This was my first attempt at a "plein aire" watercolor. My wife and I were in the Adirondacks, and I had gone down to the lake to capture the sunrise. I hadn't counted on the black flies. I splashed a few colors on the paper and practically ran back home. Every time this painting comes up, I find myself smiling at the memory. Painting under duress is not the way to go.

I have a lot of paintings like that. They remind me of where I was, who I was with, and what I was doing at the time, like a visual diary. I did my first paintings in 1983 while I was working as a house painter. I needed Christmas gifts for both of my sisters, so I took photos of their dogs and did oil portraits for them. These days, I work more with acrylics, and recently signed up for a watercolor class. No flies in the art studio.

I’ve written stories about growing up in northern New Jersey when it was still considered a rural area, and published them as a collection on Amazon.  A few of my favorites have also been added here on the Stories page.

Thank you for your interest. My email address is: skipvanlenten@gmail.com.