This painting, Cloudy Day at Greenwich Point (oil on canvas, 11 x 14) comes from a sketch of Greenwich Point. I like it because the movement of the clouds and the branches and the waves reflect the windiness of the day. 

The Friends of Hall Brooke will exhibit this painting at their annual juried art show in Westport, CT, May 7th and 8th.

Here's the sister painting (oil on canvas 11 x 14) for Un Beau Jour a la Plage. I started this one on Compo Beach, Westport, CT last summer and finished it in my studio in Trumbull. More than my other paintings, it could almost pass for a stained glass window.

The Friends of Hall Brooke will exhibit this painting at their Annual Art Show In Westport, CT the weekend of May 7th and 8th.

I painted this colorful little painting (oil on canvas, 11 x 14) on Compo Beach, Westport. Often, I sketch on location and return to my studio to finish the piece. On this occasion, my artist friend, Lynn Pritchard, and I packed a lunch and headed to the beach to paint for the day. I completed most of this painting outdoors on the beach. Half the fun was chatting with the curious children and answering their endless questions.

You'll see similar themes in many of my paintings; people getting together and enjoying themselves. I like to see paintings where I can imagine myself in the scene; it brings an element of joy to my life. After our record cold and snowy Connecticut winter, this particular painting, and its sister painting (up tomorrow) looks very appealing to my cabin-bound self!

This little painting (oil on canvas, 11 x 14) breaks the "Uneven Numbers" rule of composition. Four tents (plus two halves) doesn't work, according to the laws of composition. Uneven numbers (five or seven) would make this a better composition, according to the rules of composition. However, this painting ignores the rule and the composition works anyway. In fact, because it breaks a traditional rule of composition, it becomes more interesting to the brain.

The other rule this composition breaks is the rule of symmetry. Traditional painting composition runs away from a symmetrical piece. We have two tents on the left and two tents on the right; a tree on the left and a tree on the right. So why does this work? Perhaps because, once again, since it breaks a traditional rule of composition, the brain finds it more intriguing.

I don't set out purposely to break the laws of composition. I sometimes notice the transgression after it's happened, because I paint intuitively, more than from a plan.

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