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.

Drawing in Grafton

Pond, Grafton, MA. 9x12 inches, pencil on paper.  When there's no opportunity to paint, one can always draw.  

The Pond and the Heron

Pond View, Grafton, MA. 8x10 inches, gouache on mixed media paper.  On a weekend visit to Grafton, I painted a section of the pond.  A blue heron majestically landed in front of me but immediately departed when he saw me.

 

In The Afternoon

Pond, Grafton, MA. 9x12 inches, gouache on mixed media paper.  A small, round pond that I visit with painting materials when I can. The light was gorgeous in the afternoon yesterday.

A Pond Drawing

 A Pond Drawing. 9x12 inches, vine charcoal, charcoal pencil, & pastel on paper. 

Grafton Pond

Grafton Pond. 9x12 inches, vine charcoal & charcoal pencil on paper. When there's no opportunity to paint, draw.

Two Ponds

Yesterday, I visited a favorite pond and did these two small paintings from the same location, but one in the morning and the other late in the day.  Both are 6x8 inches, oil on linen panel.

 

Grafton Pond

Yesterday afternoon, I had enough time to visit my favorite pond in Grafton, MA for a quick oil sketch. 9x12 inches, oil on canvas panel.

In the warm October light

Painting in the mid-afternoon at a pond in the warm October sunlight is something you wish would never end but it's built-in that it will end.  I suppose that's one reason why I painted it.  9x12 inches, oil on linen.

An Earlier Iteration

When I was working on this small painting of the backyard, it went through several iterations.  I was chasing the light.  I decided to bring it back to one of the earlier iterations. 6x8 inches, gouache on mixed media paper.

A Backyard Painting

A backyard painting from the other day. 6x8 inches, gouache on mixed media paper.

Quick Resolution

The second little pond painting from the other day: when you have an opportunity to do a second one right after the first one, it's usually fun because it resolves quickly.  6x8 inches, oil on panel.

Nature Reflects

The appeal of painting outside is looking intently at something that is looking back.  6x8 inches, oil on panel.

Emblematic of Painting

Standing next the pond edge I watched and painted the late afternoon sun lighting everything up. When I stopped painting all had faded into shadows.  A reflecting pond is emblematic of painting itself.  Painting a reflective pond is...what?   9x12 inches, oil on linen panel.

Pattern-Mode

A painting I did Saturday morning at the edge of the pond in Grafton, MA.  Reflections put me in a pattern-mode.  9x12 inches, oil on linen panel.

 

Irresistible Rhythm

The tree trunks spanned the pond; only those on either side of my sight were pointing up, while all the rest were reflections.  Their rhythm across the water was irresistible. 9x12 inches, oil on panel, charcoal on paper.

The Sun Shone On The Tree

In the distant water to my left sat two large beaver lodges, closer by a slowly passing snake was cutting the surface, and everywhere the birds were singing.  The sun shone on the tree.  Lucky for me I had my painting gear. 9x12 inches, oil on panel, charcoal on paper.

In The Suburbs

While in the suburbs, I had an hour or so.  I wandered around the front yard, and then the back yard, before I set up in the front yard.  9x12 inches, oil on panel.

Unknown Pond

When I first heard of this small pond, I never imagined how overgrown and impassable would be its edges, except for one access point.  And it's in eastern Massachusetts in a fairly well-developed area.  While quietly painting yesterday at the pond, I witnessed numerous splashes, sources unknown to me, and a muskrat crossing over from one side to other.  There's an old beaver lodge on the opposite shore, but all the  dropped trees and chewed stumps are not recent. 9x12 inches, oil on linen; 9x12 inches, pencil on paper.