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     Electrified, Ron Throop walked around his home looking for his published books to show me and arranging several paintings in his living room. His watchful cat followed his every movement.

     "I need the heat, I can't stand the winter," Throop said looking at the pile of snow outside his window and explaining the usage of warm colors in his paintings. "I get "SAD", the seasonal affective disorder. This is just a crazy winter."

     But harsh winters aren't a new thing to Throop who was born in Utica, New York and stayed in Oswego after his first daughter was born in his senior year at Oswego State.

     "I've pretty much been a stay-at-home dad-slash-painter, writer since 1995. It's good. I've been able to support my wife's career and do a lot of cooking and cleaning," said Throop explaining that his wife, Rose Throop, works as the director of publications at SUNY Oswego and is also a graphic designer and photographer. "I used to be a line cook to make ends meet so culinary arts is another hobby of mine. Oh yeah, I can cook...Everything is scratch meals at the house."

     He views his position as a stay-at-home father as a positive aspect of his life. Not only has it given him time to spend with his daughters (they are homeschooled) but he has found his passions, such as French cooking and making his own wines. He said that for a very small price, he makes hundreds of bottles of wine a year, which he uses, for cooking and to make wine bars. Throop is a self-taught French food lover and cook and as he says he "would go nuts' if he didn't have that "instant feedback" that comes with cooking.

     "What a creative person wants more than anything, is feedback," Throop said. "It's very simple with food. It's immediate; they smile politely and run outside or they think this is wonderful."

     Throop was about 20 years old when he realized that writing was one of his passions. Soon after that, he discovered the author Henry Miller who has been a huge influence in his work and lead him to try painting.

     "Writing is concentrated, you're intense when you are working, no distractions.  But with painting you can have the music on, the cat can paw you and it doesn't matter," Throop said. He admitted that he started to officially paint for a living about six years ago. Previously his work would be stashed in the basement, given to friends or thrown out. Enraptured, he describes his work as "playfully angry" explaining that he feels strongly about topics such as hydrofracking and his viewpoints make it into his work.

     His paintings feature not only warm colors but typography that often depict a message. Kenneth Patchen, an American poet and novelist that incorporated paintings into his writing, inspired this style. Throop collaborated with his daughter Sophie when she was younger by using her paintings and drawings and adding a political message. At the age of five, Sophie invented a comic strip called Tam and Friends, focusing on the main character named Tammy. Throop now uses the name for his art blog, referencing his family life and his love for innocent art.

     He has 10 published books, his most recent ones include "Last Communion" and "Cookbook For The Poor." The latter is a compilation of autobiographical essays accompanied by food recipes.

     Throop believes that persistency will provide him with patrons for his work. As he looks around his home filled with wine bars, and paintings of every size he exclaims "It's a nice balance, it works for me."

     For more on Ron Throop's work check out his blog at http://throop4.wordpress.com. His books can be found locally at River's End Bookstore at 19 West Bridge St or at Amazon.com