Railroad walking

For starters, I'm not supposed to do this. It's dangerous, and I keep a careful watch for oncoming trains -- but so far I've never encountered one while out walking. The tracks are in daily use, though.



It's also the source of a fair amount of the materials I've been using for art lately. People toss things along the railroad right-of-way and I pick some of those things off the ground, take them home, and make other things. The Ladybug, the Green Gecko, the Crow King, all used wood I found along the tracks.

This evening I found a tiny chunk of wood that will become something new. I know exactly what I want to do with it, and that makes me happy. Walking the tracks rarely fails to improve my mood and give me new ideas. Dangerous or not, trespassing or not, I'm not going to stop.

Just out of curiosity ...

Does anyone other than me actually read this?

Gecko! New salvage art.

Green Gecko, oil paint and wax medium on salvaged wood, approx. 13" x 5". This piece is a commission for a collector in Florida.

A Day at the Greyhound Rescue Picnic

Biscuit the Greyhound. Painted from a snapshot I took back in July; this is 12" x 9," oil on canvas. I did it on the spot today at the Northern Lights Greyhound Association's annual fundraiser picnic.




Here's the silent auction table with the three drawings I donated. :-)




This dog was part of the Dancing Greyhounds show, which was great fun but which I mostly missed because I was painting. I just love how this photo catches the dog moving in at least four different directions at once.




This lovely lady is a therapy dog; regretfully I can't recall her name. Her handler was kind enough to stop and let me snap a few photos of her in the sun.

From photo to sketch to painting

Twilight in the Evening Sun, 18" x 18" oil on canvas.

Ladybug in Flight

In Flight, 11.5" high x 5" wide. Oil paint and wax medium on salvaged wood, with found jewelry and beads.

This is for a little girl named Amelia.

Crow King

Salvaged wood, oil paint and wax medium, found glass jewel. 3.5" x 5" x 1" thick.

I found the wood, complete with interesting holes, along the railroad tracks a block from home. The jewel, I found about 15 years ago along the street where I grew up in North Ft. Myers. I had no idea what I'd ever do with it, but I simply couldn't let it go.

Now I have; the Crow King is sold and is winging his way to his new home with my friend MJ, down in DeLand, FL.

Egret canvas commission

36" x 48" oil on canvas, finished last night. This is for Mary Ellen Gardiner of M. E. Gardiner Interior Design, here in Minneapolis.

Railroad Landscape sketch

Done this morning around 9:30, along the tracks near East River Road and 694.

Farmall Tractor and Greyhound Number ... Seven, I think?