I won't lie, this has been so much fun for me. DP is one of my greatest friends and influences. The conversations he and I have had about painting and music have been epic. Some have been knock down and drag out, all have been beneficial to me as an artist who just wants to learn and learn and learn.

​Last week we looked at his work abstracting views and vantage points in the landscape. This led to work he does today incorporating 'abstractions' in more traditional landscape painting. The boat scene above is a studio painting done on a day DP said he was missing the water. Growing up along the coast these scenes were everywhere. He and I talked about how these traditional "scapes" are everywhere in small art shops in New England. But that said, these are not so typical of that genre. DP's abstractions of the landscape influence these more traditional compositions. Mark making assembled in patterns that become a scene. The boat scene below is a little older, but you can see in the reflection in the water much of the same observational abstractions in his earlier works.

DP doesn't miss too many days of painting whether it is in the studio or out in the field. He is a painter who works hard everyday and I'm lucky to share a studio with him. I get to see many of these in progress and usually the first to see them finished. Below are some of the most recent pieces. The last one on the bottom of this post is actually still wet as I am typing this out and DP is in the back room building a frame for it.

ou can follow DP at his website at https://www.dpwarner.com/ or on Instagram at ​www.instagram.com/dpwarnerart//  ​

Or visit the other posts this month to read more about his work.

Week four post: http://richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/eight--322/artist-of-july-dps-abstractions-of-nature-bridged-old-and-new-work

Week Three post: richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/eight--322/artist-of-july-week-three-dp-warner

Week two post: richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/eight--322/artist-of-the-month-of-july-dp-warner-sound-check-two​

Week one post: http://richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/eight--322/featured-artist-of-the-july-dp-warner

Next week I'll begin my focus on a photographer and writer for the artist of July. This dog lover, nature enthusiast has agreed to revitalize her observational blog and let Eight & 322 publish it. And you'll get to meet her crazy canine cohorts as she explores the wilds around her home.

The featured photograph of the day comes from youth baseball in Oil City Thursday night.

​Updated to include link to more photos!

I loved sports as a kid. Like photography is to me now, little me would wake up every morning thinking about playing or being a second baseman for the BoSox(I could've beaten out Dave Remy).

On the field my world really didn't go outside the fences and my imagination and determination to be Steve Garvey or Carl Yastremski (Davey Lopes if I want to steal a base) was everything. 

I'm glad these kids are out on the field during this pandemic and I hope their minds are doing what mine did way back then, letting play be the universe. It's important that we play.

For the record, my older self still wishes to be great like the best there is, but now my imagination wants me to be Eugene Richards, Peggy Peaty, Carol Guzy, Michael Williamson or Craig Walker. The roar of the crowd is still heard in my head when I make a good photograph. And my work, though I put a lot into it, is play. I'm lucky to be able to tell the same bad joke over and over again, "I became a photographer so I wouldn't have to work for a living."

Click here for more photos: https://sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p203794652

I love my job!

Pollinators are worth more featured photographs of the day.
​
This Bumblebee was working the Gladiolas outside Christ United Methodist Church in Franklin Wednesday. The butterfly below toured the Rose of Sharon flowers in my backyard this morning.
​Nature is wonderful.

To see previous week posts please visit:
​
http://richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/eight--322/a-taste-for-living-returns

http://richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/eight--322/taste-is-winding-down

http://richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/eight--322/taste-of-talents-virtual-show-continues​

​
To read about Kaylee's earlier giveaway please click here.

I got to a few things this week during Oil Heritage. Social distancing makes it harder for my style of shooting but I'm having fun trying to step back a meter or two and see if I can make a decent photo. Here are a couple from this week and even more images from the Oil Heritage Festival can be viewed at ​sayerrich.zenfolio.com/p958858397

Photos and text by Sydney Herdle

I noticed this flower gone to seed while photographing the outside concert at the Venango Museum this week. It immediately made me think about a story I did a few years ago about a woman dealing with life after being a victim of a serial rapist. She said her strength was derived from the idea of a dandelion going to seed and, in the wind it was spread to grow again. I always thought this was beautiful and continue to marvel at her strength. 
I am also working on some stories about community change and the strength needed to affect positive results. I hope to have some of these stories next week.

I was asked about the story, so here it is. ​richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/old-blog/woman-shares-about-worst-day-of-her-life

DP Warner's environmental statement work of the 90s and his abstracting of music paintings of the 80s started to become a combined idea. This led to more traditional paintings on canvas in the early 2000s. Picking out really small areas of a landscape to explore, these landscapes appeared abstract in many ways but were in fact realism derived from directly observing these small areas of a scene. 

Some of these canvases are quite large, though the scale was a step down from his large installation pieces. These paintings, mostly scenes from Wintergreen Gorge near Penn State Behrend, are acrylics. Much of his paintings from his installations were also acrylics.

These paintings you'll see kinda work as a bridge between DP's work at the end of the 20th century and what he is doing now with more traditional landscapes and plein air that we featured in the first week and will show more of next week, our final week with DP before we head into August.

You can follow DP at his website at https://www.dpwarner.com/ or on Instagram at ​www.instagram.com/dpwarnerart//  ​

Or visit the other posts this month to read more about his work.
Week Three post: richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/eight--322/artist-of-july-week-three-dp-warner

Week two post: richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/eight--322/artist-of-the-month-of-july-dp-warner-sound-check-two​

Week one post: http://richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/eight--322/featured-artist-of-the-july-dp-warner

​Watch live streaming of the Oil Heritage concerts tonight at ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0l2DuhIVlo

Or tomorrow night at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnkI4DoDZC4
(At the lawyer's Guns and Money show you can watch the Rock-n-Roll judge I wrote this story about a few years back: ​https://venangoextra.com/everyone-has-a-story-the-rock-n-roll-judge)

Oil City High School senior Sarah Fisher, the newly crowned Oil Heritage Festival Queen, poses for a photo with her friend and fellow candidate Faith Ames outside 228 Seneca Street Thursday night. The modified queen ceremony had the candidates masked and standing at least six feet apart for the announcement that was broadcast live by The Stream.

Last year's queen Jenna Seigworth crowned Fisher.

​More photos from this event will be featured at the end of Oil Heritage festivities.

Free concert is part of unofficial Oil Heritage kick-off

The Pine Valley Boys set up behind the Venango Museum Tuesday night to entertain a socially distanced crowd of about 75 people. The museum hosts a concert every year on the Tuesday before the official start of the Oil Heritage Festival. Tuesday's performance was sponsored event by the Jack Rowley Charitable Trust.

In the middle of the performance, museum director Betsy Kellner paused the music to ask the crowd for donations toward the festival. She was also accepting donations for the museum in the form of snack sales and by those thankful for the entertainment and what the museum provides. The museum provides a series of  educational opportunities and preservation of its history.

Relying on a bunch of small, but important fundraisers throughout the year is how the Venango Museum stays afloat. COVID-19 has put a hurting on this according Kellner. "We've been good up until now," she said, crediting the support of Bridge Builders, the Samuel Justus Foundation and private donors. 

An example of a small, but steady source of income is the museum's month card party. Dozens of people join together to socialize and play cards. The monthly fun generates between $400 to $600 towards operating costs. COVID-19 has cancelled most of these this year, so that has left the museum with their hand out.
​
Since the governor lifted some restrictions allowing the museum to open, Kellner said she's lucky to see 10 visitors a week. That number is a fraction of their usual visitors.

The museum is moving forward with what they can, including a sandwich contest in cooperation with various local establishments. Though the museum is fortunate organizations have supported them, they are always in need of additional funds to continue, according to Kellner.

Their website gives many opportunities to donate and support their programs. Their annual auction of donated items, not museum artifacts, is likely to be virtual this year if the virus restrictions are not lifted.

How you can help?
The roughly $6,000 a month minimal operating budget relies of donations and monies from their programs which are up in the air at this time. A Native American exhibit is currently open to public for free thanks to a grant, but they welcome visitor donations. To support you can send a check to the Venango Museum at 270 Seneca Street, Oil City, PA 16301 or call in a credit card donation to 814-676-2007.

Folks were out on Conneaut Lake Sunday in the blistering heat keeping cool.

Clank.
Ching... clack.
"Nice shoe Joe!"
Twackle clack.
"Ooh good one!"
Clank!

"Four- two"

The quiet sounds of the Franklin Horseshoe Club Monday night league take one back in time to summer family picnics with burgers and dogs on the grill and pitchin' shoes with dad, grandpa and old uncle Joe who didn't much care about sitting around the "bs-ing about nothing!"
This predecessor of the popular Cornhole is seemingly an older dude's fancy these days and is slowly going the way of the dinosaur. But the Franklin group is doing its best to keep the old time backyard game of accuracy and skill alive.

Helping change the face of horseshoe pitching are Bobbi Judy and her daughter Ally, of Polk. Bobbi said she remembers the bond she felt pitching horseshoes with her dad. She has now taking this to a third generation by partnering each Monday with her 14-year-old daughter.

"Ally has always enjoyed being around the older generation and has much respect for her elders. She enjoys the laughs that are shared and the competition of the sport," Judy said.  "I am thrilled that Ally is pitching horseshoes as my partner!, I love that she enjoys it as much as I do."

Ally didn't get a chance to pitch with her grandfather, who passed away over a year ago, but she carries on the love of the sport. Bobbi said that she and Ally are happy to show that "hey girls pitch horseshoes too. And, in Ally's case, they pitch darn good."

​She said she is proud her daughter wants to pitch with her and the two look forward to Monday nights.

,Most of the pitchers in the Franklin club are older for sure, but they welcome youth. One young man comes each week because he just loves it and "he feels at home with us," said Jimmy Johnson, the club president for the past 20 years. Johnson said it's a good group of people who just love to laugh and have fun pitching shoes.

And the club boasts some royalty. Eighty-five-year-old Homer Page has etched his name in a couple world championship trophies, said Dave Sopher, who is currently considered the best of the bunch by many of the Franklin pitchers. Page said his best days are behind him, but then stepped up seconds later and tossed a leaner. The Polk man said he's gotten a chance to travel a bit though horseshoe pitching. He recalled one championship in Red Deer, Ontario, Canada, where he took home the title.

The target game is pretty simple. The pitcher stands roughly 40 feet away and tosses a U-shaped hunk of steel at a metal post driven into a sand or clay pit. The object is to land the 'shoe' within the width of the shoe(roughly six and a half inches) to the post for a point. A leaner gets two and a ringer, where the shoe surrounds the post, gets three. These totals are added up and the most points win. In the Franklin league, they tally the points for the season with prizes awarded the top scorers. Top prize is a jacket.

​Other versions of the game are played to certain number like 11 or 21 points.

It is generally considered a "gentleman's game" with opponents often complimenting each other and shaking hands (or fist bumping nowadays)  at the beginning and end.

The club membership had been down quite low but has seen a slight rebound. They welcome new members whenever someone shows up, no need to wait for a new season to start.
"I think it was Cornhole," Sopher said about the declining numbers. This year they have just under 30 members who play on the Miller-Sibley Park courts. Johnson and Sopher would like to see even more participation.

Johnson said the club maintains its section of Miller-Sibley for the city and he is hoping more people take interest in the game and help take care of the area. Johnson said the club mows and maintains the pits. Anyone interested in joining and pitching some shoes should just stop up around 6 p.m. any Monday between April and September and they will welcome you aboard.

Some local bars are trying to have some fun poking the bear... or Wolf in this case. When Governor Wolf placed COVID-19 restrictions on bars statewide this past week some area establishments decided to take on the issue with a side of humor.
And items like the Wolf Dog were born.
And yes, they are calling the known hot dog lover a wiener.

Sarah Volk, co-owner of the Liberty Street Ale House in Franklin created a late night snack menu to comply with the governor's recent orders that no alcohol can be served without food being a part of the bill. She decided it was an opportunity to poke fun at Wolf and others too. Along with the hot dog options, diners choice to have either turkey or ham Trump Sandwhich (an accidental misspelling that has become another point of humor for the management). For those fond of tasteless lumpy things, the restaurant now offers up Karen's Cottage Cheese.

All tongue-in-cheek and all compliant.

"I'm frustrated with our governor, I won't lie," she said, though she added she doesn't envy him his job. Her main concern is her 13 employees, some of whom she had to layoff at times during these COVID-19 statewide restrictions. "We really are like a family," she said.

"I knew I had to do something," Volk said. The first shutdown was hard, but the community really rallied to support them. Being connected to the hotel helped as well. But the latest restrictions made her feel targeted, she said. So if the Governor says people need to order food to enjoy an adult beverage, she will provide food, even if it's just a wiener.

"It's terrifying not knowing when it is going to end," she said of the restrictions, which include decreased indoor seating of 25 percent. Volk says they will comply and make the most of it.

Some other area establishments are also following suit by adding jabs at the politicians while trying to provide for their customers. Hunters Inn in Guys Mills didn't really care to be partisan. They are offering a solo onion ring for 50 cents because they say it is the only hoop you have to jump through for a drink.

Other offerings on the COVID-19 menu, which is available whenever the bar is open, are mostly small, such as 1/4 servings of fries for a reduced price and a single hot pepper cheese ball.

One bar in Meadville got into a little hot water after a manger went a little too far with their "humor." Mad Hatters Southwest Grill created menu item attacking the Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine which was labeled by community members as transphobic. It was quickly taken down by the owners, but not before it went around on social media and several screenshots were taken and shared.

The owners later announced they terminated the employee and shut their business down temporarily. They issued a statement saying they regret the incident and will get their staff fully trained so they grow from this.
in the statement posted on their Facebook page, the owners said the following: 
"I want to publicly apologize to Dr Levine for the offensive menu posted on our facebook page this morning. We extend the apology to all the members of the transgender community and to all the government officials that are working towards keeping us safe. We're taking several measures to prevent this type of situation from happening again in our restaurant. As a result, we're briefly closing our doors in order to hire new members of our team and have them receive proper training."

The ownership of Mad Hatters indicated that training will come from a transgender man from Allegheny College who has worked with people all over the country about transgender relations and civility.

Volk was afraid something like that would happen when small business owners started getting cute with their menus, but was pleased she and her manager Ritchie Rhinehardt sat down and came up with ideas together. Anything that didn't make the grade for tasteful poking fun was eliminated before the menu was finalized.

She said the Ale House will keep revising their menu offerings as they continue to stay in compliance with the governor's orders.

DP was my professor; we established that already. One of my favorite moments with him was a late night impromptu critique in Hamliton Hall at Edinbory University. I always managed to work my way into getting studio space. I worked hard and was rewarded. This one night I was experimenting with a long horizontal piece with a photograph buried under thick paint but showing this figure of a young kid. It was a hard composition and I was struggling with it.
DP showed up, it was probably after midnight, but there he was seeing who was around working still. 
If you're not aware of artists and their tendencies... you won't understand that those of us who get it, understand the work ethic involved.

​Artists work.

Anyway, this night DP showed up and we talked over this piece. He picked up a red peanut butter jar cover off the floor and held it up to the painting on the left side. He looked back at me and I saw what that did for the composition to bring the entire piece together. 

He left. I glued that cover onto the painting right where he held it. I painted some more but to me that completely fixed the composition and made the piece.

The next day DP walked into my studio and started to laugh. And if you know DP he has a couple different laughs. One is when he finds something you said truly funny and one when he thinks you are a little twisted in the head. The latter was the laugh I heard. "I meant you needed something bold here in this place, I didn't mean you should use the cap." We both laughed. But then he said, "But goddamn, it actually works."

Stories like this is why I am thrilled to have my friend be the artist of the month. I have been blessed to have these experiences to share. And I'm pretty sure I have more. This work above was done before I met DP. As is the tie below. But this work is what led to the work he was doing when we met.

DP is influenced by the gestalt of life. Art history and music play into his experiences with the environment and his kids. He weaves meanings. Nothing is sacred or off-limits. He tackles art more than he finesses it, yet he gets subtle as well as the next guy.

DP was making statements. Life wasn't going along naturally any longer.
By the early 90s when I met DP he was working on a family that includes five children. His art production slowed a bit, but his ideas about the environment were fine tuning. The following pieces where from a show in the early to mid 90s when he showed mostly work he had done in previous years. I remember this show because it was one of the first painting shows that was an entire installation I had rvrt experienced. He and I would talk about this concept for the next few years. 

At this point his painting had become sculpture and 3-D wall hangings. The boot above jutted out a good three feet. The camera lens below was at least a foot out from the pressed board surface.
He was exploring space and boundaries and the picture plane wasn't sacred to him. If breaking out of the frame or jutting out from the surface let him say his peace then you as the viewer just had to deal with it. His show in Slippery Rock was one the viewer had to navigate, not just look at. 

And he has never been afraid to say his peace

Week two post: richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/eight--322/artist-of-the-month-of-july-dp-warner-sound-check-two​http://richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/eight--322/artist-of-the-month-of-july-dp-warner-sound-check-two

Week one post: http://richardsayerphotojournalism.weebly.com/eight--322/featured-artist-of-the-july-dp-warner