Sleeping Maple

Plein air and a la prima ... that sums up this painting. When you're standing in the cold snow of winter after trudging off the beaten path with your easel strapped to you back, and you're my age, you hope that the painting muses support a relatively quick, one-sitting effort. That was the case with this painting.

This maple tree and the light on the snow around it seemed to call to me from the main road at Platt Hill state park in Winchester, Connecticut. The light on the snow So I listened. It was a beautiful late afternoon setting ... and the light was changing quickly - another incentive to paint quickly. I was pleased with the outcome.

Prints of this original oil painting are available for sale at my Zibbet Shop.

Make Model Airplanes

I do crazy things like build rubber-band-powered airplanes.

I don't just build them though ... no ... this particular plane here is made of salvaged pine that I cut and carved into tiny strips that made the body of the plane. Old school.

This plane is a little heavier than its balsa wood kin, so it needs a bigger engine, which means more rubber-bands.

This plane has a purchased propeller, though I have carved those by hand as well! Crazy, eh?

Anyway ... it's calm today, sunny too, so despite the cold I'm on my way out now for the test flight. Later!

Pathless Woods Treasury

It's always an honor to be featured in a treasury ... this one, Pathless Woods, is especially lovely!

Check it out and leave us some love.

Fire Bush Print

My wife loves this painting. And why not? It depicts a little scene from our own little piece of paradise. I think she even has a photo of me painting this scene ... in spring though, not in autumn. I recall this particular day though. It was warm and pleasant, with a touch of mist in the air.

I gaze at this image and find myself taken back to that moment in time and this, dear reader, is a gift that only true open air painting can offer.

Try New Things

Today is a day to try something new ... so I'm offering prints of this painting that so many have admired.

Pond Laurel ...

The original painting, an oil on masonite, was painted on a lovely June day along Bantam Lake in Litchfield County, Connecticut. It's a vibrant time of year, when the wild Laurel blooms in pale pinks everywhere in the Connecticut landscape. It always reminds me that summer will soon be at hand.

Receive a Free Painting!

That's right ... this weekend you will receive a free original ACEO painting with any purchase from my Gallery of Creative Play!

The ACEO, a mini-painitng measuring 2.5" x 3.5", will be one of my choice from one of the series that I painted similar to the one pictured above. This is an original painting, not a print ... and that's a $15 free gift for you!

This weekend's offer starts today, Friday, 12/5 and ends very late on Sunday, 12/7.

Plus ... FREE US SHIPPING on everything!

So I invite you to stop by, browse around and see what's in store for you at Rick's Gallery of Creative Play!