Chuckles

R. I. P.

1992 - 2010

Shelter mutt, studio companion, constant shadow, good friend and a good dog.

-Doug Rugh

Documentary Short

Here is a short film by Kristen Alexander (www.MiddleWayMedia.com) that recently screened at the Woods Hole Film Festival:

-Doug Rugh

A Morning Chasing Light (It Got Away)

View a larger image. Bike Path Towards Nobska, 24" x 30" - oil/canvas
View a satellite map of the location.

Excerpt from this posting:

"...On the opposite wall was her composition as only she could do it. Artists have a history of consuming their still lifes just before they sour so I had no qualms about, at a minimum, recycling the still life as a subject of my own...."

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.

Capturing an Audience

Excerpt from this posting:

"...A little later a girl came up to me in a rare quiet moment and said, "If I sit out there will you paint me?"..."

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.

Hidden Corner at Nobska Beach

Hidden Corner, 11" x 14" - oil/canvas

View a satellite map of the location.

Excerpt from this posting:

"...as long as my palette doesn't get too wet and turn my oils into emulsions. The overcast skies, tent-lighting to photographers, bring out the intensity of colors..."

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.

-Doug Rugh

Taking the Fork in the Road

Excerpt from this posting:

"...I'm in Paris and he's never left the farm. I had been spending time on the periphery dazzled by the bright lights and I come back and he's just sitting under the tree with Ferdinand smelling the flowers..."

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.

Flying at Night

View a larger image. Inner Harbor, 9" x 12" - oil/panel

Excerpt from this posting:

"...remembering intuitively the spots where there was a gap in the curb and when it had to be jumped..."

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.

There's No There There

View a larger image. Blueberries and Cream, 9" x 12" - oil/panel

Excerpt from this posting:

"...It's impossible to be impressed with oneself..."

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.

Apprentice

Man, 8" x 5" - oil/panel

Excerpt from this posting:

"...The apprentice coddles the sable over raised brushstrokes (cursing away Style's tempts), corrects a skewed perspective and steps aside, humbly, in front of the seamless Illusion. Later he winces at overlooked edges and gasps at unsubtle hues..."

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.

-Doug Rugh

De-limbed Statues

Excerpt from this posting:

"...He absent-mindedly used the arborist's vernacular to describe the 15 foot high stumps now standing like monuments in the center of the yard. ..."

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.

Tickle and Hit the Road

View a larger image. Road to the Beach, 18" x 12" - oil/canvas
This road leads to Alfie's beach, a few yards of coast bought with sculpture, and a summer gathering spot where artists sit around bonfires.

Excerpt from this posting:

"...Thresholds are places of creativity which liberate the brain from its' rounded walls..."

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.

-Doug Rugh

The Right Brain at Work and Play

Excerpt from this posting:

"...The studio works start with this reportage and turn them into pictures..."

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.

Chiaroscuro

View a larger image. Mending The Sails, 35" x 35" - oil/canvas

Excerpt from this posting:

"...the root words of chiaroscuro -- light lifting the tonal veil of darkness -- are both clear and obscure. Folds become beautiful when a little mystery (and shadow) is added..."

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.

Gone Postal

One day when I was a student at the Rhode Island School of Design I found a confusing card in my mailbox. Fitted through punched holes along the left side were varied thicknesses and lengths of natural looking yarns and neatly hand-written next to each sample was the color name. Words like: alfalfa sprouts, tofu, granola, spirulina, tahini. If something out of the ordinary happens at an art school the first assumption is that an art event is taking place but on the other hand I felt this was a personal message to me. Did I recognize any of the hues as colors that I might wear? The other students had a more current sense of couture and perhaps someone was trying to let me know that I was projecting the not-so-chic tones of the health-food store. It remained a conundrum until months later.

Another time someone was kind enough to leave a note with this advice written in small letters:

I was sitting next to you in class and I couldn't help noticing that your ears needed cleaning. Just thought you'd like to know.

A fresh Q-tip was taped to the card. I say kind because the note was unsigned allowing the Samaritan to give helpful guidance while avoiding the embarrassment of a whispered take-aside. I quietly slipped the Q-tip into my bag and walked out of the busy hall. Maybe it was the guy at the library's front desk who I mistakenly passed unshaven one day who put his hands on his hips and said, "There's such a thing as personal hygiene you know!"

It wasn't until later when I was sitting with some people in the textile department that someone described getting the same note with the Q-tip. The guy we were with said, "I put hundreds of those in people's boxes. I got bored sitting in the mail room all day." I realized instantly that the crunchy-granola color samples were probably just an old weaving project that he had done and rather than discarding his trash he could disseminate it and give it new life. Nobody gets letters anymore.

-Doug Rugh

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.

Neither Then Nor Later

View a larger image. Dories, 6" x 9" - oil/panel

Excerpt from this posting:

"...that free the thinking and the doing: a perfect place of art..."

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.

-Doug Rugh

Man Overboard

View a larger image. Whispering Pines (Monhegan Island), 8" x 10" - oil/panel

Excerpt from this posting:

"...Another visitor, just arriving on the scene, got through to 9-1-1 and they said, "Isn't there anybody there on the island that can help you?"..."

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.

Louise Don't Look At This

View a larger image. Plein Air Painter Indoors, 18" x 24" - oil/canvas panel

Excerpt from this posting:

"...so I poured a little poppy oil in a palette cup to speed up the paint and leaned into the canvas..."

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.

King of the Nursing Home

Excerpt from this posting:

"...By the time I get there I'm sure to be top dog at the nursing home..."

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.

Hospital Cove

View a larger image. Hospital Cove, 8" x 14" - oil/panel

Excerpt from this posting:

"...I sat in the shade of the dock just out of view, following my rule to find a vantage point that was also a place that I would choose if I were stopping to enjoy the day..."

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.

-Doug Rugh

Just Undo It

Lemon Twist (detail) - oil/panel

Excerpt from this posting:

"...as I carved a flourish a little too long my fingers searched for command + z to undo my last action. Instead, as in all things handmade the path is forward and a better state of the art becomes history. The flourish by necessity becomes even longer and more decorative; a mistake requiring a creative answer..."

This journal entry is now available as part of a compilation in ebook form:

Specifications:
Epub and PDF formats
102 Entries
26,700+ Words
95 Full-Color Illustrations (Oil paintings by the author.)
2006 - 2010

More information here.