Boreas Sanctus
Plein Air Painting 2013
October 12th, 2013
Sumac Attack
Cox Reservation, Essex, MA
Oil on Canvasboard, 16 x 20 in
This painting needs a little settling down, but I’m posting it as it stands for the time being. It was a dark, overcast day and the sumac was festive among the bare bushes it grew in. I was looking through the leaves and branches to a stone bench nestled within.
Fireweed
October 5th, 2013
Lake, Ipswich MA
Oil on Canvas, 18 x 24 in
I was driving to the usual place this morning, and came across this pond I’ve seen and wanted to paint many times. It was all lit up and aglow with fall, and I had to paint it. It was an overcast day which really gives the colors life, and I tried, as usual, to communicate my experience of that spectacular riot of color. Once I had the piece home to finish, away from the location of the scene (the canvas was fully covered, it was just a matter of finishing / settling) the focus was on balance of color, line and motion. This photo doesn’t do it justice, I will retake when the weather / light is better.
A Dog Named Baxter
Last week of September, 2013
Work in Progress
The weekend of the 27th I was in Maryland and DC, attending my 15 yr college reunion and visiting friends. The week leading up to it I was working on this, a portrait of a friend’s dog, RIP. It’s a bit of a challenge as a commission as the extant photos are not ideal – as you can see in the upper left, the photo shows his face in dark shadow, which just won’t do for a portrait. I’ve been extrapolating from other photos and pictures of similar dogs (Rhodesian Ridgebacks, liver nosed) to get a better handle on the dog’s coloring. It’s kind of nice to use a brush again, after all these years. Anyway as you can see, there’s still quite a bit of work to be done here.
Sept 21st, 2013
Cox Reservation, Essex Massachusetts
Oil on Canvas, 12 x 16 in
(sold)
This is a “before” picture – parts of the painting are ok, parts have to be fixed. It was a beautiful day out, hopefully in time the painting will be a better testament to the fact. Update – Added a bit of vegetation in the foreground I had missed initially. It helps temper the color of the water which was accurate but seemed unlikely when the violet tone (a result of the clouds directly above which are invisible in the painting) was the dominant note.
September 15th, 2013
I decided at least momentarily to leave both versions up – though I’m surprised after a morning of retooling how similar the two photos look. Certainly need to take a new photo of the new version, as it was taken in full sun which makes glare a problem in the mid-ground. I realized while I was painting that my problem yesterday was a case of not being able to see the trees for the forest. I was so dazzled by the harmony of various facets of the landscape that I wasn’t able to focus well enough on the parts to reproduce the whole I was seeing. In the finished painting, as a compromise, I decided to focus on the impression individual players made on the whole.
September 14th, 2013
Cox Reservation, Essex Greenbelt, Essex MA
Oil on Canvas, 20 x 24 in
This is a long way from done, but I am posting it as it stands right now because I left the field today just teeming with shame and frustration, I thought the painting was so horrible that I couldn’t do anything but race to my car and try to drive away and forget. I took its picture (in a dark driveway, so don’t take the colours and light too literally) as a sort of punishment to myself, so I could look at it all night on my phone and brood about my failure. But when I looked at it on my phone, prepared for the weeping and gnashing of teeth these things generally warrant, I just thought “Oh. Huh. Well, that’s actually a little pretty. Maybe I overreacted.” There is still plenty I can see to improve. But it’s nice to be free of some of the drama I had bound myself in.
September 7th, 2013
Cox Reservation, Essex Greenbelt, Essex MA
Oil on Canvasboard, 16 x 20 in
This painting is a testament to how comfortable I can be with chaos. I believe that ultimately order will emerge, and in the meantime, I’m content to sit within the friction between tones. There’s a rhythm to this painting. I was looking into a tangle of vines, there was a stunning cluster of glowing red leaves. The sun filtering into the bush resulted in some pretty incredible jewel tones. It’s the surprise of that incredible glow that struck me, and I think that’s why I’m not interested in making that firey centre look more literal. I captured the surprise. I captured what happens when I look into a tangle of such beauty as this – the devolution of form to the intrusion of glorious light. I have yet to get a really good photo of it, I’ll keep trying and update.
NB – Just added this to “Matching Scene to Painting”
September 3rd, 2013
Cox Reservation, Essex Greenbelt, Essex MA
Oil on Canvas, 12 x 16 in
(sold)
My spot this time was predicated on the painting that was being done of me as I painted. The colors at the marsh this time of year are surreal, and lovely.
August 31st, 2013
Cox Reservation, Essex Greenbelt, Essex MA
Oil on Canvasboard, 16 x 20 in
(sold)
I chose my spot this Saturday based on the fact that it began to pour almost as soon as I got out to hike around looking for a spot. The scrub sumacs I stood under at first were poor shelter, but a tall and dense elm (?) I came to kept me relatively dry. Therefore, this was the view from that elm.
August 24th, 2013
Cox Reservation, Essex Greenbelt, Essex MA
Oil on Canvas, 18 x 24 in
It was a day of multiple missed connections, in the human sphere, but I communed cheerfully with the woods around me.