His selection and collection of paintings of Delaware places confirm that his transition has matured with panache.

Criss says “D is for Delaware” presented several artistic and logistic challenges, such as finding locations to represent some letters, establishing what defined a place and being in the right place at the right time.

“I didn’t want to use creeks and things like that. Some places are unincorporated areas, but they do have a sign on the road,” says Criss, who used the Delaware Gazetteer’s internet listing of cities, towns and populated places to aid his selection.

He says U, X and Z were the most difficult letters.

“I had to be kind of clever with X, which turned out to be fun. That was the last painting I did,” Criss says. He used Reeves Crossing (X-ing).

“If you draw an X through Delaware, that’s pretty much where it is,” he says of the spot in central Kent County.

Criss didn’t work on the project – which took a year to complete – in alphabetic order.

“I started with Fenwick Island. Initially, I thought I’d start at the very bottom of the state and work my way up. But I ended up doing a butterfly pattern that was kind of random,” he says.

He delayed visiting and sketching some locations until seasonal changes had created the image he wanted to capture.

“If it was something really woodsy, I wanted to have leaves on the trees or I wanted it to be in autumn.

“If it was a field, I wanted it to be interestingly mowed or harvested or have crops growing.

“I wanted to do at least one or two late-season scenes, and I saved those for the northern part of the state because it would be a little bit more sylvan,” he says.

Criss says his rule for letters that offered plenty of options was to select a place simply because he liked it, because it offered exceptional views or because it’s a popular tourist stop.

“I tried to do an even division for each county – basically a three-way split. I didn’t want to be lazy and just stick around home,” he says.

Skies in Criss’s work frequently play a dominant role. Whether it’s the puffy white clouds and blue sky of Bethany Beach, the autumnal, creamy, ochre and purple lofted above Lewes, or a purple-hued sunset in Zoar, the skies engage the viewer, drawing them into the dreamlike landscapes.

“There aren’t going to be mountains and valleys in Delaware, but it does have amazing vistas of sky. The sky is always changing and it’s infinitely expressive,” says Criss.

His images include farm fields, marshes, beaches and woodlands and the ubiquitous flat, clear, horizon-line view.

“I’m very big on and I enjoy designing composition,” he says.

Criss says vertically composed paintings produce a square, formed by the horizon line, sky and foreground.

“They’re all 3 by 5 in proportion. If it’s a horizontal, then it’s a double square. It’s a classic Renaissance proportion that’s very pleasing to the eye,” he says.

The paintings vary in size – 6-by-8 inches, 9-by-12 inches, 12-by-16 inches and 18-by-24 inches.

Palette-wise, Criss says all the pieces fit together compositionally and stylistically.

“I will say this is my most homogeneous show,” he says.

The hardcover book “D is for Delaware,” features all of the paintings in the show.

Criss says completing it and working on the show were demanding.

“Just getting the book together – prepping files, doing press checks, making sure everything’s ready, finding the mistakes – was a serious endeavor.

“I enjoyed it because I’ve always wanted to do an alphabet book,” he says.

Work from “D is for Delaware,” can be viewed online at peninsula-gallery.com. The show runs from Saturday, Nov. 7 through Wednesday, Nov. 25.

For additional information, call or visit the Peninsula Gallery, 302-645-0551, 520 E. Savannah Road, Lewes.