Being An Artist Stories

Blue Shirt

November 8, 2009

Salvatore D’Ambrosio was my grandpa on my dad’s side. He was born in Italy in 1898, his friends called him Sal or Sally and he never wasted a thing. Every year my parents bought him new shirts for Christmas and he would carefully place the unopened boxes on the top shelf of his closet. Save [...]

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So. . . How You Doing?

November 5, 2009

My grandpa lived a month shy of 100 years. He lived on Boylston Avenue, a stones throw from the sea for close to fifty of them. I used to ride my motorcycle over and help him work on his house and afterwards we would sit in his kitchen and eat homemade pasta. He had a [...]

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Field Studies

June 10, 2009

Before the current proliferation of plein air painters populated the planet. Long before we had instant access to unlimited information, when my world was a little simpler, I took my watercolor paints outdoors and tried to capture the light of the day. Lacking formal art training, I struggled with a burning desire to capture what [...]

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Faith

July 16, 2008

On a promising July morning in the mountains of western North Carolina, I sat under a maple tree, set up my paint box and painted the Newdale church. On a hill nearby sat a house, on the front porch a girl was rocking, watching me paint. She had a clear view of the church. The [...]

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