FRESH OFF THE EASEL
Details on paintings before they leave the studio. For a firsthand look or purchase info, email Russ at [email protected]
Details on paintings before they leave the studio. For a firsthand look or purchase info, email Russ at [email protected]
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Call It a Day Oil, 30 x 30” $2500 This is my third and last (at least for now) painting of big skies over Midcoast Maine. A dusky theme to round out the sunrise and midday paintings, which were both looking across Mill Cove toward Spruce Head. For this one, elements of reference photos from Ogunquit and Port Clyde were brought together. |
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Gold Cove Spruce Head, Maine Oil, 30 x 30” $2500 Back again to my favorite place to plant my easel or take a few photos virtually every day. I did this relatively large painting from an 8x10” study done a few summers ago. A quiet morning, likely Sunday since the lobster boats were idle, with the sunlight breaking the clouds and splashing a golden cast across Mill Cove. |
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12/2/25 All Quiet on Mill Cove Spruce Head, Maine Oil, 30 x 30” $2500 This might be the tenth time I’ve painted a view of Mill Cove, where we usually stay in Maine. From dawn to dusk, sunny or misty, whether the lobster boats are in or out, it usually strikes me as picture perfect. This one is definitely the largest I've done of the cove. I hope to have dry, framed and sailing toward Landing Gallery in Rockland before the end of the year. |
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11/22/25
Riverview Hamburg, PA Oil, 8 x 12” $290 A drizzly start didn’t dampen the spirits of Martha & Jay Ressler’s hiking club, a fine group of folks I had the pleasure of joining for a 5-mile loop around Hamburg yesterday. This 8 x 12” oil was one of several paintable perspectives I found along the way. |
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Down on the Creek
Wyomissing Park Oil, 9 x 12” $390 With the water level low, I was able to hop my way to what would normally be the middle of Wyomissing Creek and grab a few photos to paint in the studio. This is a little upstream from the Stone House. |
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Lonesome Oak Wyomissing Park Oil, 9 x 12” $390 This oak stands alone but not too lonely, being near the trail from the Old Mill Road Parking lot. |
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Highland Clouds
Wyomissing Park Oil, 7 x 10.25 $290 The last gasp of fall foliage, combined with some cool clouds, has drawn me to fields and streams nearly every day for the last week. The plan is to stockpile reference shots for January’s 30-in-30, when a dozen artists from Art Plus Gallery will endeavor to paint and post every day of the month. You’ll likely see more like this then. |
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Long View of Lavender Farm
Warwick Furnace 8 x 10” $390 Coming down the hill from Anna’s Oak offered a nice view across the glen of the fading lavender field at Warwick Furnace Farm, along with the challenges of painting a long field of wild brush. Three trips there have inspired five paintings so far, and I feel there’s still a lot to explore around Warwick Furnace. |
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After the Fall
Anna’s Oak, Thomas P. Bentley Preserve Oil, 8 x 10” $390 Currently on exhibit at Warwick Furnace Farm Until it toppled in 2024, 97’-tall Anna’s Oak was thought be the largest white oak in Chester County. After catching the Art Gallery at Warwick Furnace Farm’s outstanding 20-piece, multi-artist tribute to the magnificent specimen, I was inspired to hike up the hill across the road, see its remains, and paint it myself. |
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Chanticleer Garden Pond
Oil, 8 x 12" $450 I first painted near this spot two years ago as part of Wayne Plein Air’s community event, and did this different angle from a photo I took then. The painting will debut at “The Perfect Pairing”, Oct. 29 at Overbrook Golf Club. The fundraiser for Bryn Mawr Hospital will draw around 200 people “to transport your palate to Paris and feast your eyes on unique works of art.” I’m honored to be one of six artists the Women’s Board invited to exhibit at this event. |
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Low Water
Reading Museum Park Oil, 6 x 8” $100 Currently on exhibit at Art Plus Gallery From the Museum Road bridge, looking upstream toward the event tent. I painted this in the studio from 3 reference photos I took at the park one Sunday. If I included as many dogwalkers as were truly there this would look like Westminster. |
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Pleasant View
Chester County Oil, 8 x 10” SOLD I found this sweeping verdant carpet, probably alfalfa, along a back road in Chester County. Aptly named Pleasant View, the narrow gravel road affords glimpses of its namesake in both directions as it runs across a ridge above Warwick Furnace. |
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Down at the Garden
Warwick Furnace Farm, Chester County Oil, 9 x 12” $490 The tail end of summer color at the artfully manicured garden near the entrance to this Chester County lavender farm. I liked the way the wildness of the preserve across the road juxtaposed a soft, loose backdrop for the strong, clean lines of the garden. |
Beyond the Bloom
Warwick Furnace Farm, Chester County
Oil, 5.5 x 15.5”
$390
As of Tuesday (9/8) only a hint of lavender remained at Warwick Furnace Farm, but it’s probably a magnificent place to paint any time of year. You need permission through their website and at least AWD to get to the top of the hill to appreciate the panorama of the 60+ acre lavender farm and surrounding area. Across the way is a wealth of history and natural beauty: Thomas P. Bentley Nature Preserve, the remains of the recently deceased Anna’s Oak (reportedly the largest of the species in the state), French Creek and George Washington’s hiding spot for 16 cannons after the Battle of the Brandywine.
Warwick Furnace Farm, Chester County
Oil, 5.5 x 15.5”
$390
As of Tuesday (9/8) only a hint of lavender remained at Warwick Furnace Farm, but it’s probably a magnificent place to paint any time of year. You need permission through their website and at least AWD to get to the top of the hill to appreciate the panorama of the 60+ acre lavender farm and surrounding area. Across the way is a wealth of history and natural beauty: Thomas P. Bentley Nature Preserve, the remains of the recently deceased Anna’s Oak (reportedly the largest of the species in the state), French Creek and George Washington’s hiding spot for 16 cannons after the Battle of the Brandywine.
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Corn, Clouds and Oak
Fleetwood, PA, 9/3/25 Oil, 12 x 12” SOLD With the permission of the fine folks at Echo Hill Market, yesterday I enjoyed a couple hours painting the adjacent field from the edge of the store’s parking lot. I’ve pondered painting this view many times over the years; the out-of-the-way Amish-oriented market has long been our go-to- source for no-frills nuts, spices and natural foods at reasonable prices. Yesterday’s good clouds were an irresistible call to action. |
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Ducky Day
Reading Museum Arboretum Posted 9/1/25 Oil, 8 x 10" SOLD I caught this mallard sunning on Wyomissing Creek last week, taking a photo from the bridge nearest the museum parking lot. What drew me besides the tranquility of the setting was the challenge of handling the blend of reflections, shadows and slow motion of the water across the rocky stream bed. It'll make it into the Sept/Oct exhibit at Art Plus, which opens September 9. |
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Along the Field
Oil, 6 x 8” Posted 8/30/25 SOLD I normally paint landscapes on location, from my photos and sketches, or a combination of those references. This one was done entirely from imagination, tapping memories of locations around the Oley Valley, Albany Township and Chester County. |
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Nerd Chair Pointe
Fogelsville, PA Posted 8/24/25 Oil, 9 x 18", SOLD The traditional bullshittin’ spot for Jim Gentile and me, at Jim's sprawling Lehigh County retreat. Many dozens of times over the years, we would haul a pair of tacky lawn chairs out of the barn for a ponder–a couple hours of philosophical, observational, strategic business and joke exchanges. |
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Rain on the Way to Fisher Farm
Oley Valley, PA Oil, 12 x 16", SOLD While stopping by Fisher Farm on August 13 for a bag of their mighty sweet corn, I ducked out back and grabbed a few shots of the pond and approaching storm clouds. I reworked the sky since initially posting this on social media. |
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French Creek and Lavender Farm
Warwick Furnace, PA Posted 8/16/25 Oil, 9 x 12" $390 Currently on exhibit at Art Plus Gallery This was started en plein air on 8/14, near Warwick Furnace, a corner of Chester County as rich in history as it is in natural beauty. I made a black and gold liner to adapt an antique frame to the size of the painting. 
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