About a mile up the road, at the top of Walnut Hill, one of the old Amherst farms remains mostly as it has over the past 100 or so years, though worn and weathered with time. The old structure is not maintained by it’s current owners, and every time I walk by I see some small sign of deterioration…a new broken window pane, a little less paint, a slightly more tilted door. There is something comforting in seeing this inanimate object age, as we all do, but to see it still standing, carrying on.
I’ve painted this particular barn quite a few times, each time differently, but each time with the purpose of revisiting this subject (and theme) to cast it in a different light, and in a way to give it new life.
Sometimes the inspiration for a painting comes from encountering scenes, particularly when the intention is to do so. I often drive through rural New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, looking for dusty old roads that lead to old farms, abandoned properties, or landscapes off the beaten path. Inspiration can pop up anywhere, anytime. This piece (currently untitled) came while watching my daughter Lily’s soccer game in Hollis. The High School field sits next to an old stately farm, still active, but surrounded by newer homes. The farm is not unlike many in the area, but the stately old trees that have spent the past 100 or so years providing shade, cast great shadows, and it was these that caught my attention. A quick photo with the iPhone and several charcoal sketches later, the piece is nearing completion.
The best ideas for paintings come from quick glimpses of things, scenes, or thing, that make you look twice. On a recent bike ride through secluded beach roads in Dennisport, Ma, along the Nantucket Sound, I came across an old beach house where someone had hung a blue beach towel on a simple clothesline. I took a quick photo with my phone of the scene.
There was a lot of “stuff” in that shot, things that didn’t matter, but what did was the bright blue towel, sunlit against the weathered cedar shakes of the old cottage, the simple clothesline poles and the Sound in the background (though obscured by a building I wish wasn’t actually there).
To capture the idea, I did a quick sketch with a Sharpie on the back of an envelope, then quickly blocked in the piece to define the composition. If you focus in on the thing that first captured your attention–that made that initial visual impression–and leave everything else out, you get (im my experience), more story in the finished piece.
Recently sold piece, “Hartland Hill”, through Woodstock Gallery, Woodstock Vermont.
A collection of limited edition prints purchased for permanent display in new medical building built by Greenwich Hospital, puts a nice finishing touch on the just-completed interiors.
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Great opening reception at the Left Bank Gallery in Wellfleet (Cape Cod, Ma) tonight (8.13.16). Showing alongside the incredibly talented artists Deborah Howard, Kate Nelson and Patte Ormsby, the gallery was full-capacity with Wellfleet visitors and summer residents. The show runs through the remainder of the month, and the great work of each artist is well worth a visit to LFG to see in person.
I’m pleased to be represented by the Jessel Gallery in beautiful Napa, California. Five new works were recently sent out, two have since sold, and the remainders are on display in the beautiful space outside the main gallery. Work is underway for a 2017 show at Jessel Gallery, date yet to be determined.
New, larger, piece underway. “Summer Escape”, 60 x 48, based on watercolor sketch of Cape scene. Cottage has since been razed, replaced by much larger private residence.
Recently completed commission through Woodstock Gallery, Woodstock, VT
