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.
Everyone has their favorite place to be…the mountains, the lakes, the ocean. Often it’s a place where memories from childhood were first formed. For me, it was the Cape. We had a house on the beach, on the shores of Buzzards Bay, on a flounder-shaped island called Scraggy Neck, connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway. Summers were idyllic…the beach, sailing, lobsters, clamming for steamers and fishing off the jetty. I came across this cottage recently, and while it’s down the Cape considerably from my childhood summer place, it reminded me of the those utopic summers. “Utopia” 48 x 48
Often the old architecture of New England and the Northeast (or any rural area) is shrouded by wild vegetation–weeds, brambles and vines– that create a beautiful contrast between the geometry of a structure, and the unpredictable, organic shape of overgrowth. This contrast became the focus of this latest piece…”Pasture” 20 x 24
It’s that time of year…mid August…where the Cape summer slowly reveals hints of fall. Cooler mornings and evenings start and finish otherwise hot, summery days. At the height of the season, mid-day, when the sun is high and colors are brightly illuminated, there’s no better time of year, on the Cape (or anywhere). Here’s a piece commemorating that brief period at the peak of the summer season…”High Summer” 40 x 30
On a recent drive through Bell’s Neck preservation in Harwich–a beautiful drive down a dirt road that extends off Rt 28, into marshlands and woods–I came across an old, seemingly abandoned house and barn. The property is classic old Cape Cod architecture…and while the house was impressive, and worthy of becoming a painting…it was the old barn with the abstract shadows from the adjacent trees that caught my eye. “Summer Light” 48 x 48
I had completed a piece a few months ago…wasn’t sure I liked a significant part of it…a road, specifically, that dominated the right hand side of the composition. The subject was confusing…was it the structure? or the road? It went to a gallery, came back, and sat in the studio for a couple weeks until I just got tired of looking at it and debating about the road. So, out went the road…and the entire composition changed. Reworking a piece is sometimes necessary to uncover what should have been painted in the first place. “Highbank Farm” 48 x 36
