West Old Baltimore Rd.

A nice farm setting along West Old Baltimore Rd. in Boyds Maryland. traffic on the two lane road was deafening but the view was nice and the sun warmed things up enough to sit out side.

Boyds Maryland

Boyds Maryland MARC rail parking lot looking towards the back of some industrial buildings. A freight train rolls through here about every twenty minutes. Sometimes two at a time in opposite directions. It was cold again and I painted in my truck after making my sketch outside.

White's Ferry

This is White's Ferry, Montgomery Co. Md. It was a cold damp day today for painting. Talk about gray!!! Everything was gray. This is the only still operating ferry across the Potomac River.

Edward's Ferry

This was a challenging back lite subject. If the C&O canal had water in it at this location then this is how a fish might see the world. I am at the bottom of the canal, looking up. What a nice warm day today was.

St.Mark's Methodist church

This is St. Mark's Methodist church in Boyds Maryland. It was a nice day to paint today and my location was a good one.

pen sketches

Did these three sketches today: the bar I frequent, view from the Capitol and also a view of Pennsylvania Ave. I did them with felt tip pens for a change from so many watercolors.

Thickets

This is a bit more expressionistic then some of the other work done lately. I wandered into the thickets and woods to do this painting. In a couple of weeks it will be impenetrable.

Seneca Stone Mill

. This is a view of Seneca Stone Mill ruins in Montgomery Co., Md. from inside the structure. Today was very warm and this painting took me a long time to complete. Plein-air painting can be very much like meditation when you sit motionless for so long. The concentration is intense most of the time...at least..for me it is. This old building is very large and fascinating. It was built in the early 1800's. A tree fell nearby while I was painting. Glad it wasn't on top of me.

Swain's lock

I made this sketch of Swain's lock Montgomery Co. Md. after a long bike ride. the canal has been pretty much emptied to prevent damage from the floods of last week. That drain pipe seldom sees the light of day.

Pennyfield lock house

This is Pennyfield lock house. The sun was playing hiding and seek all day. I finished this painting with cloud cover overhead.

Ruins

These are some of the many ruins that dot Montgomery County, Maryland throughout its agricultural areas. This particular location is Edwards Ferry. It was very cold doing this painting down by the Potomac river. Where I am sitting was under water a few days ago.

Riley's Lock

This is the parking lot view of Riley's lock on the C&O canal. It was another hide and seek day for the sun, plus it got downright cold when it clouded over.

Truss bridge

This is an old through truss bridge over the Monocacy River in Frederick Co., Md. The river was flooding when I painted this today. You can see the red water just below the span. The current was very swift and deep.

Beallsville

This is Beallsville, Montgomery Co. Md. the Bealls, for whom this town is named, once owned the land where the White House stands. Gray day subjects can be fun because the light stays put the entire time I paint. Again, I was in my truck while painting, turning the wipers on and off in order to see my subject....haha!!! People get so suspicious when a stranger parks in a lot and sits in the passenger seat, like I've been doing lately. I sure hope it warms up soon so I can be seen outside painting and ease the suspicion.

McKeee-Beshers

This is the parking area to McKee-Beshers wildlife management area in Montgomery Co. Md. The day was a bone chilling, cold, damp day. Not sure how I feel about this painting except I do think it caputres how dismal and cold the weather was.

Tow path

I sat along the C&O Canal tow path to do this painting. My day was brisk and cool but not without incident; the fox hunting crowd passed through here galloping down the tow path, once again, thirty minutes behind the fox. I think that time interval is a default when pursuing a fox. The fox is a cagey animal to say the least.

Red Stable

I don't know who owns this barn/stable. It faces Sugarland Rd., Montgomery Co. Md. I had a convenient place to pull off the road and do this painting today. The weather was very cold so I sat in my truck to paint. There were two large white horses that galloped and played in the corralled area beside the stable.

Seneca school

This is the second time I've painted Seneca School. The old school house sits along River Rd. in Montgomery Co. Md. The county is like ancient Greece, stone ruins lie everywhere in the woods, usually going unseen. This particular building is a well preserved historical site.

Point of Rocks, Maryland

This is Point of Rocks Maryland. The small town boasts one of the most beautiful train stations in America but the light was not good for the station and the parking lot was full of commuter parking, so I painted the town instead. It was another cold day but I painted outside anyway.

Abandoned house

Here is an abandoned house with plenty of potential to be haunted. It sits on Rt 28 in Dickerson, Md. I parked in the driveway to make this painting since no one was living there and parts of it were falling down anyway. There was a very fascinating large stone ruins in the nearby woods but that will be for another day.

Rock outcrop

Rock outcropping along Seneca Creek at Black Rock Rd. Montgomery Co. Md.

Edward's Ferry

Edwards Ferry on the Potomac River, Montgomery Co., Md. Finished this one at home, the threat of severe thunderstorms and a tornado made me realize being near low lying streams and the river unwise. As it turned out the threatening forecast never materialized. It was raining while I painted so once again I was forced to sit in my truck to paint.