stuff about art: 2023

2023-12-26

Will Brady Typographer and Painter

Illuminated Texts: "Slavery Remains" and "Bigotry a Toxic Poison"

pencil study East 17th Street & Broadway, NYC

2023-12-25

watercolor: Montana farm fields

Friday and Jack by the woodstove

watercolor

2023-09-28

2023-09-13

Pen & ink: Hot Dog Vendor

A Sabrett's umbrella over a street vendor in Bristol CT.
That's the Old New Departure plant in the background

acrylic: Reye's Point, Cape Cod, MA

Plein air, acrylic on canvas: looking out toward the Atlantic Ocean. With hand made frame,

Acrylic on board: Venture Smith's Headstones

on 9th September a commemoration for Venture Smith (Broteer Furro) was held at Venture's burial site, in East Haddam CT.

Born in Broteer Furro recalled as "Dukandarra" in a region of West Africa. Born ". . . the son of a royal family; kidnapped from his homeland in Africa as a boy and sold into the Maafa (slavery). Venture became a figure of mythical proportions in New England, where he was known for his great size and strength.

His physique and unwillingness to suffer insult made him a problem for his enslavers, and he was sold several times before he was able to purchase his freedom in 1765, at the age of thirty-six.

His history was documented when he recorded a narrative of his life and published it under the title A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa: But Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of America, Related by Himself.

Links to sites that have written on Venture Smith (as well as a link to his [transcribed] autobiography, can be found the the first COMMENTS below this entry.

Illustration: Venture & Meg Smith's headstones in the First Church, Congregational Cemetery. (copr. Will Brady)

Photography: Globe

2023-07-20

watercolor/ink: "Powers in the Universe"

2023-07-10

watercolor: Amston Lake, CT

pencil: By the White House gate

acrylic on canvas: Flight to the Mountains

2023-07-09

acrylic on board: First Church, Congregational - looking from Venture Smith's headstone

pencil: Mike Sullivan / Champion Logger

acrylic on canvas: "Fully Involved"

"Fully Involved was an interesting challenge. Depicting fire, water and at night. Now in private collection of a retired fire chief.

watercolor: "Learning the basics"

"Learning the basics" - a youngster begins to learn about watercolor painting. Based on a photograph. Setting is inside East Haddam's historic Town Hall building; the Grange roof in the background through the window. The wood/coal stove is still in the building.

acrylic on wood: Little Talbott Island, Florida

A "memory" picture for a collector. The boardwalks in the area were destroyed by hurricanes. though they were the best way for people to get to the beach. I'd never been to the site; relied on a few photographs and notes of details from the collector. Augmented this with researching on the flora, fauna and weather typical of the region. Capturing a sunset's colors on a tropical storm cloudbank over the Atlantic was intriguing. The collector's spouse was surprised I'd never actually seen the locale.

2023-07-02

acrylic on canvas: "Stonewall Inn, Sheridan Square, NYC"

Stonewall Inn - based on photos from 1969, the year that patrons, tired of the constant harassment and abuse from bigoted police and callous criminal tavern owners, rose up against then during one of the many police raids on the establishment, igniting unrest for several days.

Acrylic on wood panel: "Open or Closed?"

East Haddam Swing Bridge - the inside joke is that when the bridge is "open" it is "closed". Open to boats but Closed to vehicles and foot traffic. When the bridge is "Closed" it is open to cars and foot traffic but tall boats cannot come thorugh.

2023-06-23

watercolor: Koi Pond

"Koi Pond" was part of a "house portrait" commission. There were two pieces composed: the house, and the pond. My decision - when doing a site visit it was evident that the pond, built by the homeowner, was a source of pride and love. But the view of the house the owner wanted was from below the pond. This perspective was one looking front the deck to the yard. There was no way the portrait would have been complete without a suitable depiction of the pond.

acrylic on canvas: "Goose and Maverick"

"Goose and Maverick was done during a visit to friends in Maine. I'd hoped to begin working on an impressive vista horizon elsewhere on their land but it was raining and foggy most of the day. Determined to paint something, we went for a walk, coming across two of their sheep, Goose and Maverick (yup. named after characters in Top Gun) under a shed. Took a couple of photos, came back in the house and began painting. Got this completed in about two hours, while visiting and chatting.