Walk in Harrybrook and Rainy Day Doings

Rainy, dreary, gray . . . looks like it wants to snow. Went for a walk in nearby Harrybrook Park, then settled in updating my website. Also, decided to let go of about half of my dust collection :) and my dining room and studio areas are looking much more inviting!! Marc, however, is painting!!! (Walls)

Painting the Smyrski Farm, New Milford

Woke up and saw a stunning wintery landscape. We had about 6" of fluffy snow overnight. The tree branches had snow all the way to the tippy top. Morning sky was cool blue-gray to pink on the horizon, yellow-white where the sun eluded to rising.

Marc and I spent the morning snowshoeing on one of the Weantinoge Landtrust properties. Temperature hovering around 34 degrees and no wind. One of the trails led us downhill and along a stone wall to a pond; water dark aqua-green and blues, white snow, yellow ochre grasses and something very purple-ish. Distant hills looked periwinkle gray with a mauve overtone. Dog burrs along the trail coming back. Some of the trail was muddy - mudshoeing and puddle-jumping. Our snowshoes, boots and backsides were splattered and caked with mud and snow. Nice hike. Not too strenuous. Probably should have brought lunch. And, should have charged the big camera battery. Glad to have had a back-up camera. Brought sketchbook, indelible pen, pencil . . . sketched places of interest along the trail that could be good painting sites. Still need to shorten the handles of a couple of flat brushes and bring a small w/c kit. On a sunny day it would be faster to lay on a medium wash of color over my line drawings. Hint at where the mid-tone values might be and note the time of day. Really need to bring two colors, maybe ultramarine blue and something like vienna red.

Karen and I spent the afternoon painting the black cows in the snow and the white barns at Smyrski farm in the Merryall section of town. Gave up at 5 pm when the gentle snowfall turned to misty sleet-rain. The grayness of the day brought out the colors, and the brief moment of sunshine warmed up the high areas of the ground snow. The distant hills were in and out of visibility as the snow showers came and went. Might try it again tomorrow. Didn't paint a "keeper" today. Might try again tomorrow.

Lover's Leap State Park on Valentine's Day!

Had a stunning Valentine’s Day! Enjoyed a brisk walk at Lover’s Leap State Park. While this may not be the warmest or most colorful time of year to be at the park, the people who were hiking along its many paths added patches of bright color and warmth to the landscape. Thought it funny that American Indian “cupid” was atop a nearby barn, and came home to investigate the story of this Lover’s Leap State Park.

http://www.curbstone.org/index.cfm?webpage=119

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid

February 12, 2010 Getting Started

It's taken six weeks, but I can finally respond to those who ask me about a New Year's resolution. I'm going to use this blog as my sketchbook, and hopefully share some of the wonderful places I go and wonderful people I meet! Add some images. Add some art thoughts. Plein air painting is, simply, painting outside "in the air" in all types of weather. It's a very personal way to see the world.

Yes, I go out in the snow, in the rain, in the sun and in the everything-in-between days. I prefer the perfect day, but in New England (and other places) the weather changes in a heartbeat. The trick is to get outside, and get started.

Today the sun rose in a clear sky. The sky was bright/light aqua with a ramp toward creamy yellow. In front of the sky, tree trunks stood bluish-gray, and the snow beneath them and closer to me wanted to be a grayed cobalt blue. It reminded me of Maxfield Parrish, although I hunted for one of his morning paintings and didn't see the same color combo. The sky was gorgeous blue all day, and in the late afternoon I drove around looking for a view with the last light on the snow, a twinkling bit of yellow-white. The sunset wasn't as beautiful as the rest of the day. Didn't paint today. I dug out a new sketchbook and made plans to paint with another artist on Sunday. The painting shown here is a oil I painted last winter. Some of the sites I looked at today were of the along the Aspetuck River, the ice was breaking up and the water, dark tealgreens and ultramarine blues, bubbled along a zig-zaggy path. I was looking for something like this previous scene, with red berries on the bushes and maybe an evergreen . . . red, green and blue against the snow. While the painting above is an oil, my preference is to paint in watercolors. Not quite warm enough to paint with watercolors outside today. I'm watching for whites in the landscape . . .