I am working on a few oil paintings currently.  Three of them are of the three Archangels: Saint Michael, Saint Raphael, and Saint Gabriel.  I have done underpaintings in black and white acrylics (see photo below), and am now working over the acrylic in oils.


                                                           

When I went to college for a horticulture degree, one of the projects that had to be completed was to make a book or binder that identified 500 different types of trees.  My diploma is in Ornamental Horticulture and the curriculum was heavy with landscaping, as well as growing, information.  My favorite tree personally is the White pine, Pinus strobus.

Living on Cape Cod, I am surrounded by Pinus rigida, or Scrub pine.  They are subject to boring hole beetles, are very rustic looking, and are somewhat scrubby-looking next to an elegant White pine, which also grows here.  I grew a White pine in a large tub for about 12 years, and then two years ago, had to plant it in the ground so that it could grow to its potential.  It is my "birthday tree" and Christmas tree, in my back yard.

Knowing I may be moving, I am somewhat heartbroken over leaving my tree behind.  I have purchased 50 White pine seedlings to grow on in pots until they are large enough to plant in the ground.  I will be drawing different aspects of this tree, but I have also started working in oils again, in order to capture the spirit of the tree, without all of the detail.

Below is one description of the history of this tree:


"The Eastern White Pine tree has been referred to as "the monarch of the forest." Some that greeted the first settlers reached a height of 250 feet with diameters of 6 feet. They were a bonanza for England in colonial times, as they met a vital military and commercial need for sailing ship masts. Since the colonists were rapidly using up the existing supply of trees close to the ocean that were large enough for masts, the Royal Navy appealed to Parliament. As a result, in 1691 Great Britain imposed the first of the so-called "broad arrow" acts, so named because of the axe mark placed on the reserved trees by the king's men, that reserved these trees for the English government. Growing resentment to the crown's appropriation of the choicest White Pines helped precipitate the Revolutionary War, and the first flag of the revolutionary forces even had a White Pine as its emblem." (from ebay seller drillstore nursery)


and another view of its history:

"The White pine , known by the native Americans as the Tree of peace and sometimes called the monarch of the forest , is a fast grower , and can reach up to 80- 100 ft at maturity . Because of the ease of transplanting , they are the ideal tree  for lanscaping or windbreaks as well as privacy fences or barriers . They are the tree of choice for bald eagles and many other forms of birds and wildlife . They are great for white tail deer, turkeys and the black bear .They grow best in partial sun to full shade .
 They are also friendly to other trees and shrubs , which allows for placing other shrubs  and  plants under them . They are frequently used as christmas trees . They can be pruned and shaped to grow as wider trees or can be allowed to grow freely . They have small yellowish cones as flowers and are evergreen , providing a beautiful tree all year long . " (from ebay seller icando3d, seller of the trees I purchased)

I have even designed a new logo for myself with the tree as a main design element.  I will be posting photos soon.

Even though I started with pen and ink and worked for over 35 years in that medium, I have never felt confined to it.  When I had a large website, I had examples of all types of artwork.

Recently I have started to work again in oil pastel.  Oil pastels do have the disadvantage of never truly drying, and as such need some protection when displaying or storing.  They also, though, have the advantage of bright, vibrant color in a convenient stick form.  Below is one piece I just completed, titled "Red, Blue, Green" .  It is 4 inches by 4 inches, on canvas panel, Sennelier, Caran D'Ache Neopastels, and Expressionist oil pastels.

For over 35 years I specialized in pen and ink stippling.  I developed my own method of layering color.  It is not pointillism, nor is it based on math or even the graded dots in most black and white stippling.  My work in based in seizures.

When I was a child, I had a kidney issue that caused high fevers and convulsions.  In fact, I was born with a "double-collection" system, having four kidneys and the normal amounts of everything else.  At some point, after either having a seizure or recovering from one, I wanted to just sit and color.  Well, I was dizzy and "woooozy" as my mother would say, so instead of coloring with the normal crayon methods of a child, I started making dots.  Dots didn't hurt as much.

Many years into my career, I went to the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, long-distance, before long-distance was online, and combined my love of plants and the earth with my dots, and obtained what is equal to an American Associates Degree in Horticulture.  That led to many years of detailed pen and ink stippling of plants.

I recently said I was going to challenge myself and go back to using a crow quill nib for most of my writing.  Well, I have remembered that before I used a crow quill, I made dots.  So stippling is really earlier for my life than the simple crow quill.  My need to express in color after a seizure meant I didn't put the crayons away when normal coloring hurt, I made dots.  And I am still making dots.

Below is a photo of an American Flag that I will be completing in stippling.  There is a major difference between the Flag and plants, as far as layering.  All of my plant depictions have yellow in them.  Working with only the red, white, and blue of our Flag leads to the challenge of developing depth without that "opposing color" to play of off.  Different shades of blue? or red? or maybe just true colors?  We will see-

The sketch above is in pencil on Aquabee Super Deluxe Sketchbook paper, with a layer of gouache coating the paper.

I have decided to challenge myself and write with a Hunt crowquill nib for a while.  I started out with simple black and white pen and ink and crowquill nibs over 35 years ago.  Although I have many technical and fountain pens, it is a crowquill nib that demands the utmost control.  I recently filled out some paperwork for someone with a crowquill, and was shocked to see how poorly I was using my favorite old nibs.

I have many crowquill holders, a few nibs, and lots of Higgins black ink.  I also have a traveling inkwell.  Below are some photos of it just after I filled it.  I am using Carmex lip balm around the edge of the inkwell before I put the top on.  This particular inkwell is a vintage piece from Russia, and it had taken a long time to get the top off when I first received it.  Preventing that from happening again, I am using the simple lip balm to both lubricate and seal the threaded well.

If you'd like to try writing with a Crow Quill pen yourself, they are available at Dick Blick on This Page  These are extremely economical pens, and I feel are the"basis" of good writing or drawing.  Higgins Black ink is here  Higgins is the best ink to use with a dip pen, and is permanent enough to use watercolor over it when dry if desired, without too much bleeding or ink run.

I've just made a short video on using an ink converter in the Sheaffer No-Nonsense and Viewpoint pens.

Sheaffer No-Nonsense and Viewpoint Pens and Ink Converter 

A new addition to my Saint Michael studio - currently overseeing my beadwork.