Summer Is Here Again
2008 - 11"x12" Acrylic, pencil, charcoal, pastel pencil, on wood.
Finished with two coats of Krylon Matte Finish #1311
(Private Collection - California)

June 22, 2008

The arrival of summer is something I have many great memories of. My best memories are from childhood, with the end of school, hot summer days, playing baseball, family vacations, and attending my first rock concert (Ozzy Osbourne). After high school, my memories of summer are more of a blur, probably because the time was spent attending summer college session, or working.

This will be my second summer here in NYC and it's feeling like a return to my memorable childhood summers. My lifelong memories will include the crazy summer weather with the thunder & lightning storms, fireflies, the free concerts, plays, and movies in the park, Yankees games, Coney Island, and watching the 4th of July fireworks from the edge of the East River in Brooklyn. This is what the painting means to me, even though it's not objectively represented. For anyone else who looks at this painting; I hope it brings back your own favorite summertime memories.

The weathered look was achieved by sanding the painted wood with very coarse sandpaper (#18). I also applied the paint in thin layers, usually watered down. The animals, trees, and suns were etched into the wood, then colored with paint or pencil. You can see this in the photos below.