died only a few years ago, his presence will always be palpable to those of us who love his paintings and who grew up driving the same roads and observing  go to    http://dawnfromphilly.blogspot.com/2012/08/andrew-wyeth-reminds-me-of-god.html

Another Cruise Memory

This sketch is of the Florence and the Ponte Vecchi bridge which is a street with shops on both sides that crosses the Arno River.  It was originally shops for butchers but due to the stink created by the butchering , they were replaced by Goldsmiths and jewelers.  As we visited Florence, we saw many neat streets, churches and incredible statues.  

 This is the photo I took of the bridge in the late morning as we went to the square.  Fortunately I had my Ipad with me and was able to download the photos onto the Ipad.  Then I sketched from the Ipad once we were back on the ship.  

Of course this is also one city where I think I can say I had my favorite gelati -  dark chocolate and hazelnut.   It was located on a back alley near the Domo Basilica and actually required getting a second gelati later in the afternoon.

 

 

A Cruise full of Memories ....and potential paintings

We just returned from a cruise to the Mediterranean visiting two towns in Croatia, Venice, Rome, Naples, Florence and the Amalfi coast, Aix en Provence, France and Barcelona.  What a great time we had with friends and the sights we saw were amazing.  I made a few sketches while we traveled and took over 1,000 photos.  There were plenty of great sights that will be future paintings.  The hard decision will be what to do first!

On the Grand Canal 

Here is the view from our restaurant during lunch in Venice.  We ate across from the Grand Canal so with a few minutes to spare before they brought our pizza, I sketched this scene.   The boat is called a Vaporriti or a water bus.  We used that to ride around Venice over the 36 hours we were there.  

Here is one scene I have sketched and will surely be a painting..

Murano

I am painting watercolors for a show in Media in September that will only be originals so I have to get off the computer and get busy.  I hope to have a few new watercolors from our trip and hope to see you    on September 22nd in Media. 

Day of Painting the Brinton 1704 House

Yesterday, I was invited to paint the Brinton home built in 1704 as part of this year's Brinton Family reunion with about 150 people attending.
  There were 5 painters at different locations.  I decided to paint the back of the house with the flower garden.  About a month ago, it felt like a good idea to visit the home again and take photos of different views and decided on two that were different.   Fifteen years ago, this was the location I used for my Christmas card.  It was definitely a home that was a favorite of mine to paint.  
 So I enjoyed this opportunity to paint this home located on Oakland St. in the Dilworthtown area.  It is open for you to tour on weekends.  

Taking Time to Paint from Now Until September

I am working on a number of paintings to get ready for the art show in Media as they only allow original paintings.  So I am working on painting a number of small original flower paintings, historic sites and landscapes.  One thing I am trying to do is to try to highlight the focal point of each painting and spend less time on the details in the other areas of the paintings.

          Hanging in Starbucks in West Chester PA

This should enhance the painting visually and draw you into the painting.  Sometimes on a building, you need to include all the details, but other times it does not allow your eyes to rest.  So I will have to work on these changes.  That means some paintings will be completed but then never shown as they do not display the results I am looking for.

So keep the date of September 22nd in mind on the main street in Media that the trolley runs down.

Summer Painting

Coming up in July after getting back from our vacation, I am looking at finding a number of sites around Delaware County to paint as I have just been accepted into the Community Arts Center juried art show to be held in Media, PA September 22nd.    I can only sell original watercolors so will be busy painting new watercolors of all sizes.

One of the locations I will be working on are some historic homes in Chester county.  One will be the 1704 Brinton House.  I will also be working on over 100 of my new ideas that I will take from 100 new photos I have taken this spring.

KEY LEARNING EXPERIENCE:   After touring the Wyeth Studio in May, we recently went back in June with my wife, daughter and a guest visiting from Charlotte.  During that tour, it became apparent it would be really helpful to understand how Andrew Wyeth decided what to paint and then how he turned that idea into a painting.  He believed that you had to paint what your really were close to and knew very well.  He learned to concentrate in this way by his father - N, C, Wyeth.  So he concentrated on local homes, people , hills , trees, etc. from Chadd's Ford and the area around Rockland, Maine. As I read more about him and heard him speaking in the video - " Snow Hill", an even greater desire to learn to improve my painting and my watercolors began to grow in me.  While I will never be able to paint people like he did, my goals will be to improve my landscapes and still lifes as well as begin to paint people. 

STARBUCKS IN WEST CHESTER

This past week we were walking walking around West Chester and went to the Starbucks and saw that two of my :lein Air paintings are hanging in the shop on Gay Street.  So if you stop in there, you can see two of the paintings I did on the street.  The Academic House and The Sharpless House.  This is the Academic House on East Washington...just east of High Street.  Go see if you can find it.

PAINT THE TOWN...A SUCCESS

This past week, I spent from Tuesday to Friday painting in West Chester, PA.  Tuesday, I set up my chair and paint supplies under a treee in Marshall Park and painted the Sharpless home that was across the street.   Fortunately  there was a slight breeze that felt good on the hot day.  In the afternoon, I went to East Washington Street and painted the Academic house.  It was a French Academic School according to a book I purchased of Walking tours of West Chester by Mowrey.  I also sketched and started painting a small watercolor of a porch in East Washington nearby.
The next morning despite some spritzing I sketched and painted the Woman's Exchange on South Church Street.  In the afternoon, I focused on the office on the corner of Market and Church Streets.   The photo of this building is in the earlier blog post.

I painted about 80% of those that afternoon and was able to sketch a small backyard and garden on South Walnut before I finished for the day.   A kind gentleman came out of this house and shared some interesting details about the house including the fact it was built in 1855.

Thursday, I set up my chair and sketched across from Fairman's Skate Board store on Gay Street. That was a challenge because there was a stop sign right by the corner so often trucks and cars blocked my view.  A friend of mine joined me to sketch while I painted and when we finished this, we went back to South Walnut.  I was hoping to paint the backdoor and yard, which by the way contained over 67 varieties of roses.  The owner had moved his car out of the driveway for me to get a clear view of that wonderful back door and garden.  What a treat to paint this scene.
Friday I spent matting, framing and finishing s few little details on some of the watercolors before delivering 7 paintings to the 7th floor of the Chestnut St parking garage.  That evening, in spite of rain that was heavy at times, there was an art show and sale.  The next night, 400 people turned out for the West Chester Business Club's Gala that was a fund raiser.
I throughly enjoyed the experience.   This process of painting outdoors helped me in several ways.  I found I was painting quicker,  highlights and details near the center of interest were saved and other areas had less detail and the finished painting seemed to have captured the colors more realistically.
I look forward to continuing to paint " PLAIN AIR".

COME SEE THE FREE ART SHOW ....PAINT THE TOWN OF WEST CHESTER

Since Tuesday morning, I have been going around West Chester in Chester County working on paintings of different buildings and locations.  Some are historic and some our buildings that look historic but I do not know when they were built.
Tuesday I painted the Sharples home near Marshall park, then the Academic house built in 1852 by carpenter Robert Lowery.  I finished the day by sketching and painting a home near the Academic house on East Washington.  I completed all three that day.
The next day was cloudy and slightly rainy in the morning but I started with the Woman's Exchange built around 1836 with the store next to it.  Then I began sketching the building at the Northeast corner of Market and Church st. that has a great porch roof.  Finally I sketched the Lincoln Building and a back yard garden on South Walnut.
Today I finished painting one building and drew and painted the skate board shop on Gay Street.
Come to the free Art show on the roof of the Chestnut St parking garage on Friday , June 1st.......so come see what 40 artists painted over the past three days.

Here is the corner of Market and South Church St.

Andrew Wyeth Studio

I could not believe it.  The Brandywine River Museum is opening Andrew Wyeth's first home and studio for tours.  And in May, they organized a Wyeth immersion day with visits to N.C. Wyeth home and studio, viewing SNOW HILL the movie about Andrew Wyeth, tour the Wyeth art collection with a docent, tour the Andrew Wyeth studio and visit the Kuerner farm on Ring Road.

I had been to N.C's studio and the Kuerner farm, but to have an opportunity to see Wyeth's own studio was something I dreamed off.
After touring the third floor gallery and seeing a collection of paintings and studies Andrew did of his studio, we boarded the mini bus and went to the studio.  It was the home for Andrew and Betsy when they were first married.  Then later he used it as one of his studios until mid 2008.  One section includes Jamie's studio set up as if he just painted the portrait of President John Kennedy.
What a special honor for a watercolorist to see how the most well known watercolor artist of our day painted and his studio.

I think the several things that seemed to resonate with me after hearing about the Wyeth's and their paintings.  First, their desire for accuracy.  Second,  paint what you know and it will show in your paintings..  Hence painting only in two major areas of the country - Chadd's Ford and Maine.
But it was interesting to see how they painted differently.  N.C. generally painted with bright colors and mostly in oil.  Andrew only painted in oil in his father's studio but when he was on his own, he painted with watercolor and egg tempera.  He also painted in colors around Chadd's Ford in typical weed and dead grass colors like burnt umbra, yellow ochre, etc. so not the bright colors like his father's unless you have seen some of his paintings in Maine.
Let me recommend that you organize a trip to the Brandywine River Museum after June 1st and take the tour of Andrew Wyeth's studio as it will be a memory you will think of the rest of your life........especially if you are an artist.

SPRING ART SHOW IN OCEAN CITY - May 5th 9:00 to 5:00

We have been a number of hours this week to get everything ready for next Saturday's show.  While there are many different booths with entertainment and things to eat, we have been showing my art here for about 15 years during the fall show with great success.  This year we will have some new additions with Jan's sweatshirts and she has new Tee shirts using one of my photos of Ocean City beach  with a life guard station.
NEW THIS YEAR my daughter has been making picture frames with beach scenes and Ocean City on the frame specially priced to sell......

Cape may Wicker

I have several new small paintings of Ocean City scenes and several different small framed or matted gicless at great prices, some of Ocean City.  Two paintings on the right side of this blog - the" Lake house" and "Two roses" will be hanging in the show.  
And for those of you who are on my mailing list, you will receive by e-mail our discount coupon this week.  To get on this list e-mail me at poulterer@gmail.com
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----FOR THIS SHOW, ANYONE who buys $25 worth of paintings, sweatshirts or frames at our booth, WILL CAN GET A FREE  "Cape May Wicker" reproduction.
So stop in and say hello if you come to the show.   

OCEAN CITY BLOCK PARTY

ONLY A FEW MORE WEEKS UNTIL MAY 5TH    WE JUST HEARD WE HAVE A BOOTH AND IT IS ACROSS THE STREET FROM OUR USUAL LOCATION IN THE FALL SHOW.  LOCATED ON THE TABERNACLE GROUNDS WE WILL HAVE SOME NEW SMALL PRINTS FRAMED OR JUST IN MATS.  ALSO SOME SMALL ORIGINALS OF THE LIFEGUARD STATION AND A LIFEGUARD BOAT AWITH STAND.

THIS IS A NEW SMALL WATERCOLOR OF THE LAKE HOUSE THAT IS JUST STILL STANDING NEAR MY BOOTH.
SO BE SURE TO COME OUT AND SEE US AND SAY HELLO.
WE WILL ALSO HAVE SOME NEW SMALL FRAMES MADE BY MY DAUGHTER WITH SHORE THEMES THAT ARE REASONABLE.

Chadds Ford Art show

Thanks to everyone who came to the show this year.  We sold originals, framed giclees and a Gate of Thanksgiving with a remarque and some limited edition prints.  I think the Bear in the Chair was sad at first since no one bought him, but he is happy back on the wall in our home.
We are now working on getting ready for Ocean City the beginning of May.
If you came to the show and are sorry you left with out a purchase,  you can call us or e-mail me at poulterer@gmail.com.   Bruce

Bear comes to Chadds Ford Art Show

Come see our stuffed bear at this year's show. Well I mean his image will be there,  as he can't attend.  I just completed this painting and have a small gilcee introduced for the show this year. 


 Look forward to seeing you.  I will have seven framed original watercolors and six framed limited edition reproductions or gilcees.   In addition, my portfolio will be filled with limited edition prints, gilcees and some originals.

Chadd's FORD ART SHOW - NEW PRINT

Here is one of my new smaller prints that will be available at this years's show. Perfect for a gift for a friend or for that one corner in your house that needs some color.
"TWO ROSES" will be shown for the first time.  This past summer I spent time painting roses and other flowers.  You will see several original rose paintings at the show......... come out and enjoy the work of 60 artists.

CHADD'S FORD ART SHOW

Well I am in the midst of trying to finish a number of paintings for this show that is March 23rd and 24th in the Chadd's Ford Elementary School.  Here is a small painting that I was working on...just to give you an idea.  I finished it last night so it will be in the show.  I have a number of new limited edition prints perfect for 8 x 10" frames and they will be available either matter or framed.  I will have two racks with framed originals, limited reproductions, gyclees and then my portfolio with matted and un-matted originals and reproductions.  I have a some new florals and .....well you have to come to see

The show was started by Andrew Wyeth and his wife a number of years ago to encourage artist from this area.  I feel honored to be in the show.  I have donated a framed limited edition reproduction of Lafayette's Headquarters that will also raise money for the school.

Come on Friday evening for great food and many of the artist will be there.  I expect to be there most of Friday evening after 8:00 and then all afternoon the next day.
The show runs from 7:00 to 10:00 pm on Friday and 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday.  

Painting in Mexico

During the past few weeks we went to Florida and took a short 5 day cruise to Mexico.  We stopped at Costa Maya and visited the Mayan ruins.  This amazing site included a few structures - that was a temple and several other structures all built out of stones of all sizes, some very large. The structures were over 60 feet tall and had many steps to reach the top.  In one case there were two structures on top of one we climbed up that surprised us.
 It was very interesting to see and I spent some time sketching the site.  We are now back and painting for the Chadd's Ford show in a little over one month.