January 2026 30-in-30
Russ and dozen+ other members of Art Plus Gallery started 2026 with the goal of creating and posting every day. If you followed at www.facebook.com/DailyArtPlusChallenge/, you saw that it was a great way to speed through the month. THANKS FOR FOLLOWING!
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January 27-30 Showtime Devon Oil, 12 x 12” NFS As the finish line for the 30-in-30 came into sight, I dropped off the one-a-day pace and spent the last four working on this oil on linen, destined for the Devon Horse Show in May. |
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January 26
Fawns and Old White Pine Wyomissing Oil, 8 x 10” $290 Last summer, two young deer had it made in the shade of a gnarly old white pine. This was in the swale that feeds into Wyomissing Creek at Old Mill Road. |
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January 25
Low Slack Spruce Head, Maine Oil, 9 x 24” $1200 |
The 10-12’ tidal swing reveals the rocky reef that separates Mill Cove from the deeper water toward Spruce Head. When low slack tide falls on a still morning you have a perfectly quiet spell save a distant diesel and laughing gull or two.
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January 23-24
All for Hues Wyomissing Park Oil, 9 x 12” $390 As in past 30-in-30s, near the home stretch I get itchy to move to bigger paintings. I had stayed on track until this 9 x 12” took me two days. This is that peaceful stretch of pavement between the Old Mill Rd. parking lot and Ruth’s Bridge. |
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January 22
Fall Quiet Chester County, PA Oil, 8 x 12” $390 Taking a break from the snow, I went back to photos of this creek while poking around Chester County last October. |
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January 21
Breakwater Light Rockland, Maine Oil, 10 x 16” $1200 Considering that Rockland’s mile-long breakwater was constructed with 700,000 tons of granite, a more apt title would be Breakwater Heavy. I’d painted this lighthouse a couple times from views along the breakwater, and wanted to come at it from the ocean side with the town of Rockland on the horizon. The challenge was that my reference photos were taken with my iPhone from the shore around over a mile away, so much of the detail in the structure is from memory or photos from other angles, filled in by best guesses. |
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January 20
Soft Turn Chester County Oil, 8 x 10” $190 Wending my way home on back roads in Chester County, I came across this quiet bend. I think it’s French Creek. I liked the light on the soft grass playing off the sky reflections on this bright day. |
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January 19
Break in the Snow Wyomissing Park Oil, 8 x 10” $290 Along with the weather breaking for a few hours, the snow around the sitting bench above The Highlands parking lot showed evidence of a walker and dog recently having done the same. |
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January 18
Crosshatch Wyomissing Park Oil, 8 x 10” NFS Yesterday was perfect for replenishing my stock of winter scenes: four inches of snow followed by late afternoon sun. This was a splash of sun making its way through the trees along Pinewoods Trail. |
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January 17
Goin’ with the Wind Rockland, Maine Oil, 9 x 18” $1800 Time for a brief change of place, this from July. We caught the first leg of Rockland’s annual schooner race from the beach behind Owl’s Head Light. Come simmer this oil will be heading to Landing Gallery. |
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January 16
Clouding Up Wyomissing Oil, 6 x 8” $190 I got lucky with the timing of my art work from the museum through Wyomissing Park: mostly sunny for most of the hike, just starting to cloud up as I hit the home stretch at the hill above The Highlands parking lot. An hour later it was totally overcast. |
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January 15
Deer, Park Wyomissing Oil, 8 x 12” $390 I’ve often seen deer grazing on the slope of this old stone home in Wyomissing Park. This wasn’t one of the 200-step stops, but the light was good and I’d never painted the spot, so I added it to my trek pics. |
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January 14 Gloamward Bound Wyomissing Oil, 6 x 8” $190 A brief intermission from trek excerpts to paint yesterday’s late afternoon sun. On its way down to the swale that runs behind my house it threw some nice soft light on building clouds. |
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January 13
Old Wyomissing Road Wyomissing Oil, 6 x 8” $190 A big idea behind the 200-step stops was to make me focus on new subjects and angles, but I’m happy my trek took me back by another favorite spot to paint: the stand of sycamores at the bend on Old Wyomissing Road. I think this is my first winter painting of the area. |
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January 12
On the Rise Wyomissing Oil, 6 x 8” $190 Between the Reading Museum and Highlands hill, the trail through the park is flat. The exception is a rise along the branch that takes you by a deck and Old Man Echo, the legendary storm drain occasionally explored by local youth. |
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January 11
Skim Ice by the Stone House Wyomissing Oil, 6 x 8” $190 Over the years I’ve painted the Stone House and surrounding area of Wyomissing Park a dozen times at various angles and seasons. I caught something new each time, including this trip, as the patchy ice on the pond provided some different textures and hues to work in with the reflections. |
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January 10
Cool Run West Reading Oil, 6 x 8” $190 Brightening up the Reading Museum Park landscape at one of my 200-step stops was a jogger enjoying the sunny morning. To get the winter hues I wanted on the last two paintings, I expanded my palette with ochre, burnt sienna, raw umber and Payne’s gray. |
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January 9 Every Scent West Reading Oil, 6 x 8” $190 One of this perambulating pair was more excited than the other about stopping at every lamppost in Reading Museum Park. |
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January 8, 2026 Arboretum Bridge West Reading Oil, 6 x 8” $190 Back in one of my favorite hunting grounds for painting, Reading Museum Park. While I painted this bridge before, my 200-step stop put me in a different position to grab the photo that I worked from. |
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January 7 Walkway West Reading Oil, 6 x 8” $190 The walkway from a Reading Hospital parking lot to the Doctor’s Building. It’s the last stop among the structure-packed stretch of Seventh Ave. before I get to the park. |
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January 6
Divergent Views West Reading Oil, 6 x 8” $190 Another 200 paces down 7th Avenue, the next winner of The-Most Interesting-Thing-I-Can-See-From-Here Award is this coupling of semi-detached homes. Both attractive, but each having gone its own way over the decades. |
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January 5
Seeing the Light West Reading Oil, 6 x 8” $190 First stop: 200 paces west of Art Plus. Most interesting to me was the way the iconic frog at 7th and Penn seemed to keep an eye on the traffic light. Not counting black and white, 99% of this was done with Ultramarine Blue, Cad Yellow Light and Naphthol Red. I used a touch of Phthalo Blue for a hint of iridescence on the frog. |
Special Mid-Event!
30-in-30 with 3
During my recent stretch of studio painting, the number of tubes next to my easel crept up to 23. My style has been getting tighter, fine for studio work but also not good for plein airing, which I'm aiming to hit full throttle in Spring.
To reboot, on January 4th I took a 3-mile hike from Art Plus to my house. Every 200 paces, I stopped and photographed the most interesting thing I could see from that spot. The idea:
1. Make myself see familiar sites differently
2. From the 60+ images, choose a dozen to paint in a series of 6 x 8s
3. Start each with a limited palette of 3 colors (plus black & white)
4. Aim to finish each within 3 hours
30-in-30 with 3
During my recent stretch of studio painting, the number of tubes next to my easel crept up to 23. My style has been getting tighter, fine for studio work but also not good for plein airing, which I'm aiming to hit full throttle in Spring.
To reboot, on January 4th I took a 3-mile hike from Art Plus to my house. Every 200 paces, I stopped and photographed the most interesting thing I could see from that spot. The idea:
1. Make myself see familiar sites differently
2. From the 60+ images, choose a dozen to paint in a series of 6 x 8s
3. Start each with a limited palette of 3 colors (plus black & white)
4. Aim to finish each within 3 hours
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January 4:
The Stone House Wyomissing Park Oil, 6 x 8” $190 Awright, just this one more in my traditional style and a familiar setting before I dive into the new technique I think will be freer and faster. |
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January 3: After the Shower Wyomissing Park Oil, 8 x 8” $250 Fall color brightened up after a shower. I’m refining some techniques that I hope can up my game for plein air competitions this Spring. This one took close to four hours in the studio. I’m aiming to get it down closer to two. |
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January 2:
Fall in the Park Wyomissing Oil, 6 x 8” $190 The barn along Old Wyomissing Rd, from the middle of the field back in November. I liked the structure's crisp counterpoint to the soft colors and textures of fall in Wyomissing Park. For my next few paintings I’ll tap the archive of summer and fall photos I took with this paintathon in mind. |
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1.1.26 Manhattan on the Granite Oil, 8 x 10” $290 This year's 30-in-30 starts with a toast to a happy, healthy new year for family, friends and fellow artists! The Manhattan Up in a vintage glass (this one is vintage 1950's) is, in my opinion, one of the more attractive cocktails, and contrasts nicely with the granite in my kitchen. After consuming some of the props I’ll return to my comfort zone of landscapes. |