This recently completed larger piece was inspired by a scene in southern Woodstock, Vermont, off a remote country road accessible by another remote country road. From the woods, the light shining through the autumn leaves cast a warm glow that affected the light and color of everything it hit. “Sugar Maples” 52 x 46, oil on canvas.
A friend took a picture of a rural scene, somewhere in Vermont, and shared the shot with me. I swear I’d seen this barn before, but couldn’t place where. But, as with most of my pieces, the actual place doesn’t matter, as it’s not the place I’m going for, but the feeling of the place. The old fence posts in the foreground were almost subject enough, but I also liked how they seemed to anchor the barn in that meadow. “Three Posts” 12 x 12
Once summer ends, the tourists leave, and the Cape settles into the quiet of autumn, you begin to see places you might otherwise overlook. On a recent afternoon of biking along Old Wharf Road in Dennisport, I made my way to the beach side of the small cottages that line the road, taking advantage of the off season desolation. “Off Season” 34 x 30.
A couple from Woodstock, VT purchased an idyllic property on a hill outside the center of town, and asked that a painting be done of their property, featuring a beautiful old barn that is, sadly, beyond repair. The looming, weathered structure sits an a slight slope, adjacent to the renovated farm house, and symbolizes the property’s origins as a humble farm, as opposed to the place’s new role as a country getaway. The barn will soon be razed, perhaps making this the final year it will sit, as it has for many decades, among the autumn trees. “The Final Fall” 36 x 36
I don’t know where in Vermont I was, but it was near Woodstock, in Windsor County. As often happens, while exploring the back roads of this beautiful state, I came across this place, set at the edge of a meadow with a looming hill behind it. The stark whiteness of the facade, with these two geometric blue sealed openings, stuck in my mind as I drove by, prompting a u-turn to capture some reference. A year or so later, “Windsor” 12 x 12.
No better time to be in Vermont than the Fall. Recently completed… “Vermont Fall” 48 x 32 captures the transition from the cool colors to warm. Details.
There’s a uniqueness to the light at sunset. That time of day, when the sun is low, color is exaggerated, and shadows are dark. But for a short time, during Golden Hour, even the colors of shade things appear vibrant. “Setting Sun” 32 x 20
I’ve painted this scene a few times, each time focusing on some element of the composition that is of interest. This latest, recently completed canvas, depicts the seemingly intentional and practical construction of the barn, by it’s builders, on the highest point on the property. Hauling things in would have been harder than hauling things out, likely forcing careful decisions about what heavy things had to go in there, versus those that didn’t. “Higher Ground” 36 x 36.
There’s a rambling farm next town over from here, in Hollis, that sits as it has for over a century, along Route 13 just outside the center of town. Behind it, the town built the High Shool’s athletics fields where we’d watch our son and daughter play soccer and baseball through their high school years. This old place was always intriguing. Now, with this being the first September with an empty house, the time of year, the light, and familiar places conjure pleasant memories of family and our shared past. “Autumn Shade” 30 x 20.
Years ago my family owned a summer cottage on the shores of Buzzards Bay, on a chunk of land with sand dunes and rose hips buffering the yard from the private beach. As a kid I had no concept of what made a beach “private”…as there were always people walking across ours, albeit close to the water. Not sure if it’s still the law, but then your property was private only until you reached the high tide line…at which point everything between that and the water was public domain. “Tide Line” 48 x 30.
