There are times, along the coast, where the setting sun ignites the sky with a color that’s hard to define…not red, not yellow, not orange…but some combination of the three. Had such a sky on the Cape recently, and incorporated that palette into a piece that had been underway…”Coral Sky” 48 x 30
The light in the hills and mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire is always exaggerate at dusk. The elevation allows more time for the sun to set, and the entire atmosphere of the place, for a short period of time, glows with a warm light that tints everything it touches. “Rural Dusk” 36 x 24
The appeal of rural, isolated inland scenes is equaled, for me, in the equally isolated scenes where land meets the sea. A meadow meets the vastness of the woods from which it was cleared, the same power and mystery exists at that line where land stops, and sea begins. “Land’s End” 24 x 24.
I’ve always been drawn to remote, isolated places…woods, meadows, beaches…places people can get to, but only with a little effort and the desire to do so. Driving along secondary roads in Vermont or New Hampshire–almost intentionally getting lost to discover new scenes–it’s almost a guarantee I’ll come across a setting that contains that sense of remoteness coupled with some sign of life and human presence, past or present. “Outland” 52 x 36
This pastel study, framed in black with white matte board, is available through the studio.
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.
