April 15th, 2018
Watercolor, 12 x 16 in

The day being cold and wet, I decided to try watercolors again. Working from an old photo of myself and my sister crossing a bridge at the island.

April 14th 2018
Cox Reservation, Essex Greenbelt
Essex, MA
Oil on Canvasboard, 8 x 10 in

I was at the greenbelt to teach, but my class turned out to be very small – so I took the opportunity to do some painting myself. The morning was sunny and felt like spring, the afternoon was cloudy and felt like winter. I painted as the sky transitioned from the one to the other.

​April 12th, 2018
Watercolour, 12 x 16 in

Inspired by a wonderful watercolorist I’d seen on Instagram, I wanted to re-visit the medium I abandoned decades ago. I sure as heck do not come close to that woman’s genius, but I was pleasantly surprised that my skills in this department had developed to some degree in spite of my 30 yr abandonment of the meduim. The photo I was working from was an unfortunate choice – I think I had a swollen lip, or something distressing – something very strange going on with my mouth, I know. But still, it could have been – I expected it would be – much worse. I try to fess up to everything. This is, clearly, not a Plein Air painting.

April 10th, 2018
Technicolor Hay Bales
Somewhere in Italy
Oil on Wood, 16 x 20 in

It had been a very stressful few weeks. I hadn’t had the opportunity to do anything creative, really. I was once again working with my student, for whom I am very grateful for without him I would feel too guilty at the expense of using materials in difficult financial times to permit myself to paint. Working with him provides the opportunity and sometimes even materials. It is a great help to me. In any case, I had had a lot bottled up inside. He had a photo he’d taken of some hay bales in Italy; and that was my springboard – but the technicolour angst energy rushing out of my hand rendered it a whole new scene entirely.

March 10th, 2018
Cluster of Pines, Demo
Cox Reservation, Essex Greenbelt
Essex MA
Oil on Canvasboard, 8 x 10 in

It was a cold day for people to be standing around watching a demo so I am very grateful to those who came! Since this photo was taken I have fixed the trunks a bit and softened that hard edge of snow, but otherwise it is, if you forgive the tautology, what it is.

January 30th, 2018
Ship at a Distance
Oil on Canvas, 20 x 30 in

This again was a painting done in studio while working with a student. The photo took my attention because they stark difference in colour, though equality of value, between the colours of the sun and the clouds as expressed in the water and the light. It reminded me of the first few lines of “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston:
‘Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the same horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men. Now, women forget all those things they don’t want to remember, and remember everything they don’t want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly.’

January 10th, 2018
Sunset in Smoky Sky
Lake of the Woods
Oil on Wood, 18 x 24 in

Was teaching in studio yesterday. My student was doing little studies of fruits and vegetables under a spotlight – so the room was unlit and I couldn’t see my colours very well. Nonetheless, I managed to get the sun to glow, which makes me happy. First painting of 2018. (NB – A little remnant of my Christmas tree appears in the top left in this photo, but it was removed before drying!)