A Tree at Cheshire Lake

A view of Cheshire Lake facing north at Farnum's Crossing: a 12x12 oil on panel.  I found a spot under another tree from which to paint this view earlier today.

Five Pages

Five recent pages from my  walk and draw sketchbook.

Sitting

I'm in between paintings, so here's a drawing that I did while gallery sitting at Gallery 4 this week.

Storefronts

The ancient summer light of old storefronts on Summer Street in Adams, MA: an 18x24 oil on canvas.

Pleasant Street

The other day I mentioned that I had been to Adams.  Here's the first of another series of paintings focusing on the town of Adams.  I like the older buildings and neighborhoods there.  This painting depicts Pleasant Street.  I wonder if there's an Easy Street in Adams.

I've been reading a book on the Spanish painter Antonio Lopez Garcia, who has painted cityscapes of Madrid.  He takes years to complete a cityscape leading him to strip out all "ephemera as cars and people."  I can't paint at such a slow pace, but I do tend to leave out people, but not cars.  Cars keep still longer than people.

Cheshire Lake and Old Store Fronts

To continue with my water theme, this morning I visited Cheshire Lake and painted this 9x12 oil on panel at Farnum's Crossing.  The lake edge next to where I was standing was full of sunfish.  Earlier I walked around the St. Stanislaus Church neighborhood in Adams.  I didn't know that Summer Street, adjacent to the church, is (or was) like an alternative main street that now suggests an older and bygone time.  By that I mean the buildings all contain old store fronts, some still active, some not so much. 

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Rocky Shore

A late afternoon view facing east at Schoodic Point in Acadia National Park, an 18x24 oil on canvas.  Rocky shores are inviting and threatening at the same time.

Looking Over

Another seascape, an 18x24 oil on canvas, of a view from the Ocean Path at Acadia National Park, not too far from the beginning of the path.  I've been to this spot many times, looking over these fierce rocks to the jutting headland, and am always struck by the formal pictorial elements, which form such visual beauty.

Ogunquit Edge

This 20x30 oil on canvas is another view of the shore at Ogunquit from the Marginal Way.  The view at the back of the onlooker is more domesticated than what one sees looking out into the ocean.  The edge is always a place where one can be in two opposing worlds at the same time, one seemingly more barren and dangerous than the other, but always with an enticing beauty.

Giant Rock

A 24x24 studio oil on canvas of an early morning view from the Marginal Way in Ogunquit, Maine.  If you have walked the Marginal Way, you have seen and may remember this giant rock.

Another Drawing

Here's a second figure drawing, also on a sheet approximately 14x11 inches.

Drawing Session

A charcoal drawing, 11x14 inches, from a recent life drawing session.

Brook

Nothing happened this morning except that I carried my stuff back to the cow pasture with the stream running through it, and I painted a 12x16 oil on panel painting.

Brook and Paw Spans

This time I painted from a small wooden bridge that spans the brook.  Sections of the bridge planks are pitched at different angles and not level at all.  Also early in the morning the planks are wet and slippery.  This morning I noticed something new, large scratch marks, from a creature crossing the bridge with difficulty requiring the use of claws to maintain balance.  The claw marks were as wide as my hand, so I suspect that a bear uses the same bridge, fortunately, at a different time of day.

Nudes, Tree, and Cows

Today after I saw the exhibition "Splendor; Myth and Vision: Nudes from the Prado," I climbed the hill behind the Clark, and yes, the cows were there eating that much nicer grass.  Actually, it looks nicer too, full of flowers, not as high, and lighter in appearance, but I'm just guessing.   I saw a beautifully lit tree, which I proceeded to draw as quickly as I could before the light changed too much.