It's been awhile....

Here it is almost Christmas and I haven't blogged in ages.  I have been working however, and here are a few of the drawings I have done recently.  Here is a quick, little 3" x 4 1/2", compositional study....

Continuing with my series of soft pencil drawings on gessoed paper, here is the finished drawing.  Lately, I have been fascinated with dramatic skies heralding changes in the weather.  I was trying for the feel of a sunny winter day when the dark sky in the west tells you a storm is coming, bringing more snow.

"Hillside Farm"

soft pencil on gessoed paper - 8" x 12"

Below are three recent drawings exhibited this month in the "Small Works" show at Artistree.  The first one is a small drawing sold in the "50 @50" portion of the exhibition....

"Old Barn, North Hero"

soft pencil on gessoed board - 7" x 7"

The tree below is one of many beautiful old ones to be found on River Road.  

"Peggy's Tree"

soft pencil on gessoed board - 8" x 10"

And when we were on Cape Cod this past summer, I found this salt marsh that spoke to me--as they always do!

 "Salt Marsh, Dennis"

soft pencil on gessoed board - 9" x 12"

So, that's it for now.  I have some framing to do and another large gessoed board waiting for my attention.  After the holidays....

Two Finished Plein Aire Paintings

Now that November has arrived and little white flakes are sifting down, it's been time to finish work begun outdoors in the warmer weather.  It was uncanny how often Sandy's and my planned plein aire sessions unfortunately coincided with rainy days this past summer.  But we managed to get out and paint several days.  The two paintings below were done at the end of the season and just finished....

"September on the Ottaquechee"

12" x 16" - oil on canvas

"Swanzey Pond"

16" x 20" - oil on canvas

It always involves some gear switching to get back inside the studio with different approaches to new work in the fall.  It will be interesting to see what develops in the coming days....

Daily Painter Week Sixteen

Here is the finished version of a painting begun last summer.  It's always gratifying to complete a plein aire painting using reference photos taken on the day....

"Cider Mill Gardens, Windsor"

oil - 11" x 14"

And here are three more Boomer Portraits....

Dave Lachapelle

Erin Brocovich

Bill Gates

Contour drawing is a great way to warm up and build eye-hand co-ordination ....

Daily Painter Week Fifteen

Well it's been awhile!  This week I decided to do a stop action of the PBS program "the Boomer List".  The show is comprised of short interviews of nineteen baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964, one chosen for each year.
As each person told their story, I looked for a place to freeze the frame and when I found a good facial expression, I did a contour drawing of them.  Here they are....

1948 - Samuel Jackson

1946 - Tim O'Brien

1951 - Tommy Hilfiger

1952 - Amy Tan

1947 - Deepak Chopra

1955 - Maria Shriver

1950 - Steve Wazniak

Their words are as fascinating as their faces.  It is a most worthwhile show to catch when it is replayed....

Daily Painter Week Fourteen

It's been a very busy summer!  We just got back from a week on Cape Cod visiting friends and enjoying the wonderful weather at the beach.  So now that we're home and life promises to settle down a bit, it's back to work in the studio.
Although some experimental watercolor and gold abstract paintings are perhaps best forgotten, I did happily finish the two lily paintings I started at Saint Gaudens and I am pleased with them.

"Muscadet Lilies"

ink and watercolor - 9" x 12"

"Stargazer Lilies"

ink and watercolor - 9" x 12"

Looking forward, I have several photos and many ideas for new work from summer in Vermont and  our recent vacation on Cape Cod....

Daily Painter Week Thirteen

At Saint Gaudens the lilies were just beautiful.  Here are two line drawings, later to become watercolors....

"Stargazer Lilies"

ink drawing - 9" x 12"

"Muscadet Lilies"

ink drawing - 9" x 12"

And at the Weston Priory, I noticed these three little apples on the ground while we were having a picnic lunch...

"Priory Apples"

pencil drawings - 4" x 6"

I brought these "volunteers" home and enjoyed remembering the day as I drew them.

Vermont Welcome Center

This week I went south to Guilford, Vermont to the Welcome Center on I-91 to hang ten landscapes for the month of September.  The Center showcases the work of artists and crafts people and businesses from around the state.  Five panels hold my work in both oil and acrylic as you can see below....

I'll go back down at the end of the month to pick up my paintings, and hopefully between now and then many visitors traveling north on route 91 will have had the chance to see my work....

Daily Painter Week Twelve

I've been working on this drawing for awhile now.  It's an experiment with drawing on 2" deep cradled gesso board for hanging without additional framing.  After I do a bit more work on it, I will paint the cradle gold.

"Old Tree on River Road"

soft pencil on gesso board - 12" x 18"

Also this week, I've done a bit of drawing in my little sketchbook--studies for future work.  Below are four watercolor paintings of echinacea developed after their studies....

"Echinacea"

watercolor and collage - 4" x 6"

These four are framed and gracing the dining room now.

Daily Painter Week Eleven

Well, it looks like it's another floral week!  This time of year, flower gardens are so beautiful they can't be denied.  I was inspired to create the pieces below during a visit to Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, New Hampshire.  It was a hot, sunny day and after Sandy and I toured the house and gardens, we settled down to work....

"Hollyhocks"

Sharpie marker and colored pencil on watercolored paper

5 1/2" x 7 1/2"

"Day Lilies"

Sharpie marker and colored pencil on watercolored paper - 6" x 8"

"Poppies"

Sharpie marker and colored pencil on watercolored paper  - 6" x 10"

Working with these media is one of my favorite ways to sketch.  It comprises the best of several worlds: watercolor wash done either before or after the marker drawing and colored pencil to finish.

Daily Painter Week Ten

A busy, busy week!  First up is the painting I did in my plein aire workshop in Pomfret.  I worked with a new palette and mixed all my greens which was quite a challenge.  And who knew you could make a great cerulean blue with white, a little bit of thalo blue and cadmium lemon yellow?

"Felicity Farm"

9" x 12" - oil on canvas

Last week, Sandy and I went to Cider Hill Gardens in Windsor to paint.  I haven't finished my painting yet but here are some photos of the amazing perennials there....

"Day Lilies"

"Astilbe"

"Little Roses"

"Little Hosta"

"Huge Hosta"

Finally, below, is the colorful hanging basket on our deck.  It needs lots of water and dead-heading but it's worth it for all this abundant color....

Daily Painter Week Nine

I'm loving the flowers of the season.  This week, the lupine and lemon lilies were blossoming.  They volunteer every year to grace the field below our house with a lovely show of yellow, pink and purple.  Here are four little studies of the lilies.  I added some gold painted paper to the paintings for sparkle....

"Lemon Lilies"

4" x 6" -  watercolor and collage

"Rainy Day at Silver Lake"

6" x 8" - soft pencil on gessoed paper

I painted the above view of Silver Lake on a sunny day but this drawing gives a very different view of the same scene on a gray and rainy day.  Below is a drawing of the house that on the other side is the Barnard Post Office....

"Marsh House"

6" x 8" - pencil sketch

AndI enjoy doing simple line drawings like the plant below to keep my eye fresh....

"Aloe Plant"

6" x 10" - Sharpie marker

Daily Painter Week Eight

We just got home last night from our trip to Pinehurst, North Carolina, visiting our friends and checking out Pinehurst Course #2 where the Open was played.  We had a wonderful time and I did this first sketch while sitting in the shade.  It was over 90 degrees on Wednesday and getting out of the sun was most welcome to us Vermonters....

"Pinehurst #2 - the 18th tee"

Our hostess, Anne, has a beautiful garden and these are some of her flowers....

"Anne's Lilies"

5 1/2" x 7 1/2" - marker and colored pencil on watercolored paper

It was good to get back into the studio this morning after a week away.  The sweet little Siberian iris are blooming now.  They are much smaller than their cousins I painted last week.  

"Siberian Iris"

4" x 6" - watercolor and collage

I collages gold paper into the watercolors but it is difficult to appreciate the glow in the photos....