The Pond on Rice Farm Road

It was an exquisite fall day in my neighborhood two weeks ago...and the days here have been mostly soggy for months. I spent the afternoon painting this Vermont scene amidst the birds (?) rustling in the cattails next to me and quite a few leaf peepers driving by on the dirt road.

That was two weeks ago and Black Mountain, where I live, has turned into winter rather suddenly. This is another of the Transitions series. 12 x 16 pastels.

My new studio is growing on me. And some days I can actually find what I am looking for. (Yes, I did put the pliers in that drawer, but why?) It is quiet and warm and bright and near home....and thanks to the local Tru-Value housewares guy, it smells good now. So, I am settling in for a long winter's work.

Later this month I am showing some of my new work at the Butternut Gallery and Second Story Books, in Montrose, PA as part of a show called FRACTURED; an exhibit of photographs, pastel paintings and writing that explores the social ramifications of gas drilling in Susquehanna County, curated by Michael Poster and Melissa Whalen Haertsch. FRACTURED will be on display from November 25 - with an opening from 6-8pm, Friday - through December 31, closing at 3pm. Zoe Poster and Pete Comly, among others, will have work in the show, too.

Day 2 of Bella's Garden

I told you yesterday it was going to be strong & wild & chaotic, didn't I? Today I added the colors. I started with the blooms and suggested foliage. I spread the colors all over, not just in one spot. I maintained the vibrant action in the painting and I had a great deal of fun doing it. Can you tell? I have quite a few layers of pastel in places, so I have had to resort to removing some of it with a #4 bristle flat brush, just in the places I needed to use a light color and didn't have enough tooth left to make it stick. Now I am reaching for my softer brands...Senneliers & Unisons. I need a day to look at it and analyze. A well-behaved painting will tell me what it needs. I think this is one. Check in tomorrow and leave comments, please.

Revisiting a Site

Over the years I've noticed that certain specific locations are fertile ground for my paintings. This particular place has given me more than a few good paintings. It is a comfortable place to paint on a bridge. It is rare to have low traffic while enjoying an elevated vantage point. Many years ago I realized the benefits to be gained from returning to "the scene". At that time I was persisting, stubbornly, in trying to paint a certain small waterfall with disastrous results time and again. On my self-declared final try I got a painting I liked. I think it was then that the light bulb went off! I need more than one painting session to learn enough about a location to make a decent painting. These days I have fewer failures and more successes the first time out, but it is still a pleasure to paint a familiar spot on an unfamiliar day and see what kind of "new" painting emerges. In fact, it is very rewarding and comfortable.