The Heritage Series

The Heritage Series includes Old Buildings, Lighthouses, and Historic Ships or Boats that may not be here any more, or may have changed in some way as time went by. I look at these things and wonder what did that look like and why did someone build it. I like thinking about who that person was, what their life was like, and what did they think about during the time they were working on the project.

History is a subject that I love and find fascinating. They say knowing history helps you avoid mistakes made by others in the past, and also shows us the great things that have been accomplished.

Heritage to me is that piece of history that has a personal meaning and has been handed down by a family so that history never dies. That is why I began what I call the Heritage Series, a series of paintings showing a historic place, building, ship or lighthouse as it appeared at an earlier time. All these places, buildings and things are more then that because someone built it or worked there or something important happened there.

The Heritage Series is a portfolio of work I’ve chosen to paint with those questions in mind. Each painting in this Portfolio is portrayed as accurately as possible, based on the researched information I’ve gathered. I’m not an historian, but I do try to be as accurate as I can. Because I am an artist and want to paint an interesting composition, I may use a little artistic license with the painting for aesthetic reasons, but I try to keep those to a minimum.

The difference between a Heritage Series painting and the other work I do has nothing to do with compromising quality in the art. The Heritage Series is my attempt to be as accurate as I can with a special subject and its historic significance.

The work starts when I become aware of some historic building or ship that interests me and I start my research. This information sometimes comes from a person that was or is directly involved with the building or ship. I use the Internet, historical societies, lighthouse societies, the national archives or the help of local people. I’m looking for old photos of course, but architectural blue prints, letters, logs, journals, or just about anything that describes the building or its colors or where it stood helps a lot.

I also want information about the people that worked in or helped build the building. Some historic buildings attract people to it on vacations, or help in restoration projects on the building or other reasons. I get a feel for the place from all this as well as standing on the location to see the light, composition, and colors for myself.

I find as I work in the field photographing or sketching that I run across people who are interested and want to know what I’m doing and we start talking. At art shows and gallery exhibits people come up to me and we share stories about the art on display, and they may give me a lead for a new project.

The Heritage Series currently features Old Buildings and Lighthouses. Maritime subjects including Ships and Boats will be added soon.

I hope you enjoy the paintings as much as I do. I look forward to hearing from you and hope you’ll use the Contact Form to share your stories and comments with me.