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.

Urban Beaver

Last Saturday I visited a large beaver colony in the middle of a forest in Plainfield, MA.  The above is a 9x12 oil on paper view of a swamp created by the beavers.  It's an animal version of an urban area, with all the confusion and complexity one would expect.  I saw at least two beaver dams, several ponds, and some beaver houses, as well as some beavers, and multitudes of cut down trees.

Swamp

This painting is an 11x14 pastel of the swamp at Field Farm.  

Swamp at Field Farm

A short break from Brooklyn. 8x10 pastel.

Moonscape Swamp

This is the same moonscape swamp with the thin sheet of ice.

Van Gogh has arrived in Paris. When his brother suggested he come, he was really hoping he wouldn't.

Moonscape and Van Gogh Update

What looks like a desert or moonscape is a barely frozen swamp at Field Farm.

In the Van Gogh biography I have reached 1885. Theo is urging his brother to move to Paris, to take heed of the Impressionists, and to do landscapes. Vincent wants to stay in Holland, thinks the Impressionists are facile and shallow, and wants to do figure paintings in brown and black.

Swamp at Field Farm

What attracted me to this view of the swamp at Field Farm is the reflection of the mountains in the water. This one is done on pastelmat paper with pastel only.