Sunday Sketchbook: Bahamas

Waiting in the morning outside Vernon's little grocery store, looking at the flotsam in the side yard, and waiting in the afternoon across the sidewalk at Munchies snack shop for my order of fish, salad and Kalik beer.

Pink House, Hopetown

A confection of a cottage, floating over a creme de menthe sea and under a sky of whipped cream clouds.

House and Dunes, Afternoon

I'm back home in winter Vermont after my Bahamas workshop, and already looking forward to painting the sky and ocean of Elbow Cay again next winter.

Houses and Dunes, Elbow Cay

A blustery wind never stopped blowing yesterday, and our class painted with a new vigor as we tried to keep up with the pace set by fast-dancing palms and waves.

Breezy Afternoon, Hopetown Harbour

Yesterday the wind blew the grey away, and filled the newly-blue sky with a regatta of clouds that raced past the stolid lighthouse and anchored sailboats.

Buildings by the Beach, Hopetown

While I was painting this sitting on the bleachers at the Hopetown recreation field, little kids began assembling around me for a cook-out and talent show, and the smell of burgers and sound of the same song practiced over and over proved a bit distracting!

Unsettled Weather, Hopetown Harbor

Drizzle, chill, wind and a moment of sun made for an exciting plein air outing.

Stormy Day, Elbow Cay

No bright whites and clean blue shadows today, but to compensate for the lack of sun, there's the saturated color of a cloudy sky and windy-swept trees.

Hopetown Cottage, Late Afternoon

I painted outside in gouache for the first time ever today, and really enjoyed the combination of opacity and transparency the medium offers for quick work outside--plus gouache offers the option to wipe a painting down and start over a few times!

Sunday Sketchbook: Bahamas

My studio here in the frozen north is full of just started and almost finished canvases, so my apologies for sparse postings--but this Tuesday I'll be on a plane and ferry heading to my workshop in the Bahamas, so I'll have a painting a day to share for the next week (and from a warm place...)

Sunday Sketchbook: Vermont

This barn lost its purpose when cow herds and square bales disappeared--but the beautiful form (hopefully refitted to another function) remains.

Carousel

Waiting for dusk on the first day of a small town fair.

Click here for first stage of "Carousel".

Walking Up (Middlebury), in progress

From establishing the drawing and values to laying in first colors, I find the early stages of a painting both the most exciting and most uncertain parts of a long process.

Walking Up (Middlebury), study

Here's a color study for a new oil painting that's the kind (my favorite kind) of composition that asks us to look up, over, between and around.

Sunday Sketchbook: Canada

Listening to Latino musicians performing in a cafe while I'm on a quick trip to Montreal for an infusion of ethnic food (a commodity that's in short supply in Vermont).

Bend in the Road (in progress)

To paraphrase painter Wolf Kahn, barns are the cathedrals of rural America.

Bend in the Road (study)

A watercolor study for a new oil painting, thinking about color relationships by limiting my palette to a single blue, yellow and red.

Sunday Sketchbook: Vermont

Driving south in Vermont this week I was sad to still see damage from Hurricane Irene along stream beds and river banks, with many homes empty, and businesses (such as this restaurant near Sharon) closed until further notice.

Two Barns, Winter (in progress)

First stage of a new painting that's about temperatures of light and patterns of shadow.

Two Barns, Winter (study)

An aged and ramshackle barn used just for storage now, but still with glimpses of beauty it its lines, light and color.

Sunday Sketchbook: New York

I made a trip down to New York City this week to see the Indian miniature, Renaissance portrait, and Willem de Kooning exhibits (as well as some favorites from the Met's and Moma's permanent collections.) I came home very inspired by these many artists, so separated by time, country and culture, yet sharing many similarities in approaches to color and composition, and all speaking the same universal language of visual art.

Sunday Sketchbook: Vermont

Happy New Year to you! My resolution for 2012 is to slow down a bit, and pay less attention to the past and future and more to the here and now (which on my walk this January morning was a view of fog lifting off of snowy Grit Hill.)

Season's Greetings!

Best Wishes from snowy Vermont for a cozy and contemplative Christmas.

Barnyard, Cloudy Morning

My blog's been quiet for the last week, as I've been reorganizing my studio (click here to see), preparing canvases for the new landscape series, and finishing this painting.

Barn and Bales

I've been indoors the last week painting images of summer and meanwhile, outside my studio windows, the whites of winter have finally arrived.

Sharon, VT

Here's another Vermont town that, nestled between a mountain and river, was hit hard by flood waters this summer.

To purchase and donate to flood relief.

Carousel (in progress)

Here's the start of the second painting of my carnival trio, which at this stage feels like a vintage daguerreotype taken in the 1800's by an itinerant photographer of small town life.

Piero, Fruit and pitchers (detail)

My thanks go out for nature's bounty, and for our friends, family, and home, and thanks to the makers of art, and the lovers of art. . . Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Snack Stand (in progress)

One of three paintings I have underway inspired by an empty carnival ground on a village green I happened upon while driving a back road in Vermont.

Fourth of July (in progress)

As I add color, trying also to add the heat and haze of a small town summer day.