Flying Angles in the Suburbs

Earlier this year I did the drawing of a suburban backyard, and yesterday had the first opportunity to paint the same view.  The obvious appeal to me are all the flying angles and wedges.  12x9 oil on panel.

When I Looked Back.

When I looked back, I could see the two distant towers of the Rijksmuseum, which were oddly matched by the two sides of the nearer bridge arch.  9x12 oil on panel.

Everyman

Little did I realize as I wandered through the Old Church in Delft that I would find the burial site of Johannes Vermeer.   His compatriot Rembrandt was also buried in a church in Amsterdam, but his final resting place is unknown.  The Wikipedia entry states that Rembrandt "was buried as a poor man in an unknown grave in the Westerkerk.  It was in a numbered 'kerkgraf' (grave owned by the church) somewhere under a tombstone in the church.  After twenty years, his remains were taken away and destroyed, as was customary with the remains of poor people at the time."

So, the extraordinary painter of humanity became, in a sense, everyman.

A Drawing and A Painting

A painting, and the drawing it's based upon, both depicting a canal in Amsterdam.   9x12 inches.  Oil on canvas.  Pencil on paper.

Two More

Two more drawings, the second is from Delft. 12x9, pencil on paper.

Drawing Amsterdam

Sketches of Amsterdam.  9x12, pencil on paper.

Don't Chase The Water.

Two other paintings I did yesterday, also both quickly painted.  It's impossible to chase the water. One is 9x12 oil on linen, and the other 8x10 oil on panel.

Almost As If I Knew

This one I painted rather quickly.  It was almost as if I knew what to do.  It's another view from the same spot at Mauserts Pond.  The light is so amazing in the late afternoon.   9x12 oil on linen.

Nymph In A Kayak

I had a fantasy of making a painting a la Corot with silvery grays and greens this afternoon.  I didn't pull it off.  If I had, I might have had to include a nymph in a kayak.  I was painting at one of the most perfect places in the world to paint, at least for me, for today.  Judge for yourself.  9x12 oil on panel.

A Cloudy Day In Vermont

It was a generally cloudy day, with the sun making brief appearances, and a threat of rain always present somewhere in the sky.  But one cannot just decide to paint only on sunny days.  Well, you can.  But then you might not paint outside so much.

A question that keeps popping into my mind, I don't know why,  is something that I read a couple years ago:  can you imagine a color that doesn't yet exist?  It's like trying to look at your own eyes without a mirror (which I think came from Alan Watts). Or understanding painting?

This is a view looking north in Pownal, Vermont.  9x12 oil on panel.

Path of the Gods

A view of distant Capri from the Path of the Gods on the Amalfi Coast, another in the series of souvenir/postcard paintings. 6x8 oil on panel.

Ensconced

Conditions were not the same, but I returned anyway to the same spot at Mauserts pond to complete the painting that I started yesterday.   I was able to use what I had already put down on the panel as the basis for today's painting.  I was ensconced in the woods next to the pond on a slight path probably made by fishermen.  The path didn't go far but provided an interesting view of a small peninsula with a prominent tree.  9x12 oil on panel.

Hidden Concantenations

A drawing I did the other day while walking: I stood in a field looking west towards the Taconic Mountains, down Blair Road in Williamstown, MA.  The painter Bernard Dunstan wrote about how we link things together on a flat surface that we don't ordinarily see when looking at something in front of us.   For example, that criss-cross of the field edge/grass top edge with the road and the base of the grass.  Or the repetition of the diagonals.  9x12 pencil on paper.

Back On The Beach

Another view of the beach from this morning at Mauserts Pond.  9x12 oil on panel.

I tried another painting this afternoon but the sun disappeared in the time it took me to look down and back up again,  but after I had the first lay-in of paint in place.  I'll try to finish the painting tomorrow.

Still Dreaming.

Last night I dreamt of the beach at Mauserts Pond viewed from the other side.  So I went to paint it and here it is. 9x12 oil on panel.

Horizontals at Mauserts Pond

For this painting, which I also did yesterday at Mauserts Pond, I went back to the beach.  I liked the horizontals that bring you back into the picture.  At one point the other side of the pond was reflected in the water, so I quickly painted it in, since I needed another horizontal, as you can see from the drawing.  8x10 oil on panel.

Great Swimming Squirrel

While painting at a more remote section of Mauserts Pond at Clarksburg State Park this morning, I heard a splash in the water and noticed a creature with a long tail approaching the edge of the shore to my right.  Out emerged a gray squirrel, which shook off the water, and ran into the bushes.  This is the first time I've ever seen a gray squirrel swim.  It came across the small inlet, which spans a good twenty yards from the other shore.

The oil on panel is 8x10 and the prep drawing is 6x8 inches.  Same as yesterday: the water was still until I started to paint it.

Breezing

Yes, I admit that I like this spot.  I kept hoping that the water would be still.  It was when I first arrived and set up my gear, but then a gentle breeze came, and just kept breezing.  But at least the sky was blue.  It's the view of the kayak launch at Mauserts Pond in Clarksburg State Park from across the inlet.  Yes, I admit that I like this spot, but I'll try another next time.  I already have one in mind.  9x12 oil on panel.

Bascom Lodge

A quick sketchbook drawing from Saturday of an entrance to Bascom Lodge on the top of Mount Greylock.

Gray Day Reflection

The sun came out as soon as I finished up, but I had intended to paint a gray day painting since there was no wind.  This is another view of the kayak launch at Mauserts Pond at Clarksburg State Park.  9x12 oil on panel.