Welcome to Pursleyart.com featuring the paintings of Craig Pursley at The American Heritage Gallery of Art in Bath, New Hampshire. The Gallery is closed for the winter but will reopen in May, 2012 Rolling Along After the rush of the fall season, it seems there should be more time, but that hasn't been the case yet. A few fall customers have come back or contacted me to commission new paintings or buy others they had seen while in the gallery and I am  thankful for that. Also, it has been a busy time entering contests, several of which I am anxiously waiting to hear results. I did already hear that my painting called "Samson" was chosen as 4th Place out of about 1,000 entries in a competition for an equine magazine. Here is "Samson." Also, I recently heard that all six of my entries were accepted and one;  "Saddleback in Shadow" was one of the winners in a great show in Southern California where every painting must be six by six inches. There are a lot of really excellent paintings in this show so I hope anyone close to the Randy Higbee Gallery in Costa Mesa will go have a look. Here is "Saddleback in Shadow." Earlier in December, I gave a portrait demonstration at the Palisades in Colorado Springs to a very receptive audience. And speaking of instruction, signs point to having a small landscape workshop sometime in March of 2012. Size would be very limited so if you are interested, please let me know soon. I'll keep you posted as details are worked out. Finding Inspiration It's funny how some things work out. A couple months ago, I found a great, red satin drum majorette's cape and vest from the 50s in an antique store and knew instantly it could be  terrific in a painting. I had a model in mind (with black hair) but was unable to reach her so I had to scramble to find another due to a tight dealine of a contest. I had met Erin a few years ago and thought someday she might be good to paint so I contacted her mother and arranged a photo session. Some models can have a great look but for some unknown reason, just do not photograph well. Occasionally, one will look fine and photograph even better and this was the case with Erin. I took around 200 photos and have already done four paintings, three of which are in this update. Here's the first, just called "Erin 1" with two more, though not in the satin cape, in the Portrait category. Chances are good that she will show up again here in the future. There are so many sparks of inspiration everywhere, whether it is in the landscape in any season or people I see almost every time I go somewhere. Thank you to all those who allow me to paint thier land or allow me to paint them! As I get older, I understand more fully how a painting really is a captured moment in time whether it is landscape or especially a person. For as long as that canvas exists there will be a representation of what that person looked like (at least if the likeness is good) for one brief moment of time. And by its very nature will have a greater importance than any photograph could. This is not said to give greater importance to my work, but painting in general. Thanks for visiting my website. I hope you'll come back often as the intent is always to update it the first Tuesday of the month. Sorry I was a bit late this time. Since we are starting a new year, I am going to clear out nearly all of the paintings on my site that have sold as well as some of the older work. This should make finding the new work easier, having less to sort through. Visit Bath, New Hampshire! "First Star I See Tonight"   Oil   18x18 For anyone who has not visited out little village of Bath, New Hampshire, I sure reccommend it. It is quintessentially New England and yet very unique at the same time. Though it is so small it has a lot to offer someone looking to relax a while in a place that is a slice out of another time. In just the space of 100 yards you will find America's Oldest General Store, chock full of goodies, a nearly 400-foot-long, 1832 covered bridge with a waterfall beneath, a church built in 1873 that was the location of the nation's first Sunday School, an ice cream shop (1844) that is also a virtual rock and roll museum and our art gallery, built in 1833, with over 125 paintings on display of the beauty of New England. We often hear from tourists what a gem we have here in our town and I heartily agree! The painting above, done in late July  (and sold last week) gives an idea of what Bath looks like from just a ways upstream. I hope to see you here! Please keep in mind that both our gallery and the ice cream shop are closed from late October to June, though both are open weekends in May. I really feel so fortunate to be able to sit in the gallery and paint for a living. I remember my dad getting up at 5:30 a.m. to go to a job he hated just to provide for us and it just doesn't seem fair. Then to put the icing on the cake I have the opportunity to meet so many really wonderful people that come through the shop and chat about art or baseball or beautiful New Hampshire. I am still putting an email list together of people who would like to see what's new virtually as they happen. At least once a week, I send out pictures of brand new work to previous clients and anyone else interested. If you'd like to be included on this list, please let me know at craigpursley@roadrunner.com and I'll add you right away. Even if you're not a prospective buyer, you might just like to see what's the latest thing off the easel. Your email address will not be sold or given to anyone else. As some of you may know, I send out regular updates to clients when they commission a painting. They may entail why I chose to alter a color or value or move or even remove an object to make a better painting. Such was the case recently for a landscape I did for Mike and Julie Carney of Indiana. With their permission, I've reprinted some of his comments that resulted. Thank you Mike and Julie! "…….and every time you correspond I learn something new…….Julie and I have talked quite a bit about the processes you used in painting our “Carney Barn” and we have come to the conclusion that there is so much more to painting than we had ever imagined……thanks for sharing what amounts to only a very small part of your knowledge……even though it is not much to you it is enormous to us…very very interesting and always send me anything about the process you want to because I know it will be interesting and informative…… "        Mike Carney Here's something else new; I now have the capability to make short time lapse movies and will post those on occasion so you can see the progression of a painting from start to finish in around three minutes. To see the first one, a portrait sketch, click this link... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB9EJPT6E9o I hope you check back each month here for new information and updates on what's happening with my artwork. Thanks for visiting!