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.

Spring Beauty and Bloodroot

Hooray for woodland wildflowers! I have long associations with these flowers which have brought so much joy to me over many years. This is a watercolor I finished last week, but started while perched on a very steep hillside in the Smoky Mountains last spring. I feel very lucky to do work that requires spending hours outdoors in close observation of beauty, weather and light. The work comes with the musty sweet smell of leaf litter and the feel of breeze on skin and sun on clothing. Also enormous stiffness from balancing against the slope and keeping the work stable on my knees for some hours! Finishing this painting made me want to do some companion watercolors of more spring wildflowers. Today while out walking on the road I spotted Hepatica and Wake Robin growing above the ditches. Hoping to see lots more this weekend.

I will be having an Open Studio here in Lincoln VT if you want to come see this painting and others in person for yourself. It's part of Open Studio Weekend, May 28 and 29 from 10AM to 5PM both days. There will be yellow signs along the roads to direct you both to my place in Lincoln and to potter Judith Bryant's studio also in Lincoln. I am looking forward to having visitors!