Fatal Shore

This is a new monochrome acrylic painting (painted over a phthalo green ground) that may be a study for a larger piece.

Fatal Shore, 2012, acrylic on board, 12" x 9".

The Ship of Fools

This is a subject that I've treated before in drawing but not as a painting. It came out simpler than I intended, & almost abstract, which I like & perhaps re-opens a door or two in terms of direction. We shall see.

The Ship of Fools, 2012, acrylic on board, 12" x 9".

Death Sowing His Seed in the World

This tondo painting is in some ways an update to (or related to, at least), my 2005 painting Empire of Death...I find that the tondo (round) format gives me a new perspective on my imagery & subject matter, so I'm tempted to redo all of my themes in circular canvases. This will probably not happen, but I'll most likely do a few like this...

Death Sowing His Seed in the World, 2012, acrylic on circular canvas, 16" diameter.

Tree Man Walking

Another variation on Hieronymus Bosch's Tree Man...this is the first time I've painted a version, I believe.

Treeman Walking, 2012, acrylic on circular canvas, 16" diameter.

Blind Seer

This is a drawing I did for a fundraiser...I'll put up the details of the event here when I have them...

Blind Seer, 2012, brush & ink on paper, 11" x 8.5".

The Angel of the Culvert

This is a collaborative painting with my friend Jim Stevenson. We began it over a year ago, & worked on it for several sessions, but it got put away for a while, especially as Jim moved to a new studio space during this time. It's done in oil on board, which is unusual for me, as I've used acrylic paint almost exclusively for over 10 years. We took it in turns to work on it, so it's difficult if not impossible to distinguish who did what. In the final session, yesterday, at some points we were both painting on the support at the same time, which was a little difficult, as the piece is quite small.

Angel of the Culvert, 2011-2012, oil on board, size unknown at this point (but approximately 14" x 11")

The Damage of War

Here is a new anti-war drawing for an online exhibit at antiwarartists.com. I have been busy with mostly non-art matters in the last few weeks, though I did completely reorganize my studio for an event/party we had recently. More work should be appearing here soon...

The Damage of War, 2012, brush & ink on paper, 11" x 8.5".

Scenes from an Impending Apocalypse

This is a page from the new issue of Direct Art Magazine, on sale now. The title of the page is partly inspired by my erstwhile collaborator Jack Ross (Scenes from a Puppet Oresteia). I put darkly humorous captions to four of my recent (2012) artworks, as opposed to doing the usual thing—an image or two, with a small title, etc., and a link to my web site...

Drawing of a Woman's Head

I haven't done much drawing recently, having been painting intensively...but here is a doodle of a head that I did this morning with a biro.

Drawing of a Woman's Head, 2012, biro on paper, 11" x 8.5".

The Old Sailor on the Sea of Time

Another tondo, this one monochrome. This has an unfinished feel to it, a little raw, but I like that sometimes & it may stay as is...

The Old Sailor on the Sea of Time, 2012, acrylic on circular canvas, 20" diameter.

Art studio panorama

My daugher Lizzie used her iPad with the 360 app to create this panoramic image of my studio in its current state (about to be cleaned up & arranged for an open studio event..this is the "before" photo)

As you can see, the program is not perfect as it leaves holes & some items are "ghosted", appearing several times. Still it is quite impressive, even more so in the interactive web version, which you can see here.

The Spires of Heaven

Continuing on the mystical & visionary modality I've been working in recently, here is an image I've been intending to create for a while, of a glimpse of Heaven in the clouds:

The Spires of Heaven, 2012, acrylic on circular canvas, 8" diameter.

Your Guardian Angel

A small circular painting (tondo) of an angel.

Your Guardian Angel, 2012, acrylic on circular canvas, 8" diameter.

Betrayal, Murder & Artwork

I just found a new review of Shadow Bay (noir visual crime novel collaboration with my friend & fellow Rhinebeck resident, Donald J. Rothschild) in the latest Poughkeepsie Journal weekend edition (Life section, August 5, 2012). I got a copy of the newspaper & scanned in the short article.

I didn't know this before, but the Poughkeepsie Journal is the third oldest newspaper in the US, & the oldest in NY state, according to Wikipedia.

As it's a short review, I'm copying the whole text here:

Writer Donald J. Rothschild and illustrator William T. Ayton, both Hudson Valley natives, have collaborated to create a visual crime novel called “Shadow Bay.”


Combining classic themes of lust, murder and betrayal, Rothschild tells a story of what happens when morality is compromised for money, as complemented by Ayton’s artwork.


Rothschild is also a screenwriter and playwright. “Shadow Bay” is based on his play of the same name. He lives in Rhinebeck with his wife and two sons.


Ayton is an internationally exhibited artist who has illustrated other works as well. He also lives in Rhinebeck with his wife and three children.


— Journal staff