East of Lacock (oil on canvas, 2004)

(Collection of the artist)
This painting was completed in May 2004, the day before my birthday. It is based on a scene that I sketched and photographed on the road leading east out of the village of Lacock in Chippenham England which, if followed long enough, will eventually lead you up a steep hill to the Rising Sun pub where you might, if you be so inclined, have a pint of Mole Catcher ale. I never had much success with painting as an undergraduate student, and ended up going to graduate school as a printmaking major. In May of 2003 my wife, at my request, bought me set of oil paints and brushes and I began teaching myself how to paint from scratch. After a year of countless color studies, monochromatic paintings and dozens of truly horrible paintings, this was the first painting that I was really pleased with.