Spring Thaw

 When the snow had finally melted I went walking through the woods and into the lower pasture on the farm behind our house. I came upon a pile of bones from a cow that didn't make it through the winter. The sun was casting low shadows on the bones and I was struck by their beauty. If you don't think of them as a pile of bones they are quite beautiful in terms of shapes and lines and colors.  This painting is my reaction to all of the "pretty" pictures I see in the pastel world. I've gotten so weary of majestic, pastoral scenery. I picked a subject that could be considered quite horrible but I think is very beautiful. It's nature, death, regeneration. Kind of a slap in the face visually. It's ugly but it's not. 18x26in pastel   

Waterboys

 On the coldest day of the year, or decade for that matter, I decided to paint a memory from the warmest day of the summer. Here is a group of friends crabbing along the Severn river at dawn. I remember the river being yellow with morning sunlight. 9x12in oil on birch panel  

Dappled Sun along the Boquet

Going through my files I found an unfinished sketch of the hemlock forest along the Boquet I started last summer.  With all the confusing information, what's sun, what's shadow, I wasn't sure of the outcome of this little sketch and I put it aside. But I just thought I would just have some fun with color today and make some marks and I am pleased with the result. Winter is the time I can revisit many of my paintings and look at them with a fresh eye. 81/2 x81/2in pastel