On the Road

Yesterday I was out on Jenks Road in Cheshire with painters Ann Marie Scott and John MacDonald.  The above painting, a 9x12 on canvas, is one removed from the painting I did on the road.  Jenks Road is a dirt road in the country, not that far away, but it just seems so far away.

Watch Out

A 24x24 oil on canvas of a view down Washington Avenue near Sterling Place in Brooklyn.  Though this is a studio painting, I tried to paint it as if my easel were set up in the street, and I had to finish and get out of the way before the guy on the bicycle reached me.

Funny Green

The painting, 8x10 oil on panel, that came about the day before yesterday at Haley Farm. when I sat under a tree before my easel and paints.  It's funny how green always looks good in nature, but is much harder to make look good on a small panel with paint.

Express Way

An 18x24 oil on canvas painting depicting a view down 21st Street towards Third Avenue and the Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Corner Drawing

The last 8x10 pen and ink drawing from the batch I started on Christmas day.  This is number 69 depicting the corner of Eastern Parkway and Franklin.

From a Shady Spot

This afternoon I decided to chance the weather, and went to Haley Farm to find a shady spot.  The key is finding a shady spot with a good view of something.  Only when the painting was done, and I was cleaning my brushes, did the wind pickup noticeably, but the sun came out again, and nothing happened.  The painting is a 12x12 oil on panel of the barn front with farm paraphernalia.  There are a lot of great views with farm paraphernalia, but most are in the full sun.

Under a Tree

This 9x12 oil on panel is the third painting I did on Saturday while sitting under a tree.  The tree in the painting is located just behind the little house at Haley Farm.   As I worked on it, the farmer came and moved some cows to the fenced in area just behind me.  I became aware of this when I started to hear loud chomping of grass clumps.  The farmer arrived from another location on a four-wheeled vehicle which he drives while holding his cute little dog who follows him everywhere.

Painter Ann Marie Scott, who was exploring the area, took my picture as I sat painting under a tree.  I look more like the farmer than a painter.

Green Air

Behind the unoccupied house stand these birches.  It was like being in a green house with green air when I painted this second painting.

House at the End of Hopper Road

Today was a three painting day at the end of Hopper Road at Haley Farm.  This is the first painting, a 9x12 oil on panel of the small house.  Even though the parking lot was full of cars from the hikers, it was still a quiet location for painting.  I spent about an hour on each painting.

Just a Hint

There was a brief improvement in the weather this afternoon, so I went to Haley Farm at the end of Hopper Road.  There's a small unoccupied house there with a trellis nearby.  The place was quiet, sunny (with shady spots for painters), and only an occasional "moo" from the cows broke the silence.  I painted for about an hour on a 9x12 panel.

Painted Truck Painting

When wandering through Red Hook recently I saw this truck on Van Dyke Street.  I can't quite make out the name of the company on the truck.  Zowie Enterprises?  Who knows?  Anyway, the result is an 18x24 oil on canvas.

Ketching Up

This is one of the pen and ink Brooklyn drawings that I completed a while back.  There's snow on the sidewalks.  But I'm posting it now since not much happened yesterday.  It's a view down Franklin  Avenue.

At Jordan Pond

This is an 18x24 oil on canvas view of the 'boardwalk' at Jordan Pond at Acadia National Park.  I've wanted to do a large version of this painting for a while.   I did a small oil sketch last year.  Examine the negative space and the tree trunks and the planks.  They set up a triangular pie wedge going back into space, even though some of the 'space' is hidden by foliage and trees.  There are other things happening also, but enough for now.

At The Cold River Again

This Sunday afternoon I visited the Cold River again.  It has shrunk in volume, and though I didn't put my feet in, it probably isn't as cold as when I visited it last month.  The Mohawk Trail has visually exciting high steep peaks and deep ravines (keep your eye on the road!), and no place to park on the narrow, S-curved road.  So I have to confine my painting to the less exciting park area.  This 9x12 oil on panel I did while set up under the bridge that connects Route 2 to the park.  At least there are a lot of shady spots from which to paint the sunlight.

Red Hook and Queen Mary

A couple days ago I wrote that I would try both country plein air and city studio.  Here's a view down Richards Street in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, an 8x10 pen and ink drawing, and an 18x24 oil on canvas.

As I wandered around Red Hook this past weekend, I happened to look down a street and saw an amazing sight.  Closer examination revealed the Queen Mary 2 ocean liner, which had just arrived.

Less Perfect but Still Good

Today was a nice day, but not very sunny, not so perfect, but still good nevertheless.  I painted the same barn, a profile view this time.  As you can see, it's quite a long and narrow barn, and in pretty good shape compared to its neighbors.  I used prussian blue instead of ultramarine today.  I love the way the roof cuts into the background mountain.

A Perfect Day

The morning's weather was perfect, and I painted this 9x12 oil on panel while seated in front of this barn.  Actually I was interested in the sunlight striking the small tree in front of the darker barn.  The location was as bright as the painting suggests, and I had to use my umbrella to shield my panel, palette, and self.

Drawing Sixty-Seven

I'm going to try alternating between country and city for a while.  The above is Brooklyn drawing number 67, done a while ago, showing the Botanical Garden.  I plan on doing a series of larger Brooklyn paintings, while continuing the plein air work.

Three More

Three more selected charcoal drawings.

Life Drawing in Brooklyn

When I visit my son, who is an extremely fine draughtsman, he lately has taken me to a life drawing session in Brooklyn.  Here are three selected charcoal drawings from that session.

Looking Back

This is the view looking back from the u-shaped 'courtyard' created by the positions of three barns.  You can make out the corner of one barn at the right.  It looks like a park except it isn't.  I did this 9x12 oil on panel this morning.  It was so hot, and the sun so bright, I set up my umbrella.  A big truck loaded with stone drove by.  I waved but couldn't see into the cab.  I have no idea what the driver might have been thinking when he saw me.  Mary Poppins crash-landing.

Even Farther Back

This one I did later yesterday from even farther back, a 9x12 oil on panel.  If I back up even more, I'll be in the woods.

Distant

A 9x12 oil on panel from yesterday afternoon.  I find myself viewing the barns from farther away.  All the trees are filling in, and the grass is getting taller.

Sweet Wood

Another view of Sweet Brook where an old gnarled tree clings to the bank.  This is an 8x10 oil on panel done yesterday morning.

Sweet Brook

This is a view of a spot where the 'Sweet Brook' brook spreads out a bit probably due to old beaver activity (there are remnants of old dams visible and a few old stumps), but there doesn't seem to be any current beaver presence.  This 12x12 oil on panel I did yesterday morning.  It was windy, partly cloudy, and the sunlight was variable.

Looking Away

Yesterday afternoon I turned in the opposite direction from the old barns.  This is what I saw, more or less, or both.  It's an 8x10 oil on panel.

Next to the Ocean

This morning I set up in a shady spot and painted this 9x12 oil on panel.  If I lived next to the ocean or a harbor full of boats, I might be painting something else.

More Legs To Stand On

This morning I painted this 9x12 oil on panel view of the other side of the barn.  I counted its legs.  There were originally fifteen, fives rows of three.  The two outside rear corner legs are missing and the right outside middle leg is broken.  This view shows the left missing corner leg (the other missing corner leg is not visible ((insert smiley here)) in yesterday's oil sketch).  I know that's a lot of legs and locations to contend with.  But with twelve of fifteen legs still intact, the barn remains in an upright position even though it looks bad.  Nevertheless I tried to make the oil sketch look good.

Missing Legs

Later today after I had completed the 12x12 oil on panel sketch of the barn corner from a different angle, I thought of this barn as like a many-legged creature (I'll have to make an actual count), which has lost at least three legs at the corners, but the other legs are keeping it going, despite how bad it looks.  Then again later, I thought, as I plan to make my way around the barn, since it has to be a project with many images, that it can take on a deeper meaning, symbolizing an indomitable spirit.

This time I remembered to photograph my setup at the corner of the barn.  That plastic cake carrier is my portable palette.

Fragile

This is the large, 18x24, crumpled barn, oil on canvas.  Yes, the ladder is there, suspended in air, apparently attached at the top.  I dare not touch it.  The barn, a beautiful, fragile, barely standing entity, a delight to behold, like a crystal chandelier made of ice, or old, weather beaten wood, whose patina may only contain dust.