A Day at Saint-Gaudens

Yesterday, Sandy and I spent the day at Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, New Hampshire.  The home, studios and gardens of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, one of America’s greatest sculptors are quite amazing.  Over 100 of his artworks are displayed in the galleries and on the grounds, from heroic public monuments to expressive portrait reliefs, and the gold coins which changed the look of American coinage.
In the gardens, the poppies had gone by but the foxglove, iris and peonies were blooming beautifully.  We sat right down on the ground to be eye level with the blossoms and enjoyed a sunny, warm day of watercoloring.  Here is my version of the peonies....

"Saint-Gaudens Peonies"

watercolor - 12" x 16"

I also started a painting of iris and hope that finishing it in the studio using photos taken yesterday will not result in a tightened up painting!

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....

Remembering the Colors of Fall

Well, here I sit at the computer, watching the snow fall and expecting (hoping) that we will have the predicted 12" by the time it all ends tomorrow morning.  It's beautiful out there and I love snow days from my time as both a student and a teacher.  They always felt like delightful, unexpected vacations when it was too snowy to go anywhere so you just had to stay home and read a book, finish a knitting project, cook something yummy, take a nap, have some hot chocolate, talk with friends--all those things there wasn't time to do on an ordinary work day.

It wasn't long ago that the landscape looked very different.  This is a painting I began back in the fall when we went up Braintree Hill and found a lovely vista.  I finished it last week....

"Autumn on Braintree Hill"

oil - 9" x 12"

It's hard to believe on a day like this when I only see black white and gray outside and the plow has just made its first pass at the road and driveway that those colors will return.  Beautiful though the snow is, I love knowing that spring will come again and we will be able to go out to paint some more!

"Creative Harvest"

“Creative Harvest” is the current show at the Norman Williams Public Library in Woodstock, VT.  It is a community art exhibit that features two-dimensional work in all media created by seventeen local artists.  It runs through this Thursday, November 14th in the Mezzanine Gallery and is open during library hours, Monday through Saturday 10 am to 6 pm.  This is my entry in the show:

"Summer on Locust Creek"

oil on canvas

Stop by and take a look--it's a great show!

Too cold, too windy....

A beautiful sunny April day but too cold and windy to be out painting....  The unusual weather last month had us ready and raring to go, but we're back to more typical temperatures for a Vermont April.
Below is a just finished painting I started in South Woodstock last summer.  It is good to have all last season's plain aire work completed now.

"Densmore Hill, South Woodstock"

12" x 16" - oil

Today, I spent some time out raking flower beds and there are definite signs of life--lilies and daffodils and primroses poking up green shoots.  The sun is warm and the sky is blue--a lovely early spring day. 

Early Spring, North Road

There a giant benefit to this unseasonably warm weather for plein aire painters.  We can get out there and paint in March without sitting in the car or going to more adventurous means to be warm enough to paint outdoors.
So, yesterday, we went to Barnard and found a lovely spot in the shade looking off to the west across the valley to the distant mountains.  Dump trucks and friends came by and it was fun waving and chatting.  But more importantly, it was wonderful to be out there in the fresh air doing something we love.

"Early Spring, North Road"

11" x 14" - oil

Unfortunately, despite my attempts to correct the color, the painting here looks much more "turquoisy" than it actually is.  So, you have to use your imagination to make the sky and rocks a more soft and quiet blue....

A Summer Day

I just spent the afternoon working on finishing a plein aire painting from last summer, using the reference photo I took back then.  The great benefit to this is that, despite the fact that the field outside my studio window is white with snow,  I feel like I was out in that summer field for a couple of hours.  A kind of mini vacation on a January day in Vermont....

"Twin Trees"

9" x 12" - oil on canvas panel

I have two other unfinished plein aire landscapes and this was such a fun afternoon I predict they will be completed soon!

Plein Aire Paintings at the Chandler in Randolph

Here is an excerpt from Dian Parker's review of the current Area Artists Exhibit at the Chandler Gallery in Randolph, VT where I am exhibiting plein aire paintings.  I am pleased that my painting, "Swimming Hole on Locust Creek" was singled out by her for favorable comment...


"Saturday, June 11, 2011
REVIEW: 50 Area Artists on Display at the Chandler Gallery in Randolph

Every spring the Chandler Gallery offers an opportunity for area artists to exhibit their work. This year 50 artists display more than 140 pieces of their art in the expanded gallery. You’d think it would be impossible to show that many pieces without the gallery feeling crowded, a mish-mash of art. Instead the show is a wonderful surprise. Not only is the show pleasing as a whole, there are also many different genres of art displayed. To consider each of the artists is not possible so I have selected only a few.

"Swimming Hole on Locust Creek"

12" x 16" - oil

Two landscape artists, Kathleen Fiske and Katherine Ravenhorst-Adams, have 3 paintings each in the show and they alone would be worth the visit. Fiske’s Swimming Hole on Locust Creek, oil, is striking with its meandering stream with sunlight splashing across the water, and when seen from a distance takes on new dimension."

This review first appeared in the Randolph Herald on June 9, 2011.

Here is the link to the complete article.... http://vermontartzine.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-50-area-artists-on-display-at.html

Randolph Field

Now that snow has fallen here on Vulture Mountain, this is a happy memory of summer.  It was painted on a sunny July morning standing in a churchyard in Randolph.

"July Field, Randolph"  oil  8"x10"

It is a small plein air painting that attempts to capture the feeling of that warm summer day.  It is lovely to have such a view of nature available as the days are becoming gloomy and cold...