A factory, a city street, a canal lock, and a tree.

43  F  overcast

      I had been looking for a tree, one in millions of beautiful trees, why so hard to find the one?



 
                         When I started there was some light, and the tree was lit up like Christmas, but the cloud cover came in and changed the scene.  The bright yellow orange leaves are still luminescent, even in filtered light, and I don't know why I don't do more of them!

                              #885  Shields Rd.                   11-6-16                          12x9

Yesterday I went to a friends open studio, on the way back I stopped at Lock #3 of the Champlain Canal, along the Hudson River, just north of Mechanicville.  

         
              #884  Champlain Canal Lock #3 Mechanicville, NY.     11-5-16        11x12

      I wanted to go on the other side of the railing, but there was a sign prohibiting it.  I didn't see a soul the whole time I was there!

                                      The sun came and went a lot too, welcome to November!

      This is in front of the building where AMP gallery is.  I had to bring in a panel rack, to display un-framed paintings, so I painted out front.  It was a problematic scene, one I wouldn't have picked otherwise.

                 As it was, not a bad spot to paint, I had a few visitors, and "Death Wish" coffee across the street.

     #883   Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY.              11-4-16                   12x16

          I liked the sun and shadows in this scene, and I felt like I needed a larger panel, this one is 16x20.

           #882   Pearl St.                                                 11-1-16                                            16x20


As always thanks for reading my blog!

Champlain Canal lock # 6 Ft. Edward, NY. laying out the paintings and a new gallery!

     Rainy today, after a cloudy day along the canal yesterday.  I needed a rain break to get some other things done.
 

                 This is a scene I've wanted to do for a while, it's the lock,  without the  lock, but with the bridge, pump house, the road, and all the other stuff. There are some yellow trees, but they stay very much in the background.

          A progress shot.

            The Money Shot.

             #878  Champlain Canal lock #6 Ft. Edward, NY.             10-19-16                12x16

       Here I've laid out the paintings from September, 25 in all, and most are my larger size.  I'm waiting for a clear day when I can photograph them, as well I will number, title, date and sign them.  Once this is done, I will varnish them and I can send out jpegs.

      This is the wall for my current paintings, these are the ones from this month so far. 

         On the largest wall I'm laying out the work, and just as important, the frames for a show at a co-operative gallery I'm joining (read, renting) in November.  My space is 4'-10" x 7'-10", and the black tape and board seem, indicate the size.  I will arrange the paintings like this, and change out the paintings, hopefully when they sell.  There will be a rack of 30 or so unframed paintings, they can be fitted with a simple black frame, or purchased without a frame.

       AMP Galleries are located at 454 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY.  I will post pictures as soon as I move in.  The web site is here:  http://www.ampgalleries.com/about

Champlain Canal lock #5 Hudson Crossing Park, Schuylerville, NY.

45  F  mostly sunny.

 

#746  Champlain Canal Lock 5  Hudson Crossing Park, Schuylerville, NY.

4-9-16

12x16

     I drove around a lot and passed thousands of places  that could have been painted, I came here to a familiar spot, walked around and found a familiar scene and painted it in a familiar way. If this sounds defeatist or redundant, it's because it felt a bit like that.  It's hard to innovate all the time,  maybe it's not desirable,  the scene had the black rectangle of the gate, the sky and water, and that perspective, so I should have been more satisfied.  Maybe I'll like it more tomorrow.

Champlain Canal lock #6 What the shadow knows.

68  F  sun and haze

             It was unusually warm and sunny yesterday, and I had a standing challenge on to re-visit this site. Lock #6 of the Champlain Canal, along the Hudson, in the southern most part of Ft. Edward.  I'm not convinced that I satisfied the challenge.  The site has a lot going for it, the river and canal, with the lock, the road bridge, and the pump house.  There are really too many "things" here competing to be the subject, and I thought I dealt with that by focusing on water, embankment and the bridge.  The shadow, inescapable at the start  was soon to disappear, and I knew it but went ahead anyway.  There are lessons but the strong graphic quality of that shadow and the light really makes the painting, and I take total responsibility for that, it's a theme I want to explore so abstract and  (potentially) powerful.  The failure as I see it was going forward knowing I would only have a few minutes with the shadow before it disappeared, I got the shadow and some of the brightest lights in, but when the light changes, and changes so dramatically there is no real way to fake it with, or in, the other areas of the painting: the "other" parts are so fundamentally different That the whole scene cannot be  rendered as a whole.  That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

My scene at the start.

Squinting gave me this much darker shadow, and I liked it.

OK.

#727 Champlain Canal Lock #6

3-9-16

14x16