Sunday Sketchbook: Paris

 My last day in Paris (unless my flight is delayed by frankenstorm), and I'm off this morning to see a little more art, stand in a few more queues, and drink a cup or two more cafe cremes as I plan my next trip back.

Studies

I spent yesterday in the Louvre, and looked for a long while at two paintings by Poussin and Titian that combine both great formal beauty and immense compassion (a rare combination in art.)

Pond Edge at Bolton, Autumn

I celebrated being back home in Vermont after time away teaching by going up to the Bolton backcountry to paint on a beautiful fall morning last week. The Vermont Land Trust is working to save this land from development, and this painting will be in a benefit show that you can learn about here.

From the Dock, Portland, Maine

I went looking for something to paint on a very windy day in Portland, and walking to the end of a downtown dock found another of those plein air moments of magic in the ordinary: three storage tanks glowing between water and a sky so blue and shimmering, that for a few moments I thought I might be hallucinating.

Tanks at Sunset, Maine

Standing in the town park in Searsport, painting storage tanks and a boat while the afternoon turned pink and cerulean blue.

Stream and Pines, Maine

I found this meandering stream late in a day of exploring the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge near Eastport and, painting as quickly as I could, tried to catch the changing light as it became more mellow, and the shadows as they turned more sensuous.

From the Park, Belfast, Maine

The town park in Belfast is a quiet place on a cloudy day, with only an occasional sniffing dog to disturb a painter's struggle over the colors of trees and sky.

Campobello Islands

I'm back to the land of internet, but still thinking about the beauty of water and sky in Maine.

Lubec from Campobello

Standing on a rocky beach on Canada's Campobello Island on a warm and sunny afternoon, looking across Johnson Bay to the old fishing town of Lubec, Maine.

Sheep and Trough, Summer Morning

I've been busy with my Vermont landscape workshop this week, and today was very happy to be with my hard-working group up at the Comstock house in Plainfield, painting quickly shifting sun, shadows and sheep.

Breezy Day, Alburgh

Alburgh is one of the Champlain Islands, and painting here is as close as I can come in Vermont to that coastal feeling of being surrounded by the pearly light of open sea.

Vines and Trees, Provence

My last painting from this year's time in Provence, with a vineyard once again in late afternoon light, and the color of a lavender field repeating in the shadows of pine trees and a distant cliff.

Grape Vines, Early Evening, Provence

If paintings were composers, I think this would be Debussy.

Path Through Vineyards

I went out in the late afternoon behind our hamlet to a favorite spot, where two walking paths converge, and row upon row of grape vines disappear into the distance.

Cliff in Afternoon, Lioux, Provence

Even if the lavender wasn't in bloom, this hidden field would be a magical place to paint.

Morning Sun, Provence

Late and shadow shapes on walls open up to mountain and sky on a narrow street in Murs.

Blond Model with Ponytail

This study from a night figure session has a much wider palette, and very different mood,  from yesterday's painting.

Unsettled Weather, Hopetown Harbor

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