Pink Rock-Bouquet River II

There are 3 things I enjoy about painting rocks, especially these rocks. 1st. It brings me back to the Bouquet River, finding my favorite site in the Hemlock forest on the way to Keene Valley. It's a place I discovered over a decade ago where the light changes from dappled yellow to green filtering in through pine branches and the forest floor is a silent carpet of burnt sienna pine needles with the suprise of a crimson salamander. The scent of balsam permeates the air and the sound of rapid water over the rocks make speaking impossible. 2nd. Constructing a rock painting is like building a stone wall. One has to work rock by rock so the pieces of the painting have to all fit together like an Adirondack fireplace. 3rd. I can be endlessly inventive with marks, lines, textures and even color as I work. My rocks are made of slashes, squiggles and many built up layers of calligraphic marks. Pastel gives me immediate freedom of color and gesture that describes for me the feeling of moving water. It may seem photographic from a distance but on closer inspection I try to be loose and very expressionistic. pastel on sanded paper18x26in.

CHAPEL POND TRIPTYCH

On our last day in the

Adirondacks in August I went out early in the morning painting with Bear Miller on the shore of Chapel Pond. It was a cloudy morning that threatend rain but never did. Clouds moved quickly across the sky.

12x36in. oil on birch panel

IDLE RIVER

This is the view I was painting in the photograph below. My goals were to flatten the trees into shapes and to capture the orange-yellow light of the setting sun reflecting off the boats. I also liked how the white sailboat in the shadows turned blue and had to keep waiting until the boat drifted into sideview.

12x12in. on birch panel. oil SOLD!

Painting on Brewer Creek

Sunday was a clear evening down in Sherwood ForestMD. I painted until dusk on the shore of Brewer's Creek. I grew up calling it by another name which Iprefer, the Idle River.

Painting on Brewer Creek

A passing Kayaker snapped this photo of me painting at water's edge with Maggie.

Kilgore Falls

Last sat. weather was so clear and cool I drove out to Harford Co. MD's highest waterfall and painted on site.Kilgore Falls is a 10 min hike into the woods. I set up deep in the shadows. The sun broke through the trees in little bursts of bright color. It was a 2 hour color sketch but it was good to get out into the world and sit in woods and try to capture a fleeting moment. I will probably
re-work this sketch and deepen the shadows.
It was quite dark when I painted it in the woods and the painting is very pale under brighter lighting conditions. oil on birch panel 12x12 in SOLD

cairn II

This cairn sits atop Big Crow as well. It may be closer to the Nun da ga o ridge trail that links Big Crow with Mt Weston in the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Mts.

18x26in pastel

granite detail

A close up detail of the granite rockface from my pastel. the texture of the mineral colors reminds me of Jackson Pollack's "Lavender Mist." Perhaps this is where my direction is heading. This is what the rock pictures are really about.

The cairns are about place. This is about markmaking.

Summerhouse

This house in Keene Valley gets the first rays of the morning sun. as it rises up over the mountain. I am always facinated by the color of these pine trees. Sometimes they look orange. sometimes violet. I have painted this house before a year ago (older post) I think this one captures the warm morning light in August even better, oil 9x9in.

SOLD at the High Peaks show 2010

Bouquet River I

Fifteen years ago I discovered a beautiful hemlock forest where the Bouquet river flows through. The sun creates a constantly moving spectacle of color as the day progresses.I used to camp here but now I like to come here in the last days of my stay in the Adirondacks to soak up its quiet beauty. 18x26in. Pastel

Waters Edge, Chapel Pond

Another large pastel building on the last one. I'm pushing the drawing a bit, straying from the photographic to the calligraphic.

In the early morning Chapel pond can be so still and the water so dark it acts as a mirror. My intent is to depict reflected clouds, water and rocks with an expressive markmaking that recaptures that feeling I had standing on the shore. pastel 18x26in.

Cairn on Big Crow

Something about Cairns appeals to me. They appear like sentinals along the path. They mark the way with a sculptural presence that show us that someone has been here before. finished stage. pastel 18x26in. SOLD

Which Way to Turn

Driving along Sweet air Rd in Baltimore Co. MD at sunset I have often passed this small Methodist church and wondered if the the world was trying to lead us away. The setting just feeds my facination with roadsigns and their graphic impact on the landscape and how they not only tell us where to go but where to look. oil 9x9in. SOLD

maryland barn

One evening in May around 5 pm I drove by this barn with incredible blue shadows on Whittiker Mill Rd in Harford Co. MD. oil 9x9in.

Cairn on Big Crow

One of my earliest climbs in the Adirondacks was Big Crow Mt.

It's a smaller peak with a spectacular view, another one of the great walks in Keene. I am attracted to how the light plays over these sculptural entities. I love painting rocks. You build a painting just as the cairn was built. This is a large pastel and I haven't quite decided how "finished" it will be. I am working from several different photo references and it is not my intention copy the photo exactly. Why do that?

pastel 18x26in.

Keene Dusk

Sitting on the deck of the Tippicanoe one evening I looked up to see the bright sunset behind me reflected in the windows of the old Victorian house in Keene. 11x14 oil

Morning light lll

This color sketch is the last in a tryptych of two buildings in Keene Valley that capture the light at both dawn and dusk in extrordinary ways. I usually walk out from the inn just past the school around 6 am with my thermos of coffee and the dog. I wait for the sun to come up over the mountain and when it strikes the town I am rewarded with long dramatic shadows and patterns of warm light. 9x9in. oil SOLD

Pegasus

This was just a quick sketch. As I was walking down Market street I spotted this remnant of the old Mobile station (now a health club) that someone hung over their garage.

I wasout of panels but I did have a cigar box I kept my oil pastels in. So I used that. I may frame it with the left over pieces. I just thought it was fun and unexpected. 9x9 3/4 oil

Hydrangias

Warm Summer dawn light shines in on a Keene Valley screened in porch. 9x9in oil

Silent

This beautiful little Canada Warbler (immature, Ithink) was found at our camp near Cascade Mt. I placed her on the picnic table and memorialized her with a little painting.

Their numbers are declining and it was sad to know there was one less in the world. oil. 5 x12

Election

Along rt 73 there is an open space with a large mound of trees in the center. Some books say this is an Indian mound. I liked the juxtaposition of the brightly colored election signs with the the pre dawn light. oil 9x12

morning light

This little house is on rt 73 just outside of KV. The porch is stacked with cut wood. 9x9" oil

Keene Valley church- 5 am

Walking through the town very early I looked up at the church and noticed this yellow orange glow from the clock on the steeple. In an hour the front of this church will be awash with golden light from the rising sun. oil 9x12

Sno cone

This is the little town of Keene Valley. The yellow building is The Birch Store, filled with beautiful furnishings, gifts, textiles, and jewelry. The Sno-cone was a street sign for the Noonemark Diner (out of frame on right) famous for its ice cream and berry pies. I thought the sno cone was funny out there in a traditional landscape. Dawn 9x9 oil

SOLD!

Intersection

I think the little barn in this painting must be the most painted and photographed building in the park. I backed up a bit and added the stop sign just for fun as if saying "Don' t paint me . It's been done." 9x9 oil

Sentinel

On one of my pre-dawn strolls (5 am) I spotted the Keene Valley fire dept's antique fire engine parked across the street from the fire house. It was illuminated in the night by the streetlight overhead. It seemed to glow in the dark. 9x9in oil

keene valley porch II

This one is a re-do of the painting on an older post called Keene Valley porch. I was't pleased with the pine tree and the painting seemed lifeless so I added the red canoe for a burst of color. The canoe was actually there the year before. 9x9 oil

One significant aspect of old Adirondack architecture is the sleeping porch.In the days before AC this was where you wantedto be on those infrequent hot summer nights.The Trails End Inn, where we stay in Keene Valley still has the old porches where you can sleep out at night and listen to the crickets and the owls. 9x9in. oil. sold

Market Street, Keene Valley - Dawn

Another morning in Keene Valley, NY in the High Peaks of the Adirondacks. The sun has just risen over the mountain and has backlit the houses. I painted this cottage from the sun side on a previous occasion (on an older post below,Keene valley house -dawn). The morning sun turns the pines such fantastic colors and creates raking shadows across the grass.
9x9 in. oil SOLD!

Chapel Pond 2

When the first sun hits Chapel Pond around 6:30 am,and Round Mt. on the left, it creates a bright yellow green band that touches the treetops and gradually (and quickly) works its way down the sides of the cliff. The pond is like a mirror with the silence broken only by the whoops of an early swimmer hitting the cold water.

Riverocks- Bouquet River

Just a few yards off Rt 73 is a beautiful Hemlock Forest where I like to paint. It's a magical spot with mossy rocks and soft filtered light. I'm in deep shade and the Bouquet Riversweeps through like a bright green ribbon. 9x14 oil

SOLD

Rt 73 Bridge- Keene Valley

I woke up very early one morning and explored the town before dawn. I wanted to be on location someplace when the sun came up. What I discovered was the orange and violet light of the street lamp on this steel bridge crossing the Ausable River. 9x9in. oil

St. Brendan's

In the town of Keene NY there is a small, white wooden church, St Brendan's. This little 8x8in. oil sketch was painted quickly to capture a marvelous blue shadow that is cast on the side wall in the late of the day.