“Miniature Magnetic Art”

September 7th 2025

In support of my “Charitable Art” initiative, one of the many organizations that I have been supplying with my art is a local musical concert venue called “The Garage”. The demand by this younger adult audience for smaller original art led me to creating a series of refrigerator magnets that have become an in-demand item, and offered at a low price point. 

With one hundred percent of the sales price going to a local charity, my hope is that some of these concert going adults, (mostly in their 20s and 30s) might create a lasting relationship with the charity (or charities) that they can select from when purchasing an item of my art.

Miniature art has a rich history dating back to medieval times, with modern practitioners continuing to push the boundaries of what is possible on a tiny canvas, or in my case, on a refrigerator magnet!

The trend of tiny art is gaining popularity in the modern world, especially among people living in smaller spaces or with those who value minimalism and sustainability. 

I am continuing to both supply “The Garage” with original art magnets and I have broadened my efforts with different series of art-based magnets. You can view some of these on my “Miniature Magnetic Art” page – on this website.

You can display these small original works of art in creative ways on any steel surface – to include on your refrigerator! 

All sales will support my ongoing “Charitable Art” initiative, which is described within previous blogs on this website.

“Collages & Cut-Ups”

April 1st 2025

A new artistic path for me includes creating both collages and cut-ups. Over the years I accumulated quite a wide-ranging inventory of paintings I created, but not yet parted with. This collection includes a wide range of styles I have enjoyed experimenting with, to include wax-based, oil, acrylic, and mixed-media paintings on canvas. In addition there are my glass paintings on clear glass panes, alcohol ink paintings on glossy photo paper, and my “reflection series” which uses repurposed mirrors as my canvas to present my abstract melted wax art.

Sometimes I find myself adding more details and colors to works that I completed years ago. More recently, I have used some of my finished art that no longer appeals to me as essential resources to create new art, through collages and cut-ups.

In the new section of this website, “Collages & Cut-Ups,” you will find examples of my work. Let me know what you think of this new artistic path.

“Invasive Flower”

December 15TH, 2024

When we look at a field of “wildflowers” our initial impression is oftentimes delight. The vibrant colors, the scent in the air, and the joyful sounds of bees and other pollinators is indeed nature’s chorus to our senses. Unfortunately, some of the most unassuming and universally appreciated flowers, when in abundance outside of their natural habitation areas, compete with, and oftentimes out compete native flowering plants, with dire consequences to the larger ecosphere.

While there are many invasive flowers, across all the lands humans inhabit around the globe, I have selected sunflowers to illustrate this man-induced threat to the natural balance.  Like other man-introduced  species, native plants and insects, and other native forms of life, are challenged, threatened, and diminished by these beautiful invaders.

My selection of a sunflower for this painting was clearly influenced by the large fields of sunflowers nearby. Just a few miles from my home in Boyds, Maryland, USA, is the McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area. Managed by our Wildlife and Heritage Service, this 2,000 acre tract provides habitat for upland and forest wildlife species including white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, squirrels, songbirds, and waterfowl. 

By mid-summer the large fields of sunflowers in bloom are a delight to thousands of visitors, to include those of us who enjoy capturing the scenery through painting and photography.

Sunflowers, and sunflower seeds, are a favorite food source for a host of songbirds, mammals and pollinators. Sunflowers require pollination by insects, usually bees, to produce a seed crop. In turn, honey bees and many species of our native bees, benefit from the abundant nectar and pollen that sunflowers produce.

While visually stunning, invasive flowers, to include sunflowers, can dramatically reshape the ecosystems they infiltrate. They often outcompete native flora, leading to a reduction in biodiversity. Invasive sunflowers can grow aggressively, overshadowing and outcompeting native plants for sunlight, space, and nutrients. This displacement can lead to a decline in native plant populations and the wildlife that depends on them.

“Charitable Art Studio” at Frederick Art Council Gallery and Studios

August 28th, 2023

On Saturday, September 2nd, during downtown Frederick’s “First Saturday” monthly event, the “Charitable Art Studio” will be open to the public from 11am – 4pm within the new Frederick Art Council Gallery and Studios, located  at 7 North Market Street. 

The Charitable Art Studio, located on the second floor, Studio #11, has committed that 100 percent of all art, photo and jewelry sales within the studio, will go directly to one of seven listed charities – with you, the purchaser, selecting  the charity from this list that resonates with your giving interests. 

Michael Gresalfi, the principal artist and studio leaseholder,  whose work along with others is represented in the studio explained that the studio will remain open – even when not manned- 24×7 and that he and the other represented artists  in this studio are committed to its 100 percent charitable giving philosophy through the end of the lease, which runs until March, 2024.

The Benefits of Collaborative Charitable Art

May 4, 2023

Over the past pandemic years I have learned much about myself and also about others. For one thing, myself included, people who enjoy creating art, pottery, jewelry, etc. have more inventory than they would wish for. The other thing I learned is that many of these folks enjoy gifting some of their excess inventory as “charitable art”  to worthy nonprofit organizations.  

Presently my basement is filling up with “other people’s” creations. These donated arts and crafts consist mostly of framed photographs, pottery and jewelry. Like I said,  I am clearly not the only one out there who enjoys knowing that some of the arts and crafts they produced are destined to support charitable organizations they believe in.  

Most of the charitable art in my basement makes its way into nonprofit organization run silent auctions, but recently both jewelry and pottery in particular have been used as incentive gifts  by nonprofits focused on supporting our large and diverse population of both children and adults with intellectual, emotional and/or physical challenges; a tangible gift to those staff members who provide personal care and management to individuals with disabilities. This is a much deserved expression of appreciation to these under-appreciated  yet essential workers.

So, for all you fellow arts and crafts producers out there, why not think about creating your own local “charitable art group.” Maybe talk to a few of your creative friends and together select one or more local – state- national- and/ or international charities that you and others you collaborate with support and start your own charitable art initiative; one that assuredly will provide satisfaction and value to all parties involved.

Guatemala Adventure

November 29, 2022

I recently returned from 3 weeks in the mountainous region of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. Half my time there was spent in volunteer support of international organizations developing potable water projects for small Mayan villages. The other half I spent  with my friend and well-known abstract artist, Clemens Luhmann, at his residence and studio overlooking Lake Atitlan and several extinct volcanoes. It was a wonderful experience learning and collaborating together and several paintings I produced there can be viewed on my “Abstraction” page. I found myself pushing into a more abstract painting style than I’ve previously used- a real creative stretch exercise- and am very pleased with the results!

Solar Flow

October 27

As I began to build the imagery in my most recent painting, Solar Flow, I was thinking of renewable energy, and in particular, solar, wind and water power- with solar the penultimate powerhouse and wind and water modified by its primal source of energy. I was in a deeply meditative state as I completed this work and I felt myself expressing the flow of the sun’s light, warmth, and even its gravitational pull on myself and my painting.

Summer Dreams

Sept. 13

Lately I have been having vivid dreams about a particular steel-hulled sailboat, namely, The R/V Marie Tharp– a 72-foot, steel-hulled, 2-masted sailboat operated by the Ocean Research Project (ORP).  My two latest wax-based paintings, “Dream Sailing” and “Greenland Summer” were inspired by these dreams and the men and women presently onboard conducting vital climate-related scientific research, currently off the coast of Greenland. 

Both paintings, seen below, can also be found on my ‘Abstraction‘ gallery page.

Greenland Summer
Dream Sailing

As a member of the Board of Directors of ORP, I often think about our crew and the international group of scientists on board and am proud of their important and exciting work. ORP is included in my list of favorite Charitable Organizations on my Bio Page and you can visit their website or Facebook page to follow their ongoing adventures.