Leftover Snow Patch

This afternoon I painted outside for a while across from the high school on Route 7 near Five Corners in Williamstown, MA, except I was far down the hill looking up, so you  probably wouldn't have seen me from the road.  I found a couple of bushes and just a bit of leftover snow along a fence separating a hay field from a devil-may-care field with a bunch of bushes and whatever.  This is a 6x9 oil on panel.

Walking in Brooklyn

Walking down Nostrand Avenue near Montgomery Street in Brooklyn: a 9x12 oil on panel.  It's as if I am watching myself walking down Nostrand Avenue.

Filling a Lot of Space

A 12x9 studio painting from a few days ago.  The artist's studio represents creativity, a place to face the real world while also being a refuge.  It's like the mind of the artist.  Paintings are on display, some on the wall;  some are unfinished, or barely started.  It's a place to reassess and remember why one is doing all this work.  The work of a poet can fill a shelf.  The work of a painter can fill a lot of space.

Billowing, Bellowing Dumpster

A big billowing, bellowing dumpster that seems to know what I'm thinking.  I found it on Washington Avenue near Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.  9x12 oil on panel.

Brooklyn Camouflage

This is a view of Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn.  The elevated tracks for the Long Island Railroad are at left.  The building at right is painted sky blue so that it almost blends into the sky, which it what strongly appealed to me.  Brooklyn camouflage?   12x16 oil on panel.

Fire Retardant Dumpster

Going from studio interiors to a dumpster seems a natural progression.  I found this dumpster at the corner of Sterling Place and Classon Avenue in Brooklyn.  It's full of sand so unlikely to become a flaming dumpster.  It's a 12x16 oil on panel.

Studio Rocker

The studio doors are closed and the rocking chair is empty in this 12x9 oil on panel.

Studio Door

The studio door is open for this 12x9 oil on panel.

An Interior

About this time of the year, late winter, I've noticed that I start looking around the studio, and wonder if I could make a painting or two of what I see.  I could try to paint quickly, and freely.  I could try to find interesting compositions without moving anything.  So here's one painting, a 12x9 oil on panel.

Light Through The Flag

One can't walk down Grand Avenue near Bergen Street in Brooklyn without seeing cars on the sidewalk.  There are many car repair shops at this location.  Here I've used the car to stop the viewer from seeing too far down the street.  It's the flag that is my main interest in this pyramidal composition, or I should say the light going through the flag.  12x16 oil on panel.

Before the Storm

Before today's snow storm, yesterday's weather was beautiful with snow on the ground from the previous storm, so I went back to the crazy willow at the small pond.  It was warming and the snow on the branches occasionally fell heavily into the pond, simulating fish jumping out and back in.  12x12 oil on panel.

A Grand View

Here's a view down Grand Avenue at the corner of Bergen Street in Brooklyn.  We're facing north, so it's a late day sun striking the buildings and casting a shadow in the foreground.  In the city, besides all the geometry, there are always primary colors set off by the abundant greys.  12x16 oil on panel.  

We'll See

A couple days ago with the temperatures in the fifties and a hint of spring in the air, even though it was still February, I suggested to the farmer that winter was over.  His reply was, "We'll see."  Of course, today it's snowing like crazy.  Here's the quick oil sketch I did that day of the farm buildings that naturally fit with the earth and mountains around them into a compact composition.

Shrinking Ice Cap

Winter seems to be fading fast.  I went to another tiny pond to catch its last remnant of ice in this ugly little painting.  I was attracted to the mountain and ice forms moving in opposite directions, one substantial and the other quite ephemeral, but visually of the same weight, with the trees forming a grid tying them together.  That's only part of it.  8x10 oil on panel.