Third Street and Centre Square, Easton Pennsylvania

 Ok, night scenes in watercolor were always a scary thing for me, but I’ve been told we should confront our fears, so here we are. I think I may have learned a little bit with this.

Third Street and Centre Square, Easton Pennsyvania

Watercolor 9x12” (23x31cm), Arches paper, rough

.......................................................................

Cenas noturnas em aguarela sempre inspiraram um pouco de terror em mim, mas sempre ouvi dizer que devemos confrontar os nossos receios, então aqui estamos. Eu penso que talvez eu tenha aprendido um pouco com isto.

The Village of Monsaraz

This was an exercise in rapid painting (about 35 minutes). Results are mixed - main buildings too distorted, conflicting shadows, and maybe too many hard edges. Valuable experience in loose painting though.

Village of Monsaraz, watercolor 30x45cm, Fabriano paper cp.

.....

Isto foi um exercício em pintura rápida (35 minutos). O resultado foi duvidoso – muita distorção nos edificios principais, sombras inconsistentes, e tavez muitas margens secas. No entanto ganhei alguma experiência no caminho da pintura solta.

Torres do Mondego

Watercolor 18x22cm, Arches paper, rough

Downtown Easton, Pennsylvania

Watercolor 23x31cm, Arches paper, rough

Torre da Lapela

Watercolor 18x25cm, Arches paper, rough

Currelos, Carregal do Sal

Watercolor 30x45cm, Fabriano paper cp

Ouguela Castle, Alto Alentejo Portugal

After a number of painting assignments over the last several weeks, I had my first chance to go loose today.

Depois de vários trabalhos de comissão nas últimas semanas, hoje tive oportunidade de pintar mais ao acaso.

Watercolor 23x31cm Saunders paper, rough

Home Sweet Home (house portrait commission)

This took me twice as long as I first thought. I will have to remember that next time.

Watercolor 25x35cm, Winsor & Newton paper cp

Rest stop at the zinnia patch

Detail of The Zinnia Patch

The Zinnia Patch

The Zinnia Patch (commission)

Watercolor, 12x16” (30x40cm) on Winsor & Newton paper, cold-pressed

Study of a Cactus Zinnia

This is a preliminary study for an upcoming watercolor commission of zinnia flowers. Hoping for the best.

Watercolor 9x12” (23x31cm) Arches paper, rough

Currelos - Beira Alta, Portugal

Watercolor 9x12" (23x31cm)  Arches paper, rough

Capela de Santo Amaro

Póvoa de Santo Amaro, Beira Alta

Watercolor, 9x12” (23x31cm), W&N paper (old), rough

Capela de Santo António

Lately focusing on a specific parish near my birthplace in Portugal, and there are good reasons for that.

Ultimamente explorando a freguesia de Parada na Beira Alta e há boas razões para isso.

Capela de Santo António, Póvoa das Forcadas

Watercolor 9x12” (23x31ccm), W&N paper (old), rough

Senhora Da Ribeira - Beira Alta, Portugal

Watercolor 9x12" (23x31cm), Winsor & Newton paper (old), rough

Parada, Beira Alta

Watercolor 10x14", Blick paper cp

My First Still Life

My first still life ever. I put a lot of planning on this, and everything has a meaning. Although I am seriously biased, I am happy with the result.

A minha primeira “natureza morta”. Houve muito planeamento neste trabalho, tudo tem um significado. Ainda que a minha opinião seja suspeita e tendenciosa, eu fiquei contente com o resultado.

 Watercolor, 22x28” (56x71cm), Arches 300g paper, rough

Igreja Matriz, Oliveira Do Conde

Watercolor, 7x10" (18x25cm), Arches paper, rough

The Lighthouse at Sleepy Hollow, New York

 Watercolor, 10x14" (25x35"), Blick paper, cp

The Muscari Patch

 Watercolor 11x14", Fabriano paper CP

Early Spring, Martins Creek

Watercolor 10x14" (25x35cm), Blick paper, cp

Penela Castle

Watercolor 10x14", Blick paper cp

A jar of cilantro

 

Watercolor 6x8" (15x20cm) on Arches paper, rough

I have to prepare to do my first still life painting ever. This is not my thing and it’s going to be unchartered territory, but I know it is going to include a jar of cilantro, so this is my first study. It’s a start.

..............................................

Em preparação para a minha primeira pintura de natureza morta. Não tenho experiência nisso, e isto vai ser terra incógnita, mas sei que vai incluir um jarro de coentros, então este é o primeiro estudo. Vamos ver o que sai daqui.

Forsythia Road

Watercolor 23x31cm, Arches paper, rough

(Sold at Connexions Gallery, Spring 2025)

Kesslersvile Road

Every once in a while, I get requests for house portraits, and this is the latest one. The trees are always the most challenging part.

Watercolor, 12x18in (30x45cm), Fabriano paper cp

Berlinsville Hotel - Walnutport, Pennsylvania

Watercolor 10x14" (25x35cm) on Blick paper cp

The walled town of Monsaraz

 Watercolor 23x31cm, Arches paper, rough

Bass Harbor

Watercolor 10x14" (25x35") on Blick paper cp

Capp Road, Forks Township PA

Watercolor 10x14" (25x35cm), Blick paper cp

Viseu - Arco da Rua escura

Stabilo pen on Beechmore sketchbook, page 6

Hollo Farm, Lower Nazareth PA

Watercolor 10x14" (25x35cm) Blick paper, cp

Castle of Belmonte

Watercolor 23x31cm, Arches paper, rough

Tower, Castle of Mourão

Micron 03 pen on Beechmore sketchbook page 5

Cabo Raso Light

Watercolor 23x31cm, Arches paper, rough

Tewksbury, New Jersey

Stabilo pen 88/22 on Beechmore sketchbook, page 4

Castle of Ourém

Staedler 0.3 pen on Beechmore sketchbook, page 3

A Farm - Northampton County, Pennsylvania

Stabilo 88/65, Beechmore Sketchbook page 2

North Star

Image: Engraving, Yellowstone Lake, signed J G Smithwick

I love to draw in Pen & Ink. I think that is because I have always been mesmerized by the beauty of old engravings that were widely used to illustrate books and magazines before photography became commonplace. My reflexive (and futile) goal is to make my drawings look like engravings, although I will never get there. This image is from an antique book I recently purchased (America Illustrated, 1883). It is full of beautiful images, but this one is special, with the brightly lit rocks against the expansive dark landscape. It is most likely a wood engraving which means the image is cut into the wood as a negative, by removing the parts that will print white. A dark line is printed by removing the wood on both sides of it. It is hugely labor intensive. Nevertheless, one of my favorite engravers, the French artist Gustave Doré produced an incredible 10,000 illustrations in his short life span of 51 years. True, he also employed several talented artists to produce engravings from his original drawings, but that’s still beyond impressive. He was commissioned to illustrate seminal books like Dom Quixote, Paradise Lost, The Divine Comedy and even The Bible.

Back to the image above, I could say it represents a beacon, or a North Star for my drawing efforts. I will never come near it, but I enjoy the ride.

Castle of Beja

I started my new Beechmore sketchbook that Fátima gave me for Christmas (thank you!). The old one took me five years to finish, and this one has even more pages (thanks a lot). The new strategy calls for quicker and looser sketches, so that I have a chance to finish before the next Ice Age hits.

..............

Comecei a primeira página do meu novo caderno de desenhos que a Fátima me deu no Natal. O último caderno levou-me cinco anos a completar e este tem ainda mais páginas (muito obrigado mesmo). A nova estratégia é fazer desenhos mais rápidos e soltos, de maneira a que eu tenha uma chance de acabar antes de a próxima Idade do Gelo chegar.

Santa Clara

 Watercolor, 23x31cm, Arches paper, rough

Tatamy, Pennsylvania

Watercolor 10x14" (25x35cm), Blick paper cp 

Winter Harbor Light, Maine

Watercolor 25x35cm, Blick paper cp
 

Igreja de Santa Engrácia (Panteão Nacional), Lisbon

Watercolor 23x31cm, Arches paper, rough

Easton on the Lehigh River

Watercolor 7x10" (18x25cm), Arches paper, rough

Castle of Porto de Mós

Watercolor, 10x14 (25x35cm) on Blick paper, cp