Spring at the Tourne

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This is my second painting of the swamp at the Tourne. I hope to paint many more. It was a lovely spring day, and I went for a run in the surrounding woods and hills. Somehow, I got off on a side trail that skirted the very east edge of the swamp, which was interesting until it got too rocky and overgrown, and then it was annoying. I abandoned it, trusting that I’d find the main trail sooner or later, and I did, and all was well.

Violets

Happy spring! I didn't have much time yesterday, but I managed to squeeze in a quick little painting. Violets might be my favorite spring flower after apple blossoms, and they're blooming like crazy right now. I tried eating one (I just learned that they're edible), but it had no taste. I'll just stick to painting them, I guess.

View from the Hill

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This is a quick sketch of the view that I woke up to every morning in Maine. I was enchanted with this view and spent several hours working on a larger painting of it, which ultimately, after a bit of cursing and a minor temper tantrum, had to be scrapped. I took a hike to the top of the farthest field that you can see here, got some perspective, and came back and did this little study. 

Louise's Field

I had a fantastic time in Maine. I’m incredibly grateful to my friend Sarah for offering her wonderful house on the hill, where I spent three days painting, exploring, and relaxing, with only the blue heron (and yes, a few mosquitoes) for company. I came down off the hill to paint this field at just the right time; the dairy farmer haying the field had just baled up the hay the day before, and they were scattered prettily about, with their morning shadows stretching across the grass. The sun moves across the sky pretty quickly up there this time of year, changing dramatically how the light hits the trees in the space of one painting. A good opportunity to practice picking a moment’s light and sticking to it.

Swamp at the Tourne

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I painted this last week in New Jersey. Yes, New Jersey! I’ve had my eye on this swamp for a few years now. It’s enormous. According to a woman who came hiking by, it used to be a woodland, and then beavers came along and dammed up the stream, eventually turning it into a wetland. I like it this way. So does the pileated woodpecker who was tearing chunks out of one of the dead trees.