Smokin’, Drinkin’, and ‘That Other Thing

Giclee Print on Mounted Canvas
Edition of 300 S/N
Image: 13″ x 34″
$300

This painting was done specifically for The Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Maryland a couple of years ago. The Waterfowl Festival is one of the premier “wildlife” art shows in the country, which is interesting because I am not a wildlife artist; never have been. The only live animals I have ever painted were dogs (many), a few geese off in the distance as part of a landscape painting, and my two pet mallards, ‘Quigley’ and ‘Aflac.’

However, I have been invited to show in countless wildlife shows because of my sporting still life paintings which, for a long time, involved guns, decoys, antique advertising, old photos, hunting and fishing memorabilia and books. In fact my sporting still life paintings have won numerous “Best in Show” awards at various wildlife shows, as well as Ducks Unlimited “Artist of the Year” competitions in several states.

In the early days of The Waterfowl Festival the parameters were strict; artwork had to relate to waterfowl. In recent years the scope has widened to include nautical themes, landscapes, equestrian art and other subject matter. Since I am an avid pack rat and collector of various kinds of antiques, most of what I collect ends up in my paintings. I have always collected old crocks and jugs as well as tobacco tins; in recent years I have gotten interested in antique oyster cans. “Smokin,’ Drinkin,’ and ‘That Other Thing’” was set up in my studio as a funky grouping of tins of various shapes and colors, and the crocks, with their wonderful textures, were added for variation. The title is, of course, tongue in cheek, based on three “vices” in the piece. The original painting resides in the permanent collection of the Cameron Museum of Art.