First Woman Doctor...

Here's the cover for a biography about Elizabeth Blackwell, America's first woman doctor. I illustrated this school book for second graders in May. I love the historical work. Tracking down the costumes and researching the hairstyles and doctor's tools was a lot of fun.

Summer's final hold outs.

I love the colors this time of year. The warm tones that appear as green gives way to rust and gold, and eventually to brown and grey. This was a difficult, dry summer for the plants. I don't think the corn is going to yield much of a crop. The drought was so bad in some areas that the corn was a total loss. Perhaps the low supply will boost the prices, we'll have to see.
I thought the berries would have been done by August. They had a resurgence in the last three weeks, as if to tell the harsh summer that it didn't win, that they were still alive.
A few of the blueberry bushes and grape vines weren't so lucky. They will have to be replaced in the spring. Some of the blackberries I planted this spring are meant to be grown on a trellis, like grape vines. Unfortunately, I can't remember which ones they were! I suppose after a while they will make themselves known to me.

Back to school, back to blogging...

It has been a busy summer and a time of transition here.  My oldest daughter went away to college at the end of August. My middle daughter went to Spain on a foreign exchange trip with Rotary a few weeks later. The house seems oddly quiet with two of them away, but I am enjoying the extra space I've gained since they left. I guess I shouldn't get too used to it, they'll be back in a few months.
I am beginning a series of traditional paintings that explores the beauty and power of horses and peoples relationship with them. A sub group of these pictures will be still lifes depicting horse figurines of different kinds, ranging from vintage cast iron statues to Beanie Babies.
Below are a few of the first photos of this project.

Photographed with my cell phone, the shot is a little darker than reality. It feels great to work from life. I plan on alternating between the paintings from photos and paintings from life.

Cool cowboy from the shooting contest. This one is almost ready for varnish.