Float Plane

Due to lack of sales on Cafepress, I've closed my premium store and opened a free basic store. I've featured my "float plane" painting in this basic store: http://www.cafepress.com/halsartfloat

I will have to open a new shop for each of my paintings. I am setting up a number of shops featuring a number of my aircraft paintings. It's a lot more work to set up but it may be better for potential customers, and perhaps with more stores listed, more people will find my shops. I had a good percentage of sales of people who actually visited my shop. It's just that it was extermely rare to have a visitor to my shop. In fact in the six months the shop was open, I had a total of seven visitors. AAH, hope sprints eternal, maybe a shotgun approach will snare more visitors.

Everyone have a happy new year and may your favorite team win its bowl game. West Virginia Mountaineers won their bowl game, so I'm happy. I just hope the Patriots can get into the playoffs.

Merry Christmas

Gus, with Christmas gift, and I wish everyone a merry Christmas. Gus and I pray that we of this world can find tolerance and acceptance and kindness for all who share this world.

Ice Storm

My home has been without power for several days now and since I have no generator, it's been painfully cold. It's no fun to sit around all day, all bundled up and shivering, with no TV or computer to help pass the time. My part of coastal New Hampshire has its power back but at least 200,000 of my neighbors do not. I pray they get it back soon. I had to clean out my freezer and refrigerator and we went to the supermarket this morning but their freezers were virtually empty. My two on going art shows will be a bust since they have been closed due to lack of power. Now that power is back in my area there is very little traffic. At least I have an excuse now for poor sales for these shows.

I hope all of you can stay warm and cozy for this Christmas season.

Two Shows

I have two art shows opening this weekend. One is in Newmarket, NH at the Ampersand Gallery. I have three paintings and three prints in that show.

The second show is in Exeter, NH in the Town Hall Gallery. I have two paintings there and over twenty different Giclee prints in that show.

The First Image is of a original Pastel painting, titled "Red Dingy" in the Exeter Show. The second image is a giclee print in the Exeter show.

The third image is of "Peggy's Cove" an acrylic painting of a cozy harbor in Nova Scotia and is in the Newmarket show.

Let's hope the art market picks up a bit for the Christmas season.

Gus a Two Years

My golden retriever "Gus" is a little over two years old and has assumed that the living room couch is his napping place. He will share the space but he does take up an awful lot of room. The puppy photo was his first day home from the breeder. Gus had a great Breeder, "Ray of Sunshine, Golden Retrievers" since Gus has shown none of the ailments that often show up when a dog is inbred. He is a perfectly healthy young adult. He is the sweetest, friendliest dog I've ever know. He seems to feel it's his duty to greet everyone he sees.

Veteran's Day

My thanks to all Veterans who have served and my thanks and prayers for all who are currently serving. My Grandson will be going to Iraq in February, please remember him in your prayers. My painting "Warthogs" was given to the Father of a Warthog pilot who was serving in Afghanistan. My second image, "Old Ironsides and Old Glory" is a woodblock print I created right after 9/11. I felt I had to do something with a patriotic theme.

Great Bay Art Show/my two paintings

As I stated yesterday, I didn't have time to photograph my paintings which I put into the Great Bay Art Show. One of the paintings sold so I went down to the gallery today and photographed my two paintings for my records. The first painting is an 11 by 14 acrylic of the Great Bay Salt Marsh. The "Salt Marsh" painting photographed considerably darker than actual painting. The second painting is titled "Lanteen on the Esturary" which is an 8 by 10 inch acrylic on stretched canvas (sold). We do have a large historic lanteen sail that will appear on the Great Bay on rare occassions. It is a recreated gundalow, which was a sail powered barge carrying cargo up and down the local rivers and bays in the 1700 and 1800s.

Great Bay Art Show

I think my muse is returning. I decided to participate in the Great Bay Art Show, at the Discovery Center, Stratham, NH. The center is located on the Great Bay and is the entry way for a wonderful boardwalk that meanders through a salt marsh adjacent to the Great Bay. It's a delightful walk through the salt marsh and a great place for the birdwatchers. There is an annual art show and sale and the artwork is to deal with the Great Bay and environs. My decision to participate was at the last minute and I finished two paintings and framed them just in time to deliver them to the show before the entries were closed. Alas, I didn't get photos of them. They probably won't sell and I'll get photos later and post them after the show. (yes I'm being pessimistic, art sales have been very low this year). The artists' reception is this Friday evening, 7 PM at the discovery center and the show will run just this weekend.
I wish some of you lived close enough to drop by and say hi.

By the way my October 21th entry includes a painting of the saltmarsh.

Bad Day at The Arts and Crafts Fair

I, as the loan impressionist artist at the Rockingham Arts and Crafts fair, had a disasterous show today. I had a goodly number of browsers stop by and heap lavish praise on my work but unfortunately not lavish numbers of dollar bills. As always there were a number of browsers who expressed enthusiasm and promised to stop back by before the show closed. If you've done these shows yourself, you know that promise is almost never kept. However today I only had three broken promises and not the usual half dozen or so.
I hope the problem is the economy and not my art work. In the past, this show has been my most successful one day event for the year. Oh well... there's always next year.

Upcoming art show

On Saturday, November first, I'll be at the Junior High School in Hampton Newhampshire with about 15 of my original works and a number of giclee prints.
I'll be part of the Rockingham Craftsmen's winter arts and crafts fair. I believe I'm their token impressionist painter. This has been a good venue for me since I was asked to joing them a couple of years ago.

My latest Painting/Peggy's Cove, NS

Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia is uniquely, stark and beautiful. It also has a quaint coziness that just begs for an artistic treatment. I have painted Peggy's Cove a number of times in the past but never this particular scene.

Due to health reason I haven't painted in a very long time. The previous paintings I've shown were all one or two years old.

This is my latest painting that I finished yesterday. It's and 11 by 14 inch acrylic that I will be showing this Saturday at an arts and crafts fair at the Junior High School in Hampton, New Hampshire. I think I'm the token impressionist painter for the group.

Salt Marsh, another view

The last image of the salt marsh on the Great Bay in New Hampshire, didn't actually show any of the Great Bay. This was a pastel painting that was completed a couple of years ago. It was late fall and there were still leaves on the trees but they had been thinned considerably.
The painting has been sold.

The Boardwalk

In Stratham, NH is the Great Bay Science Center. From outside their backdoor there is a wonderful walk through the woods onto a boardwalk that takes you on a mile long walk through the salt marsh on the Great Bay. It is a delightful nature walk and often bird watchers will set on some of the benches there and watch birds by the hour. Every year the science center has an art show and sale of art featuring the great. This was my entry last year it. I had many favorable comments that seemed sincere and not gratuitous but unfortunately it went unsold. It is depicting a autumn evening on a less open section of the boardwalk. Anyway, I liked the painting.
The painting is an 16 by 20 inch acrylic and if anyone is interested, it is availabe to anyone in the US and Canada for $200 plus $30 shipping and insurance. The painting is framed and will be shipped framed. Credit card payment can be made through paypal even if not a member of paypal.

Flying Low

This an acrylic painting, 10 by 13 inches of the Beaver float plane. It is an aircraft used extensively on the lakes of Canada. It's one of the most reliable aircraft around and I think it's made in Canada. Good for our Canadian brothers.

I've always been partial to radial engines, they just exude power. The painting has been sold. Due to the non standard side, I have not had any prints made because I am unable to get precut mats for them.

p51, Mustangs

This is an acrylic painting of a flight p51, Mustangs. The painting has been sold but there are some giclee prints still available.

The Mustang was arguably the best fighter of world two. This image is grainy because I imported a very low relolution photo into this posting. My other images are too large to import.

This painting was sold at a venue in which I never knew who bought it, but I heard that it was a corporate sale.

Twilight Garden

I have painted a number of canvases in the "Strawbery Banke", a recreated colonial village in Portsmouth, NH, complete with reenactors and period craftsmen. This painting was of the Aldridge Garden which has this lovely archway.

I was painting with acrylics. As most acrylic painters know they darken as they dry. The day was actually a very bright summer day and I couldn't find shade to set up my easel, so I painted in the bright sunlight. While I was painting, I thought I was producing a nice bright summer's day painting. When I got home I was appaled at how the sun had tricked my eye and how much the painting had darkened as it dried. In a stroke of inspiration, I titled the painting "Twilight Garden" and it sold the first time I showed it.

A Painter Friend.

A friend of mine, Karin Wells is a fantastic classical artist. As well as traditional oil painting she also uses a medium and technique referred to as encaustic painting. It is a mixture of pigment and beeswax. It is a very involved process requiring much more patience than I possess. The process creates paintings of incredible beauty that look as if they were created by Renaissance artists. The attached painting is an example of encaustic painting.

She is also an incredible portrait artist.

Below are links to her web sites (she has several) and her blog site where you may see other examples of her work.

The link to her blog will give some background into the methods involved in the encaustic process.
http://www.karinwells.com/
http://www.oilpnt.com/
http://www.KarinWells.BlogSpot.com/

Turning Final

This painting depicts a vintage aircraft turning final to a grass airstrip. The scene is out of my imagination. However there is a grass airport about 15 miles from where I live.
The pilots among you can see that he is high and the turn will be wide but there wasn't space in the painting to depict a good approach.
The original was a 12 by 16 inch pastel on sanded paper. The original has been sold. However, I do have some giclee prints available.
I never flew a biplane but I think it would have been a ball.

The Fountain, Two Views

I have done a number of paintings in "Strawbery Banke" (yes that's how they spell it) in Portsmouth, NH. It is a small living museum of the period of the American Revolution and Historic buildings have been moved to the site and it's peopled with reenactors, and period crafters. I've been permitted to paint in there and here are two acrylic plein air paintings completed there.

They are both of the same fountain from two different vantage points. One view is through an archway of cedars and the other is a view from the lawn of the flower gardens.

Both paintings are on canvas and are 11 by 14 inches and are still available. The price is $150 each which includes a simple frame. Shipping costs run $30.

Two Sailing Ships

Ships are also a favorite subject of mine.

The first ship is a coastal wind jammer plying its cargo route. The rosey sunset is casting a warm glow over the scene. As all sailors know, red skys a night sailors' delight.

The second ship is my depiction of the whaler "Morgan" at twilight, the day's whaling is done and the rendering fires are reflecting on the sails. It is a lonely sight in the vastness of the sea. It has always amazed me that men could spend several years at sea on a 90 foot long woodenship. My painting is not an endorsement of whaling but a tribute to the men who endured the loneliness and peril of years at sea. I believe that whales have too large a brain not to be sentient and that killing an intelligent being is morally wrong.

Both paintings are pastel on sanded paper. Both have been sold.

A10, Warthog

An old friend and fellow Air Force Veteran whose son was in Afghanistan, flying the Warthog, mentioned that he would like a painting for his son.

This was the result. (no I didn't charge him)

Meet Gus

Meet my best buddy Gus. Gus is a two year old Golden Retriever. He is the friendlest, sweetest dog I've ever had. Of course he is the first Golden I've ever had. I wish I had found this breed years ago.

The first photo is Gus at the top of the stairs. When we get up in the morning Gus will wait at the top of the stairs until I quit messing about and make a move for the front door.

The second photo is Gus in the tub. Sometimes, when he detects us getting getting ready for his bath, he'll jump in the tub and look at us as if he's saying "What's taking you so long?"

The third photo is of Gus and me on his first day home from the breeder.

I don't remember who said it. It was either Will Rodgers, or Mark Twain, who said "If dogs don't go to Heaven, when I die, I want to go where the dogs go." Gus would be a wonderful companion in the after life.

Japanese Gardens

I have painted several versions of Japanese Gardens and this is one of my favorites. It is a pastel on coarse Canson paper, hence the texture.

It's titled "Strolling Paradise", and it has an attached haiku.

"Gentle warming sun

Fragrant caressing breezes

Strolling paradise."

In the ancient world, the word for paradise was the same word as garden, hence my justification for the haiku.

May you also stroll paradise.

This painting also won several awards and has been sold.

A Couple of Marine Paintings

I wanted to get a couple of paintings of marine subjects on my blog before I called it a day. The first painting is an acrylic (sold) of the fishing pier in Portsmouth, NH. The title: "Ice and Fuel" is the sign above the fishing boats. The boats were being prepared for sea.

It was a rainy day and I sat on a picnic table under a canopy, on Pierce Island just across a narrow part of the harbor. The humidity was so high that my acrylics wouldn't dry and became too slick to continue painting. I took a couple reference photos and finished the last 20% of the painting at home. This painting won several awards for me. This painting has been sold.

The second painting also picked up a couple awards and is a pastel. It's coarse texture is due to the Canson paper. It is not a smooth paper. There is also an autobiographical haiku that goes with this painting. It's titled "adrift."

"Adrift on a dark

Dark sea I dream of what never

Was and never will be"

What's a couple extra syllables among friends? It's a lament of a dreamer.

This painting is still available.

B58, Hustler

I have to show you my favorite aircraft. At the time it was the fastest aircraft in the world. If it were made of titanium, it would still be one of the fastest aircraft in the world. At over twice the speed of sound and a skin temperature over 300 degrees, I would have to throttle back to cool the skin. I loved that aircraft.

On one of my flights, as I was approaching a KC135, jet tanker, for refueling, a kindly boom operator took this photo and mailed a copy to me. Many thanks to him.

After the Hustler was retired, some of our pilots went into the F4 fighter. I was told the F4 had to dive to break mach. The F4 pilots couldn't believe the ease at which the B58 went supersonic. We accelerated to 600 knots and started to climb and just slipped through the sound barrier as we climbed. As an aircraft gains altitude the thin air meant we were going much faster than what our airspeed indicators displayed. By the time we climbed to about 50,000 feet we were going about 1400 miles per hour. Alas we were entering age of the transistor and all the Hustler electronics were tube and very vunerable to the heat we generated.

High Flight

I created this painting as a tribute to the poem "High Flight" by John Magee. I found this inspirational during my career as an Air Force Pilot.

To paraphrase the sentiment: I soared the lofty heights and reached up and touched the face of God.

This painting has been sold.

The painting was a pastel and the aircraft was a ryan trainer. A couple of weeks ago I met an elderly gentleman (even older than me) and he purchase a print of this painting. In his youth he had had pilot training classes in this aircraft. It was a beautiful aircraft. I wish I could have flow some of the older aircraft such as the Ryan, and any of the biwings. The age in which I learned to fly was almost excussively jet. I only have thirty hours of piston time all the rest was jet.

My Aviation Art

I consider this painting "Into the Sunset" to be the signature piece in my aviation art endeavors.

It is actually somewhat biographical. I spent much a great deal of time in Japan and love Japanese Gardens and the Haiku.

The Haiku is a brief expression of a moment keenly perceived. The Americanized version is three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables.

My Haiku for this painting is:

"The sunset Bekons

I fly the valley of clouds

Tracking the beacon home."

I'm 70 years old, tracking the beacon home.

This painting has been sold and it is so personal to me I now wish I hadn't sold it.

I'm an old guy trying my first attempt at blogging so forgive any lack of skill or sophistication in this attempt.

I'm more interested in portraying my feeling of the romance of flying than the seriously accurate depiction of a specific aircraft that would be acceptable to the Association of Aviation Artists. I have nothing against the rivet counters (used in jest) and admire their art immensely, it's just not what I wish to paint.