Hepatica and Moss

"Hepatica and Moss" 11"x 15" watercolor

This is watercolor done last month of Hepatica and Moss on the forest floor.  The original painting is now in a private collection.  I did the painting as the basis for a limited edition print which is available by contacting my studio.  Stinehour Wemyss Editions has made an incredibly faithful archival print from my original watercolor.  They are such a pleasure to work with because they are incredibly expert!  So far 10 have been printed.  The edition will be limited to 100.

Next begins work on a group of paintings of forest labor that will fill out this body of work.  At the same time I am beginning to plan how to gather and exhibit all the work I've done on this topic over the  past 18 years.  This is complicated and exciting and will take several years to accomplish.  I have every hope that I will be collaborating on this presentation with poet Verandah Porche who will add another dimension or two to the work! 

In the meantime there is a watercolor to complete and a visit next week to the Governor's Institute on the Arts to prepare for.  I will be giving both a workshop and an evening slide talk there.

This is an image of a watercolor I did this fall. It is of Larry and Mark Sherman on a job they had in Lincoln, Vermont a couple years ago. This scene was on a very cold day in March, as they watched the truck loading at the landing. Mount Abraham can be seen in the background.

Had an wonderful time participating in VT Family Forests Neighborwood Workshop on Saturday, July 11. 35-45 people were there: loggers, foresters, academics and forest landowners. Best practices for wood harvesting were discussed and observed, and there was expert information about burning wood for maximum benefit and minimum environmental cost. Also discussion about the capacity of the forest in our specific five town region to support wood heat/energy, considering available land and growth potential of the forest. These are critically important issues and there is likely disagreement about how much harvest our forest can sustainably support.

David Brynn, the director of Vermont Family Forests featured a presentation of the first four of five paintings I am creating for the Art of Action during the workshop. It was a special opportunity for me to show the paintings to a group of interested citizens, including some of the people who are IN the paintings! Also a special opportunity because the paintings will be split up soon, and likely not shown together more than once or twice before they are auctioned in summer 2010. My sincere thanks to David, and Vermont Family Forests.

Here are a couple photos of the group in an area being harvested by Bill Torrey. You can see him here explaining it all to us. Photos by Paul Forlenza.