From A Spot At A Corner

From late morning until mid-afternoon today, I spent three hours at the fantastical pond on Mount Greylock, painting from from a spot at one of the corners of the pump house.  This is the first painting I did, an 11x14 oil on multimedia art board  (which I previously coated with gesso to make it less absorbent).  The vegetation around the pond is so thick that less than half of the pond edge is accessible.  This is probably why this pond is in such nice shape.  Even on a Monday, I saw about twenty-five hikers go by.

Fantastical Pond

The pond, the pond.  I spent a couple hours at the pond yesterday when the sun finally came out. There's something magical, dark and fantastical about this pond.  This painting is a 9x12 oil on linen.

I've been reading Julian Barnes' "Keeping An Eye Open: Essays on Art."   He quotes Georges Braque, who wrote, "The only thing that matters in art is what cannot be explained."  Barnes tries to explain a few things nevertheless, but I like the quote, nevertheless.  I'm trying to get at something I can't explain.

Another Boat

Another boat at Perkins Cove.  I might do a series of boats like baseball cards.  The boats always park in the same spot.  They all have names.  This one's called the "A MARIA".  The previous one is called "BUCKWACKA".  This painting is also a 9x12 oil on linen.

The Whirring of Bird Wings

Since I was already set up at the pond on the mountain at the intersection of Notch Road and Rockwell Road, after I finished my first painting, I turned slightly to the right, and painted another view.  My guidebook has no reference to this pond.  My vague recollection suggests that it had to do with getting water up to the mountain top via a pump station, which explains the tiny building at the pond edge.  As I painted, it was so quiet I could hear the whirring of bird wings in the trees, and occasionally the footsteps of approaching hikers.  This is a 16x12 oil on panel.

Painting On The Mountain

When I drove up Notch Road this morning, I could barely contain my excitement.  I've painted the mountain many times over the years, and it took me until now to realize that I could paint on the mountain.  My destination was a small pond just below the last leg up to the top of Mount Greylock.  Fortunately there's a small parking lot nearby.  All I heard for a while were the bull frogs chanting.  Eventually hikers came by since I was next to the path.  Some were day hikers, and some were on a longer journey.  All seemed happy and cheerful.  This painting is a 9x12 oil on linen.

A Boat

A lobster boat at Perkins Cove in Ogunquit, Maine.  I painted this on a 9x12 piece of linen from a pad as an experiment.  I figure I can mount the best results to foam core. While painting, I attached the linen sheet to a 9x12 board with clips, though I might use masking tape for the next try.  The surface is nice to work on and the sheets won't take up much space.

A Corner

A painting of a Brooklyn street corner, Grand Avenue and Pacific Street.  This view is painted on an 11x14 multimedia board, which I coated with gesso beforehand.  I've discovered that the gesso makes the board less absorbent and easier to paint on.

Final Two

Here are the final two paintings from today and this week at the Southern Vermont Arts Center.  I spent the morning on the back porch looking out at the mountains.  In the afternoon, I stepped over to a nearby shady spot to paint the Cafe Sora.  Both paintings are 16x12 oil on panel.

Ins and Outs, Ups and Downs

Thursday at SVAC: an interior and an exterior painting.  For me, the challenge of painting is to do something with what's there in front of you, or maybe just to the side.  The interior painting is a view looking out of the large red piano gallery into the main hallway.  All the ins and outs, and ups and downs, aren't so obvious until one starts looking at them.  The exterior painting is of Yester House at the back from down the grassy slope looking up.  Both paintings are 12x16 oil on panel.

Inside and Out

Today at the Southern Vermont Arts Center, I did one painting inside in the large piano room, this time looking out the double doors towards the mountains.  That sunlight reflection didn't last very long.  I relied on a sketch that I made prior to the painting.

The other painting I did outside in the early afternoon.  It depicts the front door of Yester House, and as you can see from the accompanying photo of my setup,  I had to work in the sun to get this particular angle.

Both panels are 16x12 oils.

At the Origin

The paintings I did yesterday at the Southern Vermont Arts Center are on display at the locations in Yester House where I painted them.

SVAC Interiors

This week from today through Friday, I am working/painting at the Southern Vermont Arts Center as the artist in residence.  This means that I get to paint inside and outside the SVAC Yester House, which is currently holding a very fine members show.

These are the two paintings I did today, both 12x16 oil on panel.  The first painting is a view of the hallway on the second floor where some offices are located.  People suggested it reminded them of Van Gogh's bedroom.  Imagine that.  The second painting is the large gallery on the first floor where the piano is situated.

Early Sunday Morning in Brooklyn

Here's a painted view of the building at the corner of Bergen and Washington Avenue in Brooklyn, NY, from early last Sunday morning.  As you can see, a tree grows in Brooklyn at this corner.  Behind the closed roll-up gates is a bar, not open at the time of day I was there.  This is a 12x16 oil on panel.

Call It A Day

You may remember that I mentioned that the farmers were working in the 4th of July making hay.  I was able to return this afternoon and I worked in the middle of the hay field at the line separating it from the corn field. The nice round hay bales are now and still on display.  And it's Friday afternoon, so when I started painting the door to the large metal barn in the background was open, but when I took the photo late in the afternoon after completing the painting, I noticed that the door was closed.  Time to call it a day.

A Pond in a Field

The corn field had a small pond filling the rows.  Since I was facing west when painting this view, the mountains flowing north in the background are the Taconics.  Besides this 'pond' in the field, there are many large puddles in the dirt roadways that wind through the fields.  The puddles reflect the sky like an eye.  This is a 9x12 oil on panel.

The Hay Doesn't Know

This 9x12 oil on panel shows the passage between the hay and corn fields and 'The Spruces.'  I set up in another shady spot on the dirt road, as you can see from the photo. It was interesting to see that there's a lot of traffic, dog walkers, bicyclists, people with tubes looking for access to the river.  Nearby to my right the farmers were haying even though it was July 4th.  The hay doesn't know.  I may have to set up in the sunny field with my umbrella for some future paintings.

The Spruces

Yesterday I went exploring again going beyond the corn fields to an area that used to contain a mobile home park.  Known as 'The Spruces,' it was destroyed by hurricane Irene.  The spruces are the only things that remain, besides tall grass and dirt lanes.  But it's a landscape painters paradise.  I painted this 11x14 oil on panel in the afternoon.

Including the Mountains

Yesterday afternoon, another opportunity to paint outdoors: it was hot so I set up in the shade near where I was earlier last week but farther back.  I wanted to include the mountains in the painting with the tree on the right enclosed by the mountain form, and the bush on the left breaking the horizon line.  This is a 12x16 oil on panel.

In the Jungle, In the Plains

This morning I had a chance to visit the plains again and make this 9x12 oil on panel.  The nearby garden area had some deep, large footprints going across it, which I would guess were moose prints.  A walker came by and reminded me that the tall asparagus like plants would destroy my flesh if I touched them.  I thanked her and told her I had no intention of getting off the dirt roadway.  For being so close to town, I felt like I was in a jungle.

Between Corn Fields

Wednesday morning this week I did get out to paint though I didn't have the time to photograph the results.  This 9x12 oil on panel I painted standing in the dirt road that separates two corn fields.  There are puddles in the tire paths, and at one moment of forgetfulness, I stepped back right into one.  Paintings outdoors does make one concentrate,  and forgetful at the same time.  The mountains that appeared in my previous painting, Mt. Prospect and Williams squeezed together, are to my back in this painting and therefore not visible.