I learn something from every painting I work on. Sometimes it's a big breakthrough, other times just a subtle little rewarding moment. I try to remember and apply each little epiphany to subsequent paintings, but it often takes a few repeat experiences to finally get it close to right. Pictured are a few of those paintings that provided watershed moments for my work in watercolor this past year. 

Meet Me at the Little Bridge, one of the first paintings I created in 2022, explored the depths of a winter forest. Leaving some white space in the trees and not fully outlining them with fine line pen, abstracting the trees the farther back they were in the composition, achieved a nice balance between the positive and negatives spaces in the painting. 

Elemental Harmony, one of my favorite pieces from 2022, was painted with only one brush, a 1" flat that I played with, using the angles and the points to create the strong lines of the shadows and water ripples and the soft blends of color within. Getting that water down was just the best painting experience ever; I tried to replicate the technique a few times with subsequent paintings, some successfully and others not quite so much. The messes teach as much as the successes.

Brown Barns, another winter setting, sparked a moment of understanding of painting snow. I know snow is never really white, which I addressed in most of the snow covering this painting by dropping in little hints of color throughout. But allowing some of the lightest shade of the underpainting to show through, accidently at first, hinted at the sun reflecting off edges of the divets made by grasses and little shrubby trees in the snow field. So I took that little discovery and carried throughout the rest of the blanket of snow.

And Pemaquid Pine was a continued study of rocks and rock shelves, the shapes, line work and blending of colors that I initially explored in a couple of my paintings from 2021, From the Wall and Cliffs at Cascade Pond. Getting the solid hardness of the rock slabs, the softer focus on the water below and the movement of the swaying grasses in the foreground to all harmonize using color and line, was really satisfying.

After jumping into teaching watercolor workshops in 2022, I am planning more workshops for 2023 in two locations: the Caldwell Lake George Library in Lake George and LARAC's Mountain Gallery in Glens Falls. These 2-hour workshops are for artists of all abilities, limited to 6 attendees per class. All supplies are included (although feel free to bring your favorite brushes and paints if you have them).

Painting in watercolor can seem intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. Striking a balance between controlling the medium while allowing the paint to do what it wants to do is key to creating watercolor paintings you can be happy with. I will offer a few ways and techniques to help participants work towards that balance in a relaxed easy setting. Participants will practice watercolor technique to learn some of the magic of the medium, then will apply these techniques in creating their own watercolor painting using a photo reference provided by me. I will work with each artist through the process, with tips on how to handle composition, color and brushwork.

My first watercolor workshop at LARAC Mountain Gallery is on Thursday, February 9, 2-4pm. Cost is $30 per person, Registration and payment is made through LARAC. Email mtngallery@larac.org or call 518-798-1144 or stop by either LARAC Mountain Gallery (Wed-Sat, 10am-3pm) or LARAC Lapham Gallery (Mon-Sat, 10am-3pm, Thurs until 6pm).Location of LARAC Mountain Gallery is 21 Bay St., Glens Falls, NY, entrance is actually on Maple Street facing Crandall Public Library.

At the Caldwell Lake George Library, my workshop dates so far are:
Saturday, February 18, 10am-noon
Saturday, March 4, 10am- noon
Tuesday, April 4, 10am - noon
Tuesday, May 2, 10am-noon
Tuesday, June 6, 10am-noon
Registration is directly through the library. You can call them at 518-668-2528 to sign up. The library is located at 336 Canada St., Lake George, NY. $25 payment is made directly to me prior to class.

Each year, the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council Gallery transforms into a festive holiday shop, full of unique gifts of fine art and hand made crafts by area artists and artisans. The Holiday Shop opens Friday, November 18 with a reception from 5-7pm (LARAC members get 15% off any purchases that evening) and runs to December 24. Hours are Monday-Saturday, 10am-4pm, Thursdays until 6pm. The folks at LARAC have planned some fun special shopping nights coming up in December.

This year, I'll be offering a larger selection of original paintings, both framed and unframed, along with art prints of some of my most recent works. I decided to dig into my archives and pull out some oldies but goodies to add to the mix of unframed selections. A few are from the early 2000s, which seems like a lifetime ago, doesn't it? The little Goose gouache painting has been sitting in my flat files for years because I cannibalized the frame it was in for another painting. It's actually a sweet little painting, won an award the year I created it - 2003! But it's time for Goose to fly to a new home.

And I'll have a few brand new watercolors, just recently painted en plein air in my woods, all framed up and ready to be given as gifts or added to your art collection.

The holiday season always brings many exhibit opportunities, especially for small works, perfect for gift-giving. I've got a super-busy exhibit schedule coming up with paintings in at least 8 group shows throughout the region and in Vermont as well. 

October 23 - December 16, 2022
Vermont Watercolor Society Fall Awards Show 2022
Mad River Valley Arts Galleries, 5031 Main Street, Waitsfield, VT
Opening Reception Sunday, October 23, 3-5pm

November 5 - December 31, 2022
Guild of Adirondack Artists at Sandy Hill Arts Center
2014 Main Street, Hudson Falls, NY
Opening Reception November 5, 6-9pm

November 18 - December 23, 2022
LARAC Gallery Holiday Shop
7 Lapham Place, Glens Falls, NY
Opening Reception November 18, 5-7pm

November 18 - December 31, 2022
Small Works Show at Ti Arts Downtown Gallery
Montcalm Street, Ticonderoga
Opening Reception November 18, 5-7pm

November 19, 2022 - January 7, 2023
Celebrations at North Country Arts Shirt Factory Gallery
71 Lawrence St., Glens Falls, NY
Opening Reception November 19, 5-7pm

November 21 - December 31, 2022
Spa Fine Art Annual Small Works Show
376 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY
Gallery hours: Sunday-Thursday 10am-6pm, Friday & Satruday 10am-7pm

December 1 -  December 30, 2022
North Country Arts Fine Art Exhibit, Friends Gallery in Crandall Public Library
251 Glen Street, Glens Falls, NY
Opening Reception December 8, 5-7pm

December 9, 2022 - January 7, 2023
RGallery at Arlene's Juried Small Works Show
57 Fuller Road, Albany, NY
Opening Reception December 9, 4:30-5:30pm

My seascape Pemaquid Pine has been juried into the Vermont Watercolor Society's 2022 Fall Awards Show. The exhibit runs October 23-December 16 at the Gallery at Mad River Valley Arts, 5031 Main Street, Waitsfield, Vermont, with an opening reception on Sunday, October 23, 3-5pm. 
I am so honored (and somewhat amazed) to be included in this show - only 30 paintings were selected for the exhibit by selection juror Andy Evanson, an internationally known watercolor painter whose work I greatly admire. 
Looking forward to the drive up in mid-October to deliver my work, should be beautiful peak foliage at that time so I'll have to take some great painting reference photos for future works.