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A Pyrographic Frame

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  A Pyrographic Frame Paintings to Fit Interesting found frames are both a challenge and an inspiration for my paintings.  A thrift store find of a pyrographic decorated frame (detail above.) was a reecent starting point  Pyrography or wood-burning is a decorative process, charring patterns and images on wood or other substrates with a heated tool.  Typically pyrography is a handcraft technique, but this acorn and oak leaf design was probably hot stamped commercially. The frame came with a print which I discarded and an oval glass cover. My first experiments with a painting to fit the frame were two watercolor sketches followed the frame's oak motif.  An oriole decending a tree branch, and then, a single oak leaf in autumnal crimson.    I found these to be boring and trite  The frame called for more color so I switched to painting in acrylic on a panel cut to fit the oval opening, "AJ in Blue," a little portrait of our great grandson on an ultrama...
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Pi Day 2026

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  Pi Day 2026   Today is Pi (π) Day, 3.14 (March 14). This brings to mind Euler’s Identity which connects the five fundamental constants of mathematics.      The constants e, π, i (√-1), and 0 each have a biography in my library.    
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Mount Salem Nocturne

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  Mount Salem Nocturne I've done many paintings with a black ground and many paintings of our block of Mount Salem Lane and church.   Mount Salem Nocturne  fits both boxes.
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Floral Set

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  Floral Set I did this set of floral paintings in 2006, but apparently modified them in 2009 as indicated by the hyphenated dates.  I don't remember, but that might be when I added the flower names and glyphs.  
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Mount Salem Lane: A New Homemade Book

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    Mount Salem Lane   A New Homemade Book As a gift to our neighbors, I recently put together this little story about Mount Salem Lane and Mount Salem Church where it terminates. I composed it from some of the photos, maps, and other items that we have gathered over our decades here along with my memory of tales from earlier neighbors.   There are many gaps in the story and I may have gotten some dates and details wrong but I hope errors are minimal. Here's a peek inside...  About ten copies were printed, but you can view it in pdf form at  https://drive.google.com/file/d/16LC50ysk1CnftCTy7Tj7p33_ZGhGb6VU/view?usp=sharing
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Yuletide Saints: Saint Wenceslas

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  Yuletide    Saints Saint Wenceslas The third of my   Christmas season saints is Saint Wenceslas (alternatively Wenceslaus). While his feast day is in September, he is associated with the feast of Saint Steven, today, December 26 because of the Christmas carol.   St Wenceslas, Svätý Vaclav, Duke of Bohemia (posthumously titled King) has in tradition been celebrated for his generosity and kindnesses to the poor. The patron of the Czech Republic, Wenceslas has long been venerated in Central and Eastern Europe. His tradition in the English-speaking world has been informed by the carol Good King Wenceslas published in 1853 by the Anglican cleric John Mason Neale, who overlooks our scene from his framed photograph. The seven-foot tall saint carries a jug of wine and a basket food for the poor, while his page, Podavin, follows with firewood. Wenceslas’s celebration in many of the Eastern and Western churches is acknowledged by his name encircling in tr...
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Herald Angel

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  Herald Angel   We replace most of the paintings in our living room and dining room with Christmas-themed    art for the holidays.  I noticed that there was a spot that lacked a seasonal update so I just painted  Herald Angel.  
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