Usually Underwater

To paint this view, I stood on a strip of sand that is usually underwater.  When I arrived, I was the first one there.  When I left the lot was full of cars.  Interesting that people are parking with social distancing in mind, leaving large gaps between cars.  9x12 inches, oil on linen.

Rock Drawings

Four drawings from my recent visits to the Green River at Mount Hope Park in Williamstown, MA. 

This Time, Next Time

This morning I went back to the Green River expecting a downpour so I worked fast.  Then the sun came out but I was finished.  Alas, I forgot to take an in situ photo.  Next time.  12x9 inches, oil on linen.

On The Rocks

Yesterday's painting: to position myself for this painting, I stood on some rocks at the edge of the stream.  The water is lower than I remember for this time of year.  9x12 inches, oil on linen.

White Noise At The Green River

Another visit to the Green River at Mount Hope Park in Williamstown, MA.  It's soothing to paint with the white noise of the flowing water all around.  9x12 inches, oil on linen.

In Situ

This time I remembered to take a photo while I was there at Mount Hope Park in Williamstown, MA.

Mount Hope Park

To avoid the heat and the cows, I changed venue this morning, to Mount Hope Park, where there's a river and shady trees.  One just has to plan ahead and paint faster since the shade moves.  I think I'm going to paint here for a while.  I like the name of the place too.  9x12 inches, oil on linen.

Sitting On The Piano

A bouquet of flowers sitting on the piano in the studio room.  12x9 inches, oil on panel.

Early Morning View

An early morning view from the pasture towards Mount Greylock, done yesterday.  9x12 inches, oil on linen panel.

Looking Left

While standing on the culvert in the pasture and looking in a different direction, I painted this view of the sunken stream.  9x12 inches, oil on linen.

Invisible Brush, Vanishing Bush

Yesterday I went back to the pasture yet again.  It was bright, sunny, hot and green.  I was set up on the culvert bridge.  At least I could hear the stream babbling.  The longer I contemplated these bushes, the more they seemed to become invisible.  The day before when I started the painting, I lost a paintbrush in the weeds.  In my search, I was looking at it but I couldn't see it.  Yesterday, I found the brush. 9x12 inches, oil on linen panel.

At A Sunny Window

The flowers at a sunny window.  9x12 inches, oil on panel.

Culvert And Greylock

A second painting from yesterday at the pasture with the stream.  One can see the culvert and Mount Greylock.  Sounds like a lawyer's firm: Culvert and Greylock.  Not as funny as Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe.   9x12 inches, oil on linen.

What Are You Doing?

The stream in the pasture with Mount Greylock:  I'm building my sense of place.  I did this painting over two days.  Yesterday I was on one side of the fence.  Today the cows were moved, so I set up on the other side in their old pen to avoid them even though I was a few feet farther away from the motif.  I was glad I did because they all came over to see what I was doing.  12x9 inches, oil on linen.

Too Much Or Not Enough

Sometimes flower paintings can be too much or not enough.  12x9 inches. Oil on panel.

A Bouquet Of Flowers

A bouquet of flowers. 9x12 inches, oil on panel.

No Big Deal

Back at the pasture with the stream yesterday.  The bull and some cows were still wandering around, but apparently it's no big deal.  They are all homebodies.  A young woman from the farm was there installing a string fence in a new, grassy location.  When she was done, she sang/yodelled a call and all the cows and bulls followed her into the new penned-in area.  I moved farther into the pasture to paint this view of the stream with Mount Greylock.

All Bellowing

When the loose bull got closer, I moved up the hill to paint another view.  Eventually he stopped eating and lay down, in the exact spot where I was painting previously.  On the other side of the string fence, the cows had gathered, all bellowing.  The bull stood up seemingly perplexed about how to get back to the other side of the fence (I may be reading too much into his behavior).  He wandered past where the opening in the fence presumably was located, and was last seen in the next pasture along the fence, with all the cows accompanying him on their side of the fence.   We did notify the farm, so hopefully the bull is now back in his corral.   9x12 inches, oil on linen.

A Lot Of Bull

The spring grass also attracted one of the bulls residing at the pasture with the stream. When I got there I noticed he was on my side of the fence in the spot where I wanted to go.  The fence, by the way, is a couple strands of electrified string attached to short plastic poles.  So I set up away from him, but eventually he ate his way to me, and I moved to another location.  The bull seems gentle, but he has all his faculties, if you know what I mean, and is quite large.  Fortunately, I was finished with the barn painting.  To be continued.  9x12 inches, oil on linen.

A Couple Drawings

A couple drawings. 

Sic Transit Flores Mundi

The last flowers from yesterday, which are now all gone.  Sic transit flores mundi.  8x6 inches, oil on panel.

Momentary Survivors

The flowers in the last bunch are drooping and dropping.  Here are some survivors for the moment painted yesterday.  I put them on a dark counter top.  8x6 inches, oil on panel.

The Sun Was Shining

Since the sun was shining, I visited the stream in the pasture yesterday afternoon.  The sun doesn't shine every day.  9x12 oil on linen.

Another Preliminary

A preliminary drawing for the Mother's Day painting.  12x9 inches.  Pencil on paper.

Rue des Serruriers

Rue des Serruriers, Vieille Ville, Nice, France.  12x16 inches, oil on panel.

Three preliminary drawings for composing flower paintings.

Ars Longa Flora Brevis

Art is long, flowers are short.  Sounds silly in translation, but starting to see the decline of these daffodils.  12x9 inches, oil on panel.

Splitting The Sky

Walking on my nearby dirt road, I stopped to draw this tree by the side of the road.  I like the way it splits the sky.  12x9 inches, pencil on paper.

For My Mother

A painting for my mother on Mother's Day.  She died in December at the age of 96. 12x9 inches, oil on panel.

On The Edge

The same flowers at a different location, on the edge of the piano in my studio.  10x8 inches, oil on panel.

The Limitations Of Paint

Flowers, flowers, flowers.  Stay at home and paint flowers (unless you can paint outside safely and it's not snowing in May).  Alas, you will discover that it is impossible to paint flowers.  Paint has its limitations.  12x9 inches, oil on panel. 

Painting Flowers

One of the two hydrangea flowers survived long enough for this portrait.  Painting... painting flowers is a... way of trying to survive in these horrendous times. 12x9 inches, oil on panel.

Black Umbrella

An umbrella in the corner behind the door: though it sits on the floor I'm reminded of a hanging bat.  Something that protects and also appears threatening.  I sat down at its level a couple weeks ago to draw it. 12x9 inches, pencil on paper.

Hard To See

Spent part of the afternoon yesterday at the pasture with a stream, painting the stream again. The stream is sunken in a hollow not visible from the road.  It's hard to see.  9x12 inches, oil on linen. 

Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas.  12x9 inches, oil on panel.

What Happened

This one is from the other day at the cow pasture with the stream: I had paint on my palette and I worked quickly to see what would happen.  9x12 inches, oil on linen.

A Flower Called Campanula

A flower called campanula.   12x9 inches, oil on panel.

An Ancient Culvert

The stream runs through an ancient culvert under a dirt and concrete passage connecting two pastures.  9x12 inches, oil on linen.

The Pasture With A Stream

Another of the paintings of the pasture with a stream that runs through it.  9x12 oil on linen.

Streaming Landscape

A plein air rendition in paint of the stream in the pasture.  9x12 inches, oil on linen.

Pasture and Stream

Spent more time working on this one from the other day: a view of the stream flowing through the pasture off of Sloan Road in Williamstown, MA.  The stream narrows down at one spot so I can jump across it, but it mainly is wider with very muddy sides.  9x12 inches, oil on linen.

Out To The Pasture

This time at the cow pasture off of Sloan Road in Williamstown, MA, I chose to paint something manageable.   9x12 inches, oil on linen.

A Different Perspective

Flowers from a different perspective. 12x9 inches, oil on panel.

A Vase Of Flowers

A vase of flowers.  12x9 inches, oil on panel.