Some old, some new.
These paintings are mostly on the small side: 5" by 7", although two are larger, 8" by 10". A couple are the final color versions of drawings from the Irwin Park Portfolio, which will be going up soon. Innisfree 2 has been sold; the one with the greenery overshadowing an old carved out rock storage room. Innisfree by the way is a beautiful preserve surrounding a lake near Millbrook NY. The Silliman House is right here in New Canaan, literally around the corner from my apartment. The other house is in the Brandywine Valley, where Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland meet. That is, just south of Philadelphia. This house has a basement with stone walls nearly three feet thick. Always cool, even in summer. "Northeast Kingdom" refers to the upper wedge of Vermont that steadily thickens as you head north from White River Junction. The field was near Lake Willoughby, called the Lake Como of New England. I did a lot of 'scumbling' on this one: dragging a large soft pastel over a fixed underlayer to give a patterned effect. You can see this technique used on the roof of the Silliman House. Oregon Falls was my first real attempt at a large scale landscape.
Innisfree preserve south of Millbrook, NY. I used just about every technique I know on this one, and a few I don't know.
5" by 7"
Innisfree again. Lots of scumbling on the greenery above the rocks. This one has been sold.
5" by 7"
A three century old house near Chadd's Ford, PA, in the area known as the "Brandywine Valley". You can see some 'moderate' scumbling on the lawn. You may not believe that shadows have color, but it took me several days to get the color just right on the shadows under the overhanging roof. Even then I only managed it by accident. You take what you can get.
5" by 7"
Irwin Park in New Canaan, about a mile from our apartment. Our dog Sydney likes to walk me here. There will be a lot of drawings of the park in an upcoming portfolio, and eventually all of them may become paintings.
5" by 7"
Irwin again. I sit on the stone bench and give Sydney a snack.
5" by 7"
A field and barn on the property of a resort near Lake Willoughby in northeast Vermont. The area is sometimes called the Lake Como of New England. (Yes, the place where Anakin married Padme.) I ate one of the best meals of my life at a restaurant just over the crest of the hill.
8" by 10"
A waterfall in Oregon. My wife Patricia took the photo that inspired the painting. Personally, I've never been west of Pittsburgh.
This was the first large format landscape I attempted. I don't remember the dimensions exactly, now that I think of it. It's just big.
The Silliman House in New Canaan, now part of the town Historical Society. I live around the block from here.
5" by 7"
Here is an inn at Lake Waramaug in New Preston CT. Weeping Willows are really hard to draw.
Instead of scumbling, I used cross hatching with pastel pencils, in order to get a feeling of texture, and to make the shadows feel more vivid. 5" by 7"
