Wild and Jungly

Field Farm, Williamstown, MA. 6x8 inches, gouache on mixed media paper.  In the late summer there's always something wild and jungly or jungle-like about Field Farm.

Dynamic Iconic

Greylock from Sheep Hill, Williamstown, MA.  6x8 inches, gouache on mixed media paper.  A dynamic summer view of an iconic landscape.

Yellow and Lightly Dappled

The Hopper at Field Farm, Williamstown, MA. 6x8 inches, gouache on mixed media paper. When I went to Field Farm the other day, the ground was yellow and the sky was lightly dappled.

Looks Idyllic

View from the Top of Luce Road, Williamstown, MA. 12x16 inches, oil on linen panel.  This view, slightly different from the other day, looks idyllic but there was frequent car traffic going by.  I was only ten feet from the road.  Some people slowed down to say nice things though.  

A Visit to Arles

Arles, France.  16x20 inches, oil on linen canvas.  This painting derives from a visit to Arles many years ago. The colors remind me of someone.  I started the painting three years ago and was waiting for a rainy day to finish it.

A Lot of Them

View from Luce Road, Williamstown, MA. 11x14 inches, oil on canvas panel.  It was a nice cloud day so I went up to where I could see a lot of them.  

A Gaze Upon the Seine

Pont du Carrousel, Paris.  11x14 inches, oil on linen canvas.   A memory painting from our last visit to Paris.

Breadth of the View

Mount Greylock from Sheep Hill, Williamstown, MA. 10x20 inches, oil on linen panel. With this size panel I was able to place Greylock at the upper right and include the near foreground tree at the lower left to suggest the breadth of the view.  The mountain at the left is Prospect, which usually hides Greylock from view.
 

In the Top Center

View of Mount Greylock from Sheep Hill, Williamstown, MA. 8x16 inches, oil on linen panel. Earlier this week I painted at the top of Sheep Hill.   I used a 1:2 ratio panel to prep for a possible larger painting.  A different format poses different issues: my aim here was to put Greylock in the top center.

 

Nape of the Neck

Oakes Cove at Rocky Neck, Gloucester, MA. 6x8 inches, gouache on mixed media paper.  A plein air depiction of the nape of the neck.

Moving Art Up

Sailboat, Duck Creek, Wellfleet Harbor. 6x8 inches, gouache on mixed media paper.  For the last three weeks, I have been spending my energy moving my artwork up two floors (which is three flights of stairs) to our new studio in the same old mill building.  So, every now and then, like today, I make a little gouache painting to remind myself of why I'm doing this.

Sailboat Mondrian

Sailboat, Duck Creek, Wellfleet Harbor. 6x8 inches, gouache on mixed media paper.  My sailboat paintings are really compositional studies using verticals and horizontals and color.  Sailboat Mondrian. 

Struggle, Passing Time and Love

Sailboat, Duck Creek, Wellfleet Harbor. 12x16 inches, oil on canvas panel. During my recent week in Wellfleet, I became very fond of this boat. Just like an old shed or an abandoned farm truck, it became a symbol of struggle, passing time, and love.

Sun Light Sailboat

Sailboat, Wellfleet Harbor. 6x8 inches, gouache on mixed media paper.  It can't happen often that the sinking sun and the sailboat are aligned.

On Exhibition

I am delighted to report that my painting, "Monhegan Evening," was accepted for the exhibition "Land, Light, Water & Air" at the Bryan Memorial Gallery in Jeffersonville, VT.  The exhibition will be held from August 26th to October 25th.

Settled in the Mud

Low Tide, Wellfleet Harbor.  18x24 inches, oil on linen canvas.  I loved watching this sailboat move up and down and sideways all day long.  When it settled in the mud, it was always pointing in a different direction.  

On Exhibition

I am happy to report that my painting "The Cold River," 8x16 inches, oil on panel, was accepted in the upcoming exhibition "Small Works: Harvest Light" to be held at the Monument Arts & Cultural Center in Bennington, VT from August 14 to November 1, 2026.  

A Mountain Interlude

Mount Greylock from Sheep Hill, Williamstown, MA.  12x12 inches, oil on linen panel.  A mountain interlude painted yesterday.  I used a square panel to include more sky in this iconic view.

Morning Low Tide

Low Tide, Wellfleet, MA. 6x8 inches, gouache on mixed media paper.  I did this one quickly Saturday morning.  The smoke rolled in shortly after.
 

In the Heat on the Path

Path, Field Farm, Williamstown, MA. 9x12 inches, oil on Raymar panel.  The path looks like it's going into a cave.  I set up in the heat on the path to paint it this morning.  The tall grass probably won't be around much longer for this is about the time when the mowers appear.

Juggling On the North Trail

Mount Greylock from Field Farm, Williamstown, MA. 9x12 inches, oil on board. I was juggling compositional elements on the North Trail yesterday afternoon.  

Passageway

Path, Field Farm, Williamstown, MA. 9x12 inches, pencil on paper. I drew this while on my walk the other day.  It's a path cut into the tall grass going into the woods that feels like a passage from one realm into another.

Field Farm Path

Path at Field Farm, Williamstown, MA. 6x8 inches, gouache on mixed media paper.  I went for a walk yesterday.

People in a Plaza

Plaza del Obradoiro, Santiago de Compostela.  12x16 inches, oil on linen canvas. I wanted to see how this would turn out: a painting of a crowd of people in a plaza in front of a big church, so I painted it.

Sheep Hill Summer View

Sheep Hill View, Williamstown, MA. 18x24 inches, oil on linen canvas.  Too hot to paint outside so I painted a large studio version of the view.

In a Different Spot

View from Sheep Hill, Williamstown, MA. 9x12 inches, oil on Raymar panel.  My power over the weather diminished today since the sun stayed out.   I set up in a different spot this time, more to the left, mainly determined by the location of some shade.  The painting sort of rolled off my brushes as if it knew where it wanted to go.

Weather Power

View from Sheep Hill, Williamstown, MA. 11x14 inches, oil on canvas panel.  I'm starting to think I might have some control over the weather.  I show up to paint, and the sun disappears.  Today, it even rained after I finished. 

A Mountain Variation

View from Sheep Hill, Williamstown, MA. 11x14 inches, oil on canvas panel. A variation of a familiar view.  The mountain doesn't move but everything around it does.  

This Afternoon

Mount Greylock and the Hopper from Sheep Hill, Williamstown, MA. 11x14 inches, oil on linen panel. I spent the afternoon painting this view.  I've probably done it over a hundred and fifty times.  I do not get tired of doing it.

Entrance Mark

Path, Field Farm, Williamstown, MA. 8x6 inches, ballpoint pen on paper.  I brought rudimentary tools to record my walk this afternoon at Field Farm.  I love how the path has this dark indentation in the grass to mark its entrance into the woods.

From the Bridge

Hoosic River at Protection Avenue, North Adams, MA. 11x14 inches, oil on canvas panel.  With the temperature in the 70s, I was able to stand in the open on the bridge to paint this view.  I last painted here six years ago almost to the day.

Barcelona Postcard

 Barcelona.  12x16 inches, oil on linen canvas.  A larger postcard.

Not In-Between

Hoosic River at Stony Beach, Williamstown, MA. 9x12 inches, oil on linen panel.  When I arrived, the sun was shining and when I finished the painting the sun was shining again, but not in-between.

Not in the Water

Hoosic River, North Adams, MA.  9x12 inches, oil on linen panel.  This time I went to the Hoosic in North Adams accessed via Ashton Avenue.  The beach area extends into the river, so it only appears that I was painting while standing in water.  

All Different

A Pond, Grafton, MA. 8x10 inches, oil on linen panel.  This pond I've painted many times in recent years. Like all bodies of water, it's never the same. The pond is never the same. The paintings are all different. Each experience of painting the pond is different.

Mainstream Event

Hoosic River, Williamstown, MA. 8x10 inches, oil on linen panel.  While working on this one yesterday afternoon, I heard voices and laughter coming from down river.  I was on the beach at the confluence of the Hoosic and the Green Rivers.  A flotilla of over a dozen pool inflatables came by each with a person stretched out on them.  They were young Williams alums doing some alumni weekend event.  Two people praised my painting from the center of the river, a first for me: mainstream approval.

Like a Postcard

Plaza del Obradoiro, Santiago de Compostela.  6x8 inches, watercolor and pen & ink.  Like a postcard, a remembrance of a place once visited not so long ago.

Santiago Sketch

 

Plaza del Obradoiro, Santiago de Compostela.  6x8 inches, watercolor and pen and ink.

Smash and Crash

Hoosic River, Williamstown, MA. 11x14 inches, oil on canvas panel.  I haven't visited this spot in three weeks. It's now completely overgrown. While painting there yesterday afternoon I heard a loud smash and crash behind me, as if some large animal was coming through the thick bushes and decided to make an impromptu one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn around. I yelled and turned quickly only to see the branches still shaking.

Wild and Remote

Hoosic River, Williamstown, MA. 11x14 inches, oil on canvas panel.  The river is receding, so I was able to access another shore area seldom visited. The edges of rivers are often wild and remote.

Stony Plaza and Smart Phones

Plaza del Obradoiro, Santiago de Compostela.  6x8 inches, watercolor, gouache and pencil on mixed media paper.  The hikers don't seem to mind stretching out on the stony surface to use their smart phones.

Santiago de Compostela

Plaza del Obradoiro, Santiago de Compostela.  8x10 inches, watercolor, gouache and pencil on paper.  First of a series of sketches of the plaza, usually filled with arriving hikers and visitors.  I think of them as postcards to recapture the experience of being there.

From a Beach with No Name

Hoosic River, Williamstown, MA. 8x10 inches, oil on linen panel.  The river view from a beach with no name, east of Cole Avenue.  The water level is going down at this time making this beach accessible, but the coming weekend rain will inundate it again.

At Sandy Beach on the Hoosic

Hoosic River, Williamstown, MA. 8x10 inches, oil on linen panel.  I'm no longer in Spain, so I went out to paint this afternoon at Sandy Beach on the Hoosic.  

Many Paintings

Hoosic River, Williamstown, MA. 6x8 inches, oil on linen panel.  Testing out some pictorial ideas in a little painting.  The river contains many paintings.

A Rare Phenomenon

Hoosic River, Williamstown, MA. 12x16 inches, oil on canvas panel.  From my wanderings along the edges of the Hoosic, my guess is that this overhanging willow is a rare phenomenon.  

Hearing Voices

Hoosic River, Williamstown, MA. 11x14 inches, oil on canvas panel.  As I was setting up to paint in a secluded spot on the river today, I heard a voice.  It came from the river.  I heard it again.  Only then did I see a pontoon boat appear around the corner with three people in it: one person in the front fishing, another in the middle rowing, and a third at the rear along for the ride.  I told the rower pilot that I was going to paint and that I thought the river was speaking to me when I heard him talk. He said, "I hope that it does speak to you."   Then the fisherman in front yelled "Plein Air!" a couple times and the boat disappeared around the next corner.

Looking at the Water

Hoosic River, Williamstown, MA. 9x12 inches, oil on linen panel.  Here I am looking at the water to the other side of the river.