Green Into Hoosic

Hoosic and Green Rivers, Williamstown, MA. 8x10 inches, oil on canvas panel.  Yesterday I went to the same spot as the day before but looked right instead of left. Here the Green River flows from the right into the Hoosic.

Rivers Joining

Green and Hoosic Rivers, Williamstown, MA. 8x10 inches, oil on canvas panel.  Yesterday afternoon I painted where the Green River intersects with the Hoosic River forming a "T".  There's a sandy beach here since the water is unusually low.  

Two Rivers Meet

Hoosic and Green Rivers, Williamstown, MA. 12x12 inches, oil on linen panel.  The river waters are low, so I had a wide beach to paint from where the two rivers meet.

 

Try To Find It

The fall of the water is loud, and the sound is constant; it doesn't change. The water, on the other hand, moves everywhere all at once, though it repeats a loose pattern shaped by the rocks.  It's exhilarating to try to find it.  Today's painting at Mount Hope Park in Williamstown, MA.  9x12 inches, oil on canvas panel.

Even the Rocks

If I keep painting this river, eventually I'll figure it out.  Or maybe I won't. Constant change and turbulence, with some things changing less quickly.  Squint, squint!  Even the rocks change! At the Green River at Mount Hope Park in Williamstown, MA. 9x12 inches, oil on canvas panel.

The Rush of the River

Since I didn't want to be too far from the car, in case it started to rain, I took a more typical vantage point (for me) to paint the rush of the Green River at Mount Hope Park in Williamstown, MA.  But the weather report was more threatening than the actual weather. 9x12 inches, oil on canvas panel.

Churning Waters

For this painting of the Green River at Mount Hope Park, done this morning, I chose a different location just to the left of the bridge entrance.  A lot of water is churning from the recent rains. 9x12 inches, oil on canvas panel.

Green Meets Hoosic

This location is where the Green River flows directly into the Hoosic River in Williamstown, MA.  I painted here back in March when it looked quite different. 10x10 inches, oil on linen panel.

The Falls at Mount Hope Park

Another beautiful day, another plein air painting.  I seem to be attracted to water, in this case, the falls at Mount Hope Park in Williamstown, MA.  9x12 inches, oil on gessobord.

Flanking Willows

Ancient willows flank the Green River along Route 43 in Williamstown, MA.  9x12 inches, oil on canvas panel.  

Where One River Flows Into Another

This is the where the Green River flows into the Hoosick River next to the bridge on the new walking trail in Williamstown, MA.  I plan on painting at this spot periodically as the seasons progress. 9x12 inches, oil on panel.

A Dry Spot Mid-Stream

The Green River at Mount Hope Park is so low that I stood in a dry spot mid-stream to paint this view facing north. 12x9 inches, oil on linen canvas.

While On A Large Rock

The day was perfect for standing on a large rock in the middle of the Green River and painting what was in front of me at Mount Hope Park in Williamstown, MA.  8x16 inches, oil on linen panel.

Where A Brook Joins

Standing at the end of the spit of land where a brook that comes down alongside Hopper Road joins the Green River, I painted the view facing north.  I was at Mount Hope Park in Williamstown, MA.  9x12 inches, oil on linen panel.

Remnant

Looking down the Green River where it bends before an old stone wall.  Besides stone walls, there are remnants pedestrian bridges in this section of the river at Mount Hope Farm in Williamstown, MA.  8x10 inches, oil on linen panel.

Falling

The Green River falling just before the bridge at Mount Hope Park in Williamstown, MA.  8x10 inches, oil on linen panel.

A Deliberate Process

When I did this one I was perched on some rocks, so backing up to look at the painting had to be a deliberate process.  8x10 inches, oil on linen panel.  

Painted Looking Down

A bend in the Green River at Mount Hope Farm where an ancient stone wall contains the flow: I painted looking down from the wall.  8x10 inches, oil on linen panel.  

Always On The Move

A view looking down the Green River at Mount Hope Farm in Williamstown, MA from a shady spot a couple mornings ago.  The Green River flows north on a meandering course into the Hoosic River in Williamstown.  The Hoosic ends up going into the Hudson River.  The river water is always on the move. 8x10 inches, oil on linen panel.

The Paradox Of Painting

Here I am trying to paint moving water in the Green River at Mount Hope Park in Williamstown, MA.

I've been reading the book Monet: Nature Into Art by John House.  He writes, "The idea of instantaneity, as Monet confronted it around 1890, reflects the ultimate paradox of the painter's practice, the point at which painting is forced to acknowledge its categorical disjunction from the perceived world: the work of art, produced over a period of time and viewed in time, transcends the instant which ostensibly it claims to capture."   8x10 inches, oil on linen panel.