Sketch Group Visits the Petting Farm

Yesterday was a great day...not just because it finally stopped raining. Friday morning Tai Chi class always puts me in a happy mood, then in the afternoon our sketch group drew farm animals....but not all of them. I completely did not have time to draw any bovines. I'm going back soon for the Scottish Highland calves, cow and huge ox and for the  young steers, assorted sheep, goats, llama and chickens. I tried to get a good drawing of 4 miniature donkeys, but I think I was smitten by CUTE and was unable to function. Next time I will stay all day. (Next time I will not sit on a hay bale in stretch pants to draw the donkeys...hard to concentrate.)

These are quick charcoal sketches made at Brattleboro, Vermont  Retreat Petting Farm. What a great place....and not just for kids. The animals have it pretty good and were chosen, not just for their good looks, but are friendly. Visitors are encouraged to feed hay to certain animals. They like this and are quite obliging.

Yes, animals move a lot. Get over it. Do your best to observe and remember...this is a skill that can be developed through practice. Look for actions that will be repeated over and over. If the rabbit is chased out of his box by the gang of four year olds, the rabbit will return asap. If mama pig has just been given a huge pile of grain, she will stand right there until it is gone, lest her piglets should steal a kernel from her. Not every page of your sketchbook needs to be pretty...many will have fragments of feet, tails, ears and noses...unpaid models who fled.

I wanted to bring that little black and white piggy home....at least I have my sketch. Squeeeeeeeeaaaal! snort.

My years of sketching at The Harford, PA County Fair paid off yesterday.

Our sketch group welcomes fellow drawers.

Water Power!

My friend and I painted along the Ashuelot River in south western New Hampshire yesterday morning. We chose neighboring towns; Westminster and Hinsdale...(our chatter didn't annoy each other...just innocent passers-by). My 14 x 18 pastel Homes Along Ashuelot River was done in about two hours of intense work with another hour of work and looking in the studio today. It is finished, mostly.

The Ashuelot River is beautiful, varied, freshly stocked with fish (I saw state of NH doing that) and of great economic, cultural and historical interest. Grist mills, saw mills, paper mills, fabric mills, electricity generation-today and yesterday. I will check out my presumption, but these homes probably housed workers at the huge brick shabby industrial complex across the river. ??? Sometimes an artistic decision on my part arouses my curiosity and I will have to figure out what was manufactured there and when.

We are both going back tomorrow for another chance to spend a day on the Ashuelot, hopefully with dry feet.

Welcome Hill

Today is my first time painting out of the studio this year. My new knee is now working much better than the old one and I was really eager to be out plein air painting. What a lovely day to join two friends and zip over to New Hampshire, to a road called Welcome Hill. It is 3 miles from my home and I'll be going back before the daffodils, magnolias and bloodroot are all gone. Some one did a lot of planting quite some time ago by the looks of the trees and then made us all feel welcome to enjoy them. There are two benches to overlook the "wild" woodland gardens. SOLD

This is a poor ipad photo taken by me as I brought my painting in off the easel. sorry. Better one to follow. After painting this 16 x16 I was too lazy to use a real camera.

Butternut Enters 8th Year

This past weekend I visited Montrose , PA for my mother's memorial service. I stopped in at the Butternut Gallery where one of my recent pastel paintings, Vermont Garden Triptych looks good on the wall. As usual, I was in good company...some old friends,  excellent painters and intriguing work in many media. The graphite artist, Zoe Tilley Poster has some of her charming "beasts" on exhibit, too.

Unfortunately the photo I took at the gallery was of unacceptable quality so I'll post a pen and ink drawing I did on March 12.

and a pencil wash sketch I did last week during our weekly cafe sketch gathering.

ipad methodology

Because during winter in Vermont most days are too cold or too short for plein air painting, this is the time of year I do my studio work.

During the last year I've found more and more uses for a new favorite tool. My ipad goes most places that I do. I take pictures with it. I use those photos primarily as inspiration, but also as sources when developing ideas for new paintings.  I do not paint literally from photos. Nor do I want my paintings to be mistaken for photographs. My own photo references jog my memory, suggest elements, inspire light effects.

After a session of studio work before I turn out the lights and leave the building, I photograph whatever is on my easel. This gives me a daily record of progress. It also allows me to continue the process elsewhere...3 miles away over coffee before dawn. It was simpler when my studio was attached to my house, but the ipad helps bridge the 3 mile gap.

I do not digitally manipulate either my source photos or the photos of my paintings. I don't care about the quality of my photos. They are always good enough to use for ideas. I plan how I will continue my work when I get back to the studio. It is a chance to step back and think.

Somewhere in the act of transferring work from the easel to a computer screen a critical eye appears; the magic editing tool! Awkward areas, not quite right color choices and clunky composition decisions jump off the screen to hit the artist over the head. Thank you, thank you.

This 24 x 30 winter garden scape is in process right now. I'll post the finished painting sometime. I toned white Wallis paper with pastel and odorless thinner and am working in multiple layers of soft pastel.

Birds of a feather...

....in spirit at least.

"I don't mean to complain about my own garden. It serves me and satisfies me quite well, except at the moments when I get into despair over it: very frequent moments, when I long to have some other sort of garden, quite different; a garden in Spain, a garden in Italy, a garden in Provence, a garden in Scotland."

                                                     Vita Sackville-West

Our new cat

'Charley Parker' was adopted from Windham County Humane Society on a very lucky day in December. They have a no adoption fee program for older pets going to homes of seniors. They listed my cat at "over three"...his exact age is unknown. 

He likes to play with toys. He doesn't mind the dogs at all, despite the drooling, barking and nose poking. He seems to like all humans. And he is a very amusing large cat. Charley Parker is surprisingly dog-like; he greets us at the door along with his two canine buddies and can often be found lying next to them. He gallops on the wooden stair treads around our home, his large paws sounding like little hoofs. He can take a hint (don't walk on the keyboard). And, best of all, he naps often making him an excellent model. 

Our vet has put him on a "weight management program" (less food-duh) because he has no apparent waist! Oh, well...just like some of the rest of us 'seniors'. I think he's perfect. He loves lap-sitting. Here are 2 charcoal drawings of him and a pen and ink of how my other sweetie starts his day... with Charley.