McKinney Arts 
On my first night in Madrid, I wandered the streets for hours, taking in as much as I could. While I was in the neighborhood of Gran Via, I was wandering side streets in addition to the famous Gran Via thoroughfare, and when I was on Calle de la Montera, this mural caught my eye. … Read more
I was strolling down Calle Gran Via in Madrid last October, checking out what is known as “Spanish Broadway,” in the sense of it being the Madrid counterpart to New York City’s Broadway. This stretch of street is a prime shopping areas, with a large number of hotels, high end stores, and various other shops. … Read more
I traveled out to Park Slope in Brooklyn in June to drop off some of my paintings for an exhibition titled “Robots and Lemonade” at the Honey Badger Motel Art Gallery. After the drop-off, I decided to walk around Park Slope to revisit the neighborhood where I lived in the early 1990s. It’s a nice … Read more
On my recent trip to Ithaca and The Finger Lakes region, I was heading east on Route 20 between Auburn and Skaneateles when I noticed a building on the side of the road with the sign “Red Rooster Antiques.” While I initially drove by it, my curiosity got the best of me, and I did … Read more
There’s a small grocery store in Madrid, New Mexico, in a building with the name “Old Boarding House Mercantile.” If you haven’t been to Madrid, New Mexico, it’s a tiny town (population 248) that was once a coal mining town, and is now primarily an artists’ community with galleries, shops and restaurants on both sides … Read more
I have a long weekend trip to Ithaca planned in the near future, and while I went there about 9 years ago, I am ready to go visit again, with a fresh look at the Finger Lakes area. I’m trying to do a little trip planning, as far as sights to see and towns to … Read more
On one of my days in Barcelona last fall, I was walking down Passeig de Grà cia, and decided to step into an antiques mall called “Bulevard Dels Antiquaris,” just to take a look around. While the mall area (hallways between stores) was open, the actual individual antiques dealers and their various shops were all closed, … Read more
When I travel, I tend to take a lot of photographs, not just of the tourist spots or the main sights that everyone goes to see, but rather photographs of things I notice that provide artistic inspiration. Sometimes it’s pictures of patterns or colors that I know could give me ideas for paintings, or elements … Read more
Unfortunately, I cannot say that I ever had a chance to try any gelato at Eccolo Gelato in Madrid, as they were always closed when I walked by, but they certainly had great street art on their pull-down metal shutter gates. I think I am often like this boy, above; daydreaming about a good scoop … Read more
Puerta del Sol, which means “Gate of the Sun,” is a central public square in Madrid. This bear sculpture is located in Puerta del Sol, and the bear is reaching up to what is described as a strawberry tree, but what is the significance of this imagery in relation to Spain? It’s not just seen … Read more