The McConnelsville Frieze
Click image for panorama view (96"X17" Acrylic on Masonite)

McConnelsville, Ohio, is a modest size village on the Muskingum River some 30 miles south of Zanesville, and the county seat of Morgan County. In the center of town, is a public square, in the center of which is a war memorial. The image you see here is from that point of view, panning around to the right 360-degrees looking north on each end. On the far left, is the county courthouse, on the far right, the "Opera House." The courthouse dates from 1858, the "Opera House" opened in 1890. The other buildings are of similar vintage.

The photography was shot both on film and digitally. This allowed for two sets of images. The mural-sized work was drawn from a pieced together printout of the digital image, then painting from a montage of smaller photo prints. The printed digital image was about 6' long, rivaling the painting itself in size and awkwardness. The photo images were broken down into four smaller segments for reference in painting.

The end product is somewhat different from the original concept. I'd originally conceived the work "in the round," so to speak, in effect, a six-foot-tall, freestanding, cylindrical work on legs which the viewer would duck into and be totally surrounded by the image on all sides. Unfortunately, I erred in painting on 1/4" thick Masonite instead of a 1/8" thickness. The heavier material would not bend tightly enough to permit the joining of both ends. Consequently, the work ended up as a "frieze" type mural (and probably much more salable that way). The corners were rounded off to eliminate "dead" areas following the change of concept, and to make them the less likely to be damaged (or do damage to other surfaces) in moving such a flexible piece of art from place to place. In July, 2000, this work won "Best of Show" at the Howard Chandler Christie Arts and Crafts Show held annually in McConnelsville. The work is currently on display at the Stockport Mill Country Inn just ten miles downstream from McConnelsville at Stockport, Ohio.
Unframed, installed as a mural. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,900.

You ARE What you EAT ©(38"x80" acrylic on hardboard)This is what I call an "installation still-life." That is, a life-size arrangement of three paintings. The background as seen here is a full-size still-life of our pantry. The second part, Fileena, our seven-year-old Sheltie, has also been done on hardboard and is freestanding on the left. On the right, is a similar, life-size figure of myself contemplating the pantry in an effort to decided what to fix for dinner. The dog is contemplating ME contemplating what to feed HER. Here, the REAL Fileena poses proudly with her portrait.
Framed in oak door framing............................................$1,950.

---

Youth Male ©(32"x48" oils on canvas) The art of montage bridges the gap between realism and abstraction, offering the artist the best of both worlds. It is created by collaging a "rough draft" using cutouts, allowing for recognizable elements but handling them in a purely compositional manner similiar to the freedom an abstract painter enjoys.
Thinly framed....................................................$2,500.

---

Youth Female© (32"x48") A companion piece to Youth Male (seen above) these two works underline my educator's love for children of all ages. Two of my favorite works, I am not eager to part with them, as seen by the price below. They mark two of my most "serious" pieces.
Thinly framed........................................$2,500.

---

©The Real America (30"x46" oil on stretched canvas) This is the oldest painting on my website. It was done in 1971 when I was a junior at Ohio University. It was the first of a series of "collage" type paintings in which the composition and content were worked out by cutting pictures from magazines, then arranging them on a surface of illustration board not unlike a jigsaw puzzles. Once everything was cut, fit, and glued, the drawing was scaled onto canvas. The painting was completed in about three weeks. I received a "B" for the course. Unfortunately, the photo here is a little dark on the right.
Framed in lattice...............................................................$1,200.

---

©That Sinking Feeling (24"x36" acrylic on stretched canvas) Everything including the kitchen sink. Actually it's my darkroom sink and it doesn't always look this bad. Sometimes it looks worse! This is another in my growing collection of non-traditional still-lifes. One doesn't have to be an artist to appreciate this but it helps. The title comes from that sinking feeling you get when you realize you have to clean it up.
Framed in oak.................................................................$425.

---

Click here to E-mail your comments...

Acrylic painting, portraits in oil/acrylic, pencil, and colored pencil

Sign my guest book View guest book

---

Click here to play music