One of my paintings has been selected for inclusion in Principia’s 2024 calendar and annual series of alumni art cards. The calendar’s theme is light. In January, an online exhibit of all the art will open, and I will share the web link when it is ready.

For 2021, my workplace created an inspirational calendar that also had light as the theme. Since the audiences overlap and I had two pieces in the earlier calendar, I had to think a little about what to submit this time to avoid duplication.

The selected art is actually not a final piece, so I was mildly surprised it made the cut. It is an oil sketch to explore ideas and techniques, a stepping stone to an eventual polished work. Here is Color Study, Lanterns, Narita. (An unpretentious, factual title, to be sure. Such it is with studies.)

It draws from my trip to Japan in 2019. The last night, one of my travelling companions and I took the train from Akihabara to Narita. The evening was quiet and rainy. On the walk to the hotel, we passed some little shops and restaurants, and one in particular caught my eye. Lit colored lanterns and fish nets hung over the entrance. There was something attractively atmospheric, or atmospherically attractive, about it. My hope is that when I work on the polished version, I can recreate some of the mood.

That’s all for today’s news. If you missed my last post, please have a look–my newest book, A Psalm for When I Wander is available! (The first link is to the announcement & the second to the book page.)

Next time, I have what I hope will be a fun treat, no tricks. (It was not intended for Halloween but will complement it given the subject matter.) I will share highlights from recent visits to Delaware Valley museums noted for their collections of American art and illustration, especially Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth, both of whom gained some renown for painting boatloads of buccaneers. “Yawl sea” where this is headed? It will be all hands on deck for the seaworthy special entry Pirates on the Brandywine!