Firing On Fort Sumter--"You Started It"

Having grown up and gone to school in Southern California, the Civil War was just something that we read about in our history books.  Now living in Tennessee, I have found that the Civil War is still going on!  There are many Southerners who still refer the war as the Northern Invasion and how Confederate soldiers were just defending their homeland.  There are a multitude of memorials to the Confederacy honoring the insurrection that only lasted four years.  Somewhere in their re-written history, they forgot that THEY started the war by firing on Fort Sumter.  This is just a little reminder that "You Started It." And General Sherman finished it.

Tipis at Sunset

 

Three Mile Harbor, Long Island, New York

      My daughter and her husband went to Long Island to celebrate their 15th Anniversary.  While they were there, they took a photo of Three Mile Harbor.  She then asked me to do a painting from the photograph.

 

David Crosby

After a swing and a miss with a previous attempt, I tried again and got a little closer with this pencil drawing of David Crosby.  He has always been an intriguing and flawed artist whom I have followed throughout the years.  Crosby, Stills & Nash have always been one of my favorite groups.  This is my little tribute to him.  I used a painting of him by Joan Baez as a model for this one. 

Special thanks to Ed Jones and Garry Troxell for their suggestions on this project.

Hunting Hollywood

 

My latest story is set in the 1930s. It follows two recent graduates from the USC Film School who set out to start their own movie studio.  Along the way, they encounter problems such as a small budget, limited equipment, inexperienced actors not to mention having to deal with the big film studios and their monopolistic hold on the movie industry.  

McKenzie Roberts is a beautiful, confident film student from a well-to-do family from New York.  She grew up around the East Coast movie studios where her father worked.  Now a recent college graduate, she hopes to one day fulfill her dream of being a movie director.  

Craig Johnson is a naive young man from Southern California who discovers his interest in movie making while in college.  

Together they form a business partnership that must deal with one challenge after another.  Along the way, they meet several interesting people—including Mugs Peterson, an ex-professional boxer; Hinky Williams, a homeless veteran looking for a job; and Slate Granger, a cowboy and reluctant movie star.  

Find out if their movies are as exciting as what they endure to make them.

Jim Gentry's Jeep

Jim Gentry is a local legend in Franklin, Tennessee.  He was a World War II veteran, and later a teacher and football coach at several local high schools in the area.  On patriotic holidays, his family displays a jeep with an American Flag in the pasture of Gentry Farm along Highway 96 across from the community of Westhaven.

Buster Posey

I try to do baseball paintings for my brother-in-law, Keith and my 

two nephews, Anthony and Nick.  They are all into baseball.

Portrait of Madame X (A Figure Study)

In 1884, John Singer Sargent painted a scandalous (for the Victorian Age) oil painting of Virginie Gautreau.  Below is a figure study in watercolor that he did prior to the oil painting.  I used this for my model.

 

Rancho Rico Creek Ranch

This is a map of the Pancho Rico Creek Ranch where I have gone wild pig hunting.  It is located in a beautiful area along Highway 101 in California near the town of San Ardo.  Kathryn and Dave Rossi are fantastic hosts and have always made our trips to their ranch so memorable.