In the studio with artist, photographer and instructor Robert Louis Caldwell

I finished this one up last week just in time to take it back up to the Aldie Mill Art show and Sale for my second drawing demo. The finished piece could be seen by those who came up for the first drawing demo where the piece was in the very beginning stages. Thank you to all who came to the show and spoke to me about my art. As I discussed with many of you, this is one of my favorite shows because of the venue (the historic grist mill) and the fact that this particular show is the first major group show that I had ever participated in. And to those who purchased some art, as always - ENJOY! "Solace (Feral Pigeon) ," Graphite Drawing, 15 x 9 One of these times I will to remember to take some images of the show to share.

I was pleased to find out yesterday that my piece "2008 (Rat) " was chosen to tour in the 2008-2009 Art and the Animal tour. This will be the first piece of art work that I have touring. Currently the piece is on exhibit at the Neville Public Museum in Green Bay , Wisconsin, from there the tour is scheduled to display at The Wildlife Experience in Denver, Colorado, The Dunnegan Gallery of Art in Bolivar, Missouri, The Fine Art Gallery of The Cultural Arts Council of Estes Park in Colorado, and the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts in Texas.

I have an artist friend who told me once that it seems as though I sneak up on my drawings. They start out quiet and subdued taking awhile to see any real progress and then all of a sudden, BANG! the drawing pops to life. With the current drawing I would have to agree. I am carefully adding value to this one because of the light coming from the window. I want that to be the primary light source and for it to be subtly light from underneath. The light from the window needs to be strong with a feeling that its really bright but I am limited to the white of the paper and for that I need to sneak up on the surrounding value. For this one I even had to brush of the dust from my 6h pencil.

Well, its finished. I don't have a title for this one yet so if you have any ideas please pass them on. I have also included a close-up of the bird on the plow handle to show the detail. When ever I am asked about what piece is my favorite I usually tell people that my next piece is my favorite. This piece comes close to being my favorite (at least for right now). I love the textures of the bare wood and the pealing paint and how often do you see a barn that is painted bright green. Although it took me awhile to finish this one, it was allot of fun to work on. (Title?), oil, 10 x 18 detail of (Title?)

Thank you to everyone that came to the drawing demo this past Sunday. I will be back at the Aldie Mill show on Sunday September 28th, which is the last day of the show, for another drawing demo. I hope to see everyone again. I am currently finishing up the painting of the nuthatch on a plow today and it should be ready for it's posting either tomorrow or Friday.

The Aldie Mill 2008 Art Show and Sale is currently going on in historic Aldie, Virginia. The show runs from last weekend to Sunday September 28th and is open Friday, Saturday, and Sundays from 11am to 6pm. Please join me this Sunday September 7th from noon to 4pm and watch me work on my latest drawing. The composition sketch of that drawing is shown below. Aldie Mill is located at 39401 John Mosby Highway (Rt. 50), Aldie, VA 20105. For directions or additional information, call Aldie Mill, 703.327.9777. (Map of Aldie, Virginia)

It's been slow in coming but below is the progress on the Nuthatch painting. The background is now finished and it's ready for me to move on to the final layer of the plow and the bird. Although that final layer will have to wait until next week so that I can get a drawing started for my drawing demo on Sunday which will be at the Aldie Mill Art show and Sale. Thank you to everyone for the kind words and patience over the last couple of weeks. Everyone is now well and recovered and my trooper has a new rear end. With school back in session I can get back to serious time in the studio and get prepared for the waterfowl festival that is approaching fast in November. -Robert