Pumpkin perch

Ode to fall. I stumbled upon this scene in Waitsfield dropping off paintings across the street at a gallery. If I remember correctly it was the Cross Country Ski Club's front porch. Anyway....I love painting pumpkins. There is just something magical about them. I don't know if it is from childhood or what, but I believe in the great pumpkin so don't tell me otherwise.
In deconstructing this painting the white of the paper is key. So it was carving these whites out of the paper slowely with light washes of blues and purples to creat the banaster. I love trying to create reflection. I think it works in the glass of the windows...again an example of really dark darks next to light.

Thelma and Louise

This painting has an abstract quality to it (that wasn't my intention), but some people see a bunny in it.....in case you fall into this catagory it is two cows. They lived down the road from my old house. I knocked on the door of the farmer and asked if I could go in the pasture and photograph his cows. I didn't think about what I would do if they started coming towards me which they did. You know those cute white and black cows from the highway that are an inch tall.....when you stand next to them they are ten feet tall. I just kept snapping pictures and hoped they wouldnt tackle me. This is the painting that experience turned in to. I don't see many holstein cows here and miss the black and white contrast to the green landscape. I guess the red and white pinto against the desert landscape is a nice trade off.

Waiting for Gourdo

This painting was for the Town Hall Theater in Middlebury many years ago. They asked local artist to take different aspects of the theater and create a painting for it and then it would be auctioned off to raise money for that catagory to help fund the reconstruction. When they asked me to do it no one had picked lighting. So I grabbed it and created this. The premise is two gourds on stage acting with a spotlight on them. I actually created a mini set for the painting. It was alot of fun to be a part of. It was great to see what the other artist's came up with as well.

City sidewalks

This is a painting I did a couple of springs ago. I was in Boston for a show at CoSo Gallery and the Dogwoods were in bloom all over the city. The thought behind this painting is cool and warm, sharp and realistic next to loose and impressionistic, foreground and background separate but connecting.

Peaches for Mary

I started this painting on my first day of vacation in Maine when I found out that my sister and her husband had committed suicide. Everytime I look at it I think of the turmoil of what I was feeling at the time. So many unanswered questions. I don't claim to understand the reason why they did what they did, but my sister Mary is in this painting everywhere because she is all I could think about. I hope she is happy wherever she is.

As far as the painting goes again reflection....love to paint it. Peaches are just meant to be painted in watercolor. Such rich colors blended so watery together. I laid out a tableclothe in my backyard and set up this still life on a sunny day. I took over a hundred pictures. Some with peaches. Some with cherries. The light was great and I will probably do a few more paintings based on that day of shooting.

I am headed to Cape Cod today for a week. I will try to keep my posts up but might not be able to .

Cherry picker

I picked these cherries at a neighbors house in Vermont. I ended up making sour cherry jam....yum dilly ! I was really into learning how to paint lace at the time and I have always been into reflection so these buckets were perfect ! I set up the still life by a big window so that the light would hit it. The sky is reflected in the bucket. In painting each cherry there are reflections in each one. I look at this painting and remember that I have to slow down and paint without a time frame.....this is what happens when you take your time .....I need to let this become my new montra. I find myself painting faster and faster because I have a dead line and it doesn't do me or the painting any good.
As far as the painting goes using the white of the paper to your advantage....maping them out and having them next to some really dark darks will give you amazing results.

Boats of Maine

This is in Oqunquit Maine. I passed these two dorys everyday on my vacation there a few years ago. I watched each day how the light and tide would change the composition. I photographed this scene over a week period and settled on this one image to paint. I wanted to create the feel of movement, and also a feeling of place. I get the feel of movement with horizontal brush strokes in the water and reflecting what is going on above it with color change.