Journal 1/10/13

Another studio shelf, this time with pottery from Provence.

Journal 1/9/13

A studio shelf in cold January light.

Journal 1/1/13

Happy New Year! One of my many resolutions is to pick up the practice again of starting each day with a one hour "journal" painting that pays attention to the here and now (today a look across my road to trees, fields, mountain and snow.)

"Journal" paintings are available from my studio for $200. shipping included. Please click here to reserve.

Journal: Cloud Shadow, Afternoon

Looking west towards where the weather (a rain shower that arrived a half hour into my painting) comes over the mountain.

Journal: Edge of Pond, Afternoon

Between storms today I painted down at the pond, where dragonflies were drying their wings and frogs carried on a lively conversation about the weather.

Journal: Fields and Trees, Morning

Back to my daily exercise of focusing on the present (which is one way to pay respect to the past.)

Journal: Path to the Field

Birch trees, pines, and Grit Hill in the distance, all in late afternoon sun and shadow.

Journal: Edge of Pond, Morning

I'm starting to think that this is the most beautiful, if subtlest, time of the year here.

Journal: Self Portrait by Bathroom Window

A day of changing weather both outside and inside the studio (where I have learned it is best to ignore storms, droughts and freezes, and just keep painting).

Journal: Pines and Birches, April Morning

Seeing this new, tender color during my morning walk with Roo got me out of the studio for my first plein air study of the season.

Journal: Morning in April

A time limit of ninety minutes allows just the simplest statement of what I see, looking through the dining room window, across the road to woods and pond.

Journal: First Spring Flowers

These few flowers that I picked in the front garden opened confidently during a warm week in March, and then hunkered down to wait out April's cold winds.

Journal: Squash and Blue Plate

The last of my winter squash, on one of my much-used, mismatched, Willow Ware plates.

Journal: Garlic and Shallots

I'm back home in Vermont , and chill winds blowing a few snowflakes are back, too. For my "warm-up" painting today I found these remnants from last year's garden.

Journal: Hedges and Trees

After twelve hours in the car yesterday it felt good to be outside painting this afternoon at Dumbarton Oaks, where spring flowers have arrived a bit early.

Journal: Ginseng and Plums

As soon two things are placed together (even mysterious food items from a Chinatown grocery) they enter into a relationship.

Journal: Polish Peppers

The second of my "daily journal" paintings, looking at another in my still life prop collection of beautiful food items I'd be afraid to eat.

Journal: Indian Pickles

As I've been engrossed in the studio with a new series of Vermont landscapes, I'm finding I miss paying attention to the little things I see every day here at home or out in the changing weather. So I'm back to doing small "journal paintings" in the morning as a warm-up for studio painting. My rules (hey, I'm a Virgo) for these are: 8" x 8" gessoed board, seven colors (white plus six primaries), directly observed, and no more than ninety minutes. Here are Indian mango pickles that I bought in Montreal, because who could pass up that color.

Journal: First Bouquet

Here are the first flowers up in my dooryard garden--when I return from Paris in two weeks, they will be joined by tulips, forsythia, and the first baby bleeding hearts.
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Journal: Vernal Pond

A vernal pond comes every spring for a few weeks, only to disappear as the warm weather of summer arrives--and taking away with it a nightly chorus of peepers, family of visiting ducks, and black lab Roscoe's favorite spot for a quick dip in cool water.
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