Cheshire Lake and This World

A morning at Cheshire Lake again.  The sky was milky, not offering much sun, and it was hot and sticky.  After wandering around for a few minutes, I settled on a spot across the road from the lake.  Every now and then I was startled by passing vehicles.   I selected the spot in order to include the dirt portion, which I otherwise would have been standing in, and then the trees would have been too close.
The painting is a 12x16 oil on panel.

I've been reading the essays of Robert Hass.  He writes, "Art hardly ever does seem to come to us at first as something connected to our own world; it always seems, in fact, to announce the existence of another, different one, which is what it shares with gnostic insight.  That is why, I suppose, the next thing that artists have to learn is that this world is the other world."

Jumping Dog

A peaceful afternoon at Cheshire Lake resulting in a 12x16 oil on panel painting.  I only had to contend with a boat being put into the water and a jumping dog.  The boat soon disappeared around the corner without disturbing the water, but the dog repeatedly jumped into the water chasing a ball tossed by its owner.  Fortunately I was almost done at that point.

Shady Lakeside

Another day at Cheshire Lake in Cheshire, MA.  This is an 11x14 oil on panel.  I was lucky to find another shady location under a tree from which to paint this view.  Even in the morning, when I painted this, it was hot, but it was also nice to be near the water.  The breeze was constantly changing the surface of water, so I had to decide late in the painting what to settle on.

At the Spot

This morning I went again to Cheshire Lake.  This time I was facing south at Farnum's crossing setting up at a spot used by fishermen.

A Tree at Cheshire Lake

A view of Cheshire Lake facing north at Farnum's Crossing: a 12x12 oil on panel.  I found a spot under another tree from which to paint this view earlier today.

Five Pages

Five recent pages from my  walk and draw sketchbook.

Sitting

I'm in between paintings, so here's a drawing that I did while gallery sitting at Gallery 4 this week.

Storefronts

The ancient summer light of old storefronts on Summer Street in Adams, MA: an 18x24 oil on canvas.

Pleasant Street

The other day I mentioned that I had been to Adams.  Here's the first of another series of paintings focusing on the town of Adams.  I like the older buildings and neighborhoods there.  This painting depicts Pleasant Street.  I wonder if there's an Easy Street in Adams.

I've been reading a book on the Spanish painter Antonio Lopez Garcia, who has painted cityscapes of Madrid.  He takes years to complete a cityscape leading him to strip out all "ephemera as cars and people."  I can't paint at such a slow pace, but I do tend to leave out people, but not cars.  Cars keep still longer than people.

Cheshire Lake and Old Store Fronts

To continue with my water theme, this morning I visited Cheshire Lake and painted this 9x12 oil on panel at Farnum's Crossing.  The lake edge next to where I was standing was full of sunfish.  Earlier I walked around the St. Stanislaus Church neighborhood in Adams.  I didn't know that Summer Street, adjacent to the church, is (or was) like an alternative main street that now suggests an older and bygone time.  By that I mean the buildings all contain old store fronts, some still active, some not so much. 

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Rocky Shore

A late afternoon view facing east at Schoodic Point in Acadia National Park, an 18x24 oil on canvas.  Rocky shores are inviting and threatening at the same time.

Looking Over

Another seascape, an 18x24 oil on canvas, of a view from the Ocean Path at Acadia National Park, not too far from the beginning of the path.  I've been to this spot many times, looking over these fierce rocks to the jutting headland, and am always struck by the formal pictorial elements, which form such visual beauty.

Ogunquit Edge

This 20x30 oil on canvas is another view of the shore at Ogunquit from the Marginal Way.  The view at the back of the onlooker is more domesticated than what one sees looking out into the ocean.  The edge is always a place where one can be in two opposing worlds at the same time, one seemingly more barren and dangerous than the other, but always with an enticing beauty.