Vestigial Duplication

This 8x10 pen and ink drawing represents a garage on Lincoln Place near Bedford Avenue.  It always seems such an extravagance to have a small two car garage on a street lined with brownstones, a vestige of a different past.  I've done this garage before, but this time, I was attracted by the geometry left by the sun and snow that duplicates the garage's shapes.  This is drawing number 59.

Painting Winter for July

One more simple winter painting, another 12x12 oil on canvas, of some birch trees.  I have a few more that I am working on, but can see the time soon when I will stop painting winter.  Remember that these paintings will look refreshing in July and August.

Gully Vanish

This 12x12 oil on canvas painting depicts a gully edged with tall pine trees, planted years ago, I was told, to hold the banks in place.  I completed the painting a few days ago based upon a digital reference from last week.  Yesterday, when I returned to look at the gully, most of the snow was already gone.  I spent the afternoon snowshoeing up and down the side of a nearby mountain.  I was there last week as well, but didn't go up as far.  Based upon what I trudged through last week, I find it amazing how quickly the snow is disappearing.

Screen of Trees

A 12x12 oil on canvas of a view on Constitution Hill in Lanesborough.   Through the screen of trees the view extends for miles as you climb up to the top.  Winter in the woods offers the opportunity for composing with verticals and horizontals, the old cubist grid.  I think the old cubist grid existed before cubism.  As I write this, and look outside my studio window,  the spot where the squirrel was digging in the snow yesterday is now bare.

A New Day

The endless winter seems to be fading, the snow evaporating rapidly.  I'm watching out my studio window a gray squirrel digging in the snow for some cached food.  He doesn't seem to have to go down as deep as I've seen earlier.  I was going to post another winter painting, but not yet.  The above pen and ink is from the corner of Van Brunt and Commerce Streets in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn.

The Stage Is Set

The 57th pen and ink is an eye-grabber.  It depicts the corner of Delavan and Richards Streets in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn.  It's early in the morning, and the sun is just rising.  There's a park across the street that allows the low sun to reach this building to create a dramatic setting.

Places in Brooklyn

Pen and ink drawing number fifty-six depicts a small side street, St. Charles Place where it connects with Lincoln Place, in Brooklyn.

Endless Loop

An 8x10 pen and ink drawing, with pastel and charcoal, of a view a bit further up Franklin Avenue from Carroll Street in Brooklyn.  The store fronts line up just like the cars.  I'm caught in a loop between Brooklyn and Winter.

Still in the Woods

Meanwhile back in Brooklyn, on Franklin Avenue near Carroll Street, oh..., it's still winter there too.  Even in Brooklyn, we're not out of the woods yet.  Number 54.

One Mere Winter

One more winter painting,  a 12x12 oil on canvas, of a location probably with a hidden stream, at Field Farm on the north side,  on a day when the sun was shining, but a thin cloud cover somewhat diminished its strength.  Soon enough all this snow will be followed by water and mud.

Square Hill

A second painting of Constitution Hill, a 12x12 oil on canvas.  The square format strengthens the tensions between slope, sky, trees and shadows, plus that of the color and the natural ambiguity of the setting.

Even in Winter

This oil painting has the same proportions as yesterday's, but is larger, 18x24 inches.  It also displays a new location for me, Constitution Hill in Lanesborough, MA.  This view is at the bottom of the hill.  The landscape painter Neil Welliver commented once how the woods are a "mess".  He was able to bring some order to the woods in his paintings, but to me the "mess" is inherent to the woods.  One can be standing in the woods, and looking, and looking, and still not be able to see clearly.  Even in winter the woods are a mess, but the ground, if snow covered, at least is much simpler.

Wintry Mix

This 9x12 oil on canvas is a view of the stream cut in the opposite direction of the winter painting that I posted under "Wintry Blues".  There's a narrow foot bridge partway down the embankment that spans the gully.  This year the bridge as well as both sides of the bank are covered with snow and ice, making the crossing a bit treacherous.  I used cerulean blue, lemon yellow, and quinacridone red.  In the "Wintry Blues" painting I used cobalt blue, cadmium yellow, and quinacridone red.  For each winter painting, I've been selecting different blues, yellows and reds.  I also use titanium white.  It's fun to see what one can do with just a few colors.   

Large Abstract Shape

The sun also rises to meet the wall of a large warehouse at the end of Richards Street near Seabring Street in Brooklyn's Red Hook section.  This is one of those streets that one might drive through quickly without paying attention to get to the expressway.

The Appearance of Warmth

Back in Red Hook with a view of Seabring Street going towards Van Brunt Street.  The early morning sun illuminates the wall of a large warehouse.  Yes, that is a stretch limo that is parked there.  Even though the temperature is about zero and the wind is blowing, the sun makes the scene appear warmer.