The Demise of Art Supply Stores in Manhattan

The Demise of Art Supply Stores in Manhattan

There was a time when an art supply store was a destination of peaceful refuge and an incubator of dreams.  In these once revered halls of colorful wonder, the sales people were quirky but knowledgeable and eager to help.  I remember long conversations about the pros...
My Art Library:  Sketching Before Urban Sketchers

My Art Library: Sketching Before Urban Sketchers

Before the explosion of the Urban Sketchers movement that began in 2007 there was very little published on this topic. On a recent visit to Los Angeles I stopped by my favorite art bookstore, Hennesy & Ingalls, and discovered some treasures I’d like to...
California Sketching

California Sketching

For years Venice beach has been a place for rejuvenation of my creative energies.  Life in Manhattan is perpetually stressed, leading to rigidity and stagnation.  Nothing remedied this better for me than hopping on a plane to California to chill out in Venice. I would...
Turner Watercolors at the Mystic Seaport Museum

Turner Watercolors at the Mystic Seaport Museum

I’ve long been a fan of J.M.W. Turner’s huge luminous oils that hang in many museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in my hometown of Manhattan. However I was unaware of his watercolors, and when I learned about the exhibit at the Mystic Seaport Museum I had...
A Train Graveyard in Thorndike, Maine

A Train Graveyard in Thorndike, Maine

This past summer while roaming the Maine countryside looking for enticing scenes for plein air painting I came across a piece of American railway history.  It was the crumbling remains of the Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad.   The town was Thorndike, and it sits...