Sunday Sketchbook: Paris

Two sketches from a lovely Sunday spent wandering like a flâneur (an idling stroller) along the Seine.

Click here for an online view of my exhibit Paris/Provence.

Indian Summer

A look back to Maine in autumn color, during a grey winter day here in Vermont.

Available from Gallery North Star.

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.

Road through the Village, Winter

A view of my village of Plainfield in the dramatic, rosy light that one sometimes sees for just a few minutes at the end of a winter day.

Available from Gallery North Star.

Hill Farm, December Evening

A wish to you from here on the hill for a peaceful and happy holiday.

Available from Gallery North Star.

From the Market, Provence

A sunny spring morning in southern France, rather than a grey and wet afternoon in northern Vermont.

Sunday Sketchbook: Paris

Two sketches from the Musee D'Orsay's "Paris A La Mode" exhibit examining fashion in Impressionist painting--the top one looking at hats from the period and in paintings by Degas, and below, my study of a Berthe Morisot figure painting that was lovely for both subtlety of drawing and mastery of color (one hundred shades of gray.)

Click here for an online view of my exhibit Paris/Provence.

Seine, Cloudy Day

There is no place greyer than Paris on a cloudy day--but even then, it's beautiful.

Click here for an online view of my exhibit Paris/Provence.

Five Pitchers from Provence

Of the still life objects I've worked with over the years, I'd say pitchers have the most personality--and these five have an assertive sense of style that is most definitely Gallic.

Click here for an online view of my exhibit Paris/Provence.

The Seine towards Musee D'Orsay

The word "luminous" comes to mind when I'm walking in Paris--the limestone facades, expanse of river, and long, intricate history of this city all "radiating and reflecting light".

Click here for an online view of my exhibit Paris/Provence.

Sunday Sketchbook: Paris

 Here I am drawing, in a happy state of focused and oblivious observation, in the Paris metro.

Click here for an online view of my exhibit Paris/Provence.

Farm by the Inlet

For the past couple of weeks I've been holed up in my studio beginning and finishing paintings, including this one from a back road in down east Maine.

Available from Gallery North Star.

Path to the Bay

Another plein air study from my weekend on the Eastern shore, this time on protected land in the Delaware Seashore State Park during the "golden hour" of late afternoon.

Looking North, Ocean City

A hotel glowing in the sun like an enchanted castle (rather than a Holiday Inn) at the end of a golden November day.

Sunday Sketchbook: Maryland Shore

Traveling along the Eastern Shore for a few days, and looking here at the thin strip of man's handiwork between ocean and bay.

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.)

From Ile St. Louis

 Sitting on the quay in late sun on an autumn afternoon, as a black barge and evening chill move slowly down the Seine.

Une Petite Chose 2

Another little confection from the corner patisserie, this time a tartelette citron.

Sunday Sketchbook: Paris

A page from my "workshop" sketchbook, full of notes about paintings and sketches from around town with my students--and this Sunday morning I'm leaving my apartment with an empty sketchbook for my last week of solitary strolls along quays, boulevards and museum corridors.

Une Petite Chose 1

A "little thing" from Paris, which abounds in beautiful little things. (After two days in museums preparing for the workshop, it was time to paint, even if it was also time to go to sleep...)

Sunday Sketchbook: Paris

I'm on my way to Paris, where I'm leading an art history and sketchbook workshop, and then staying on to paint, walk and generally just enjoy being in such a wonderful place (the only place I'd rather be than Vermont in October.)

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.

Town Fair: Snack Stand

I'm leaving today for five days painting and camping in downeast Maine, and will post when I can find wifi--meanwhile here's a painting from my upcoming show at West Branch Gallery.