Twilight Skipjack





Inspired by my time with the ADA MAE, a 1914 North Carolina skipjack, restored and in use with Carolina Coastal Classrooms out of New Bern, I made this little oil painting. You can see my pastel of the Ada Mae on the skipjack page of the CCC website.

Carolina Coastal Classrooms is a great project which I'm proud to be a small part of with website and graphic design assistance. We've made a few videos at YouTube, but now with HD our plan is to make great strides with video in the coming year (we'll resolve the sound issues, too).

Ada Mae will get pulled soon for repairs, including work on varnishing the mast and boom. She needs it! Come spring she'll be looking smart and then we'll make new videos, and probably a few new paintings, too.

The Nocturnal Visitor



Just northwest of Snow Hill this old structure always grabs my attention as I'm passing by on my way to Wilson and Raleigh on HWY 58 North. The beautiful silvery reflective metal is enough of a treat, but of course, the face formed by the symmetry of the windows and door is quite arresting. Usually I catch a glimpse as I'm moving by at 55 MPH in the daytime. One evening I stopped and actually got out of the car to observe the barn in partial moonlight. Here is a Google Map Link: 35.50067 -77.738197 -check out the street view.

Finding faces in common objects is something many people do --from seeing faces or shapes in clouds to noticing faces in simple things like faucets or the electrical wall outlet that looks something like the silent scream. Any painting I've ever done with rocks or stone has evoked the same kind of public analysis and provided entertainment to find the faces. The stark face on the old pack house barn is pretty hard to miss. I think it evokes a robot face similar to something I had as a Halloween mask and costume 45 years ago.

Of course, I've taken my liberties with this subject, but it is still a fair representation and I think a lovely nocturne of the building. This photo doesn't do it complete justice as the painting only looks this bright with full daylight or a bright lamp upon it. I currently have it hanging in a dark corner with subtle light from a nearby door softly illuminating the central part of the painting. Some things are best left as dark and dimly lit subjects. Passing by the painting, on the way to the kitchen, has almost the same effect as driving by the real McCoy.

Nocturnal Visitor is a 16 X 30 inch oil painting on canvas. It is framed with a dark distressed frame that suits the painting nicely. Contact me if interested.