Magnet Machine, 16 x 20, oil on canvas

This is the second of the scrap yard series. This baby picks up anything, as long as it is made of steel.  It's technical name is Link Belt 5800, but I nicknamed it the Magnet Machine. Can you imagine how much fun it would be to move huge pieces of metal around with this? Probably a boy thing. I painted it from the front so the extreme foreshortening would add drama and depth to the painting. Next subject, the CAR CRUSHER!

Scrap Yard, 30 x 40, oil on canvas

Landscape painting can encompass just about anything. Here we have a scrap yard. This holds a lot of memories for me and a close friend who used this as their playground. The entire area is a cornucopia of shapes and colors, all waiting to be recycled. The large yellow machine on the top shears it all into small pieces before being shipped to a steel mill. I choose to paint it with snow because it introduces a lighter value and delineates the forms.

Twin Windows and Chairs, 9 x 12, oil on panel

This is part of my Johnstown series. I was taken by the twin windows and chairs, not to mention the twin shadow slices.  Sometimes the most mundane setting can be a piece of art. Degas once said, "Art is not what you see, but what you make others see".

My painting Blue Awning was just used for this book cover, Emily Alone. The novel, which is set in Pittsburgh, has received good reviews. Here is the link, Emily Alone, Penguin Books