Have been looking at and tweaking this watercolor for a couple weeks and am ready to call it finished.  This is Bill Torrey and his dog Levi in the spring, sharpening the saw.  Mount Abraham is in the background.

I like that this watercolor needed a real variety of technique: wet into wet for the mountain blues, dry brush for the foreground leaf litter and dried grass and a lot of detail, both wet and dry, for the two figures and the trees.  The subtlety of the color and the harshness of the midday light challenged me.

Happy belated birthday to the logger!

Touch Wood in a Japanese Forest 森の木琴

I came across this randomly and share it here for your delight.  Odd, wonderful and wood, even if it has an advertising motive.  I hope you enjoy it.

This is a watercolor in process which I hope to complete soon. It's of Bill Torrey sharpening his saw with his dog Levi and Mount Abraham in the distance.  I am back at work on this theme, doing a few more new paintings about work in the woods to round out the whole body of works I've made on this topic.  I am planning an exhibition of these works that I've done over the past 18 years and am thinking about possible venues and starting to get in touch with the people who own the original paintings.  It will be an exciting project!

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.

Celebration of Art at TWIN FARMS

This Mother’s Day weekend, May 10-12, I will be in residence at Twin Farms in Barnard, offering both demonstrations and workshop time for interested guests of the resort.  This is a classic Vermont setting and offers a broad range of choice subject matter for art enthusiasts. It should be the peak time of that moment Frost describes in Nothing Gold Can Stay:

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.

 

Twin Farms is an extraordinary place with a rich history.  The main farmhouse on the property was once owned by American writer, Sinclair Lewis and his wife, journalist, Dorothy Thompson.  Rated by the Zagat guide as the Best Small Inn in the United States and listed for the last 18-years as the only five-star hotel in Vermont by the Forbes Travel Guide, Twin Farms in Barnard, Vermont, is that rare thing, a simple but sumptuous hostelry where almost anyone’s heart’s desire can be attained with just a simple request. 

When Twin Farms current owner Thurston Twigg-Smith decided to share with the public the beautiful place in Barnard, Vermont that his family was using as a vacation home he asked Jed Johnson, one of the world’s leading interior designers to create living spaces in a series of “cottages” that dot the property. Each one is a unique experience from the views out the windows, to the remarkable interiors, to the original artwork on the walls.

GREAT PERSONAL ART COLLECTION

Still Life with Eggs, Pitcher and Bowl by William Bailey

Ode to a Pumpkin Field by Joan Snyder

I will be looking forward to sharing the great personal art collection at Twin Farms with the lucky art lovers who will gather on Mother’s Day Weekend to view and study the paintings with my dear friend, Bronwyn Dunne, who has a lifetime of experience in the art world.  Bronwyn will be telling the stories of the artists and paintings in the resort collection.  I know guests will enjoy the inspiration of the original work by artists, Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney, Frank Stella, Jim Dine, Deborah Butterfield, Milton Avery, Jasper Johns, Ed Ruscha, Sean Scully, Cy Twombly, Nam June Paik and Donald Sultan, all part of the Twin Farms Collection. And, I will enjoy dining with guests in the handsome black and white-carpeted dining room where Chef Ted Ask in collaboration with his staff will preside over a memorable series of art-resonant dinners.  Please join me for a weekend you will not forget, A Celebration of Art at Twin Farms.


For weekend reservations call Josh or Casey at 800-894-6327 or email info@twinfarms.com. For more information about the Celebration of Art at Twin Farms visit www.twinfarms.com.