I've been working on this one since November, and finally calling it finished. Based on a photo from our trip to Venice in 2018.
"I Bravi Cani Ricevono I Premietti" (Good Boys Get Treats) - 24" x 30" Oil on Canvas.

Come on NYT, it’s a perfectly cromulent word.

Since the Rapture is tomorrow, I'll take one last (for real, this time) opportunity to remind you of my relevant short story that was in Hobart a while back: www.hobartpulp.com/web_features...

Haleakalā NP in Maui is famous for its sunrises, but if you don't want to get up at 3am, the sunsets aren't too shabby. While we were initially disappointed that it was so cloudy below us, the colors atop those clouds were spectacular. Cloud Ocean (Haleakalā Sunset) - 16" x 20" Oil on Canvas.

Hope it’s more bone clocks and less utopia avenue.

Last spring, I saw Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds at the Salt Shed in Chicago on their Wild Gods tour, an incredible performance. And equally as mesmerizing as Nick Cave himself was his collaborator, multi-instrumentalist @warrenellis.bsky.social.

This is "Wild God," 14" x 11" Oil on Canvas Panel.

Loved this book. I think I was 16-17 when I first read it. Can definitely relate.

Booooo…. but congrats on the new gig.

Terrain des Peintres

This is my first of what will probably be a few pieces inspired by our recent trip to France. Our niece was studying in Aix-en-Provence and lived a short (uphill) hike from Cezanne's stomping grounds. "Terrain des Peintres," featuring the glorious Montagne Saint-Victoire. 18" x 24" Oil on Canvas.

RIP Brian Wilson. The default iPhone text message notification is the same note as the beginning of Sloop John B, and that always pops into my head when someone is blowing up my cell.

I’d find it weirder if they had my face as the wallpaper.

Hey Conclave, how about picking @michaelianblack.bsky.social? He’s-a so nice.

This is "Antarctic Sunrise." Saw a photo a friend of a friend took in Antarctica and knew I'd have to paint it on the extra-wide canvas I had sitting around. 18" x 36" oil on canvas.

In 2019, I did a painting called Mountaintop Vineyard that was my first attempt at an original composition. It was painting #8, so expectations were low, and I met them.
This one from the weekend feels a little more my speed. Mountaintop Vineyard, Op. 3 - 11" x 14" Oil on Canvas.

Took a short vacation to Charleston, SC in December and saw some of the world's most incredible sunsets. This was based on a photo taken from the back yard of the AirBnB my brother rented. "Lowcountry Sunset" - 24" x 18" Oil on Canvas.

This Tuesday, I'll be leading a free seminar on submitting your writing to literary journals. Sign up at visit.northbrook.info/event/11680173 (and don't be alarmed that the description says Sara Cutaia is running it--I'm pinch-hitting). 7:00-8:30 CST. Hope to see your smiling face in a Zoom window!

I feel seen.

We created this online month of publishing education 4 years ago, for:
- You, a person who wants to publish a novel
- The guy who published his first story collection with a small press and is now looking for an agent
- Your friend who wants to "pick your brain about publishing"
- Steve
- Everyone

Hot off the easel: Valley of the Rockies - 22” x 28” Oil on Canvas

This is absolutely correct. Also the first CD I’ve ever bought.

This is another version of a painting I did two years ago. It's a smaller canvas and done wet on wet, but I think it holds up well to the original, considering how long that one took me. 11" x 14" Oil on Panel (alla prima).

I’m a little worried that the Bears are going to hire Tony LaRussa.

Just got a fortune cookie with no fortune in it, so remember me fondly, I guess.

I feel like this is about the 3rd bluesky migration wave, but seems like this one might stick.

A quick single-session painting today. Likely the first of many from our trip to Rocky Mountain NP. Rocky Cascades - 16" x 20" Oil on Canvas (alla prima). Also, if you're interested, I post time-lapse videos of most of my paintings on youtube, so like and subscribe, as they say. youtu.be/oebbuXeTmzs

I feel like Whalefall by Daniel Kraus would be up your alley.

Time to take another swing at Bluesky, so here's my latest painting. Urbs in Pratum, 18" x 36" oil on canvas (click to embiggen).

The Grand Canal - 18” x 24” Oil on Canvas

Cliffs of Carina - 11” x 14” Oil on Panel.

Last painting of 2023, from our trip to the Dakotas this summer. “Badlands” - 24” x 18” Oil on Canvas.