Waits Hill Rd. and the centennials of Greenwich. What I learned from carpentry.

   I've been feverishly getting my studio ready for the grand opening. The building was a garage that I used as a carpentry shop, my occupation for the better part of 30 years.  In that span of time I did a lot of things, morphing from an art student, to an apprentice for a sculptor, to a series of other specialty building, architectural model making, sign fabrication, but mostly carpentry and in particular as a stand alone concern in my small town.  I learned a lot through those experiences, much of which informs my work today.   There is an inherent logic in the built environment, and the craft of carpentry determines what works and what doesn't. I learned patience and perseverance: if something didn't work, I'd have to fix it so it did. I learned that craft had to have a use, and that too much of it wasn't paid for, so don't do it!  I learned that it can take years and lots of mistakes to find what you're looking for, but that shouldn't stop you from trying.

Back to painting: last Sunday......

   I've been to this spot many times, and will often drive by to see how the light is.

   

          #891 Waits Hill Rd.                                      11-13-16                                  14x16

I also went out on Monday......

    Last week I had gone to the other side of the river where there is a path to the water, I painted the backlots, looking in the other direction, but had long wondered how I'd get to the other side, although I had a hunch and it involved a short hike in.

                    Ollie loves these spots too, but this time of the year we get attacked by ticks, so I'm waiting for really freezing temps.

   I had a fundamental problem with the values in this, and the only way to solve it is to return for a re-do, I'll wait until it gets really cold!

           #892  Battenkill at the centennials, Greenwich,  NY.            11-14-16                14x16

     This is from my hike back, I parked at the hydro plant and walked in along the river bank, there are lots more to explore. 

A river, a church and a combine.

September 17, Saturday.

    This is the Charles River and the North Beacon St. bridge from Greenough Blvd. in Watertown, MA.  I was visiting my parents, and this is familiar territory to me.

            I liked the light in the arch of the bridge, which got more intense as the session proceeded.

     My start.

         #858 Charles River @ Greenough Blvd. Watertown, MA.        9-17-16        9x12

September 20, Tuesday.

    I was back in Cambridge, and at a familiar scene.

   My start.

    #859  N. Park St.                                       9-20-16                                             9x12

               I actually finished this on the 21st, but it was just a little tweaking, and the day was a carbon copy of Tuesday.  Right after that I went out and found something I had been looking for: a combine bringing in corn......

      I've been fascinated with this process for a while and how it shows the way the land looks, but it's difficult to get the right day with the right light, at the right exact spot.

    The machine moves pretty fast, while the trucks fill, then move on to be replaced by another.  I had to have a lot of the painting done, then quickly sketch in the truck and combine.

                   #860  Juniper Swamp Rd.                      9-21-16                     11x14

Hudson River @ Stillwater

58  F  sunny, then clouds.

      #731  Hudson River @ Stillwater     3-17-16   11x14

My scene.

My spot and set up, just a few feet from my van.


















        Again, it took me a long time and a lot of driving around to get to this spot, I've never painted this scene, but I painted just down the road this summer.  I wish I could just decide where to go and paint, but I wander, and think too much about subject, about place and all of that stuff, and the light is always different, so I fell back on a familiar type of bridge over the Hudson picture, even though I wanted a town scene with sunshine on a white painted building. In all fairness I looked, but didn't find the exact example of what I was looking for, so maybe I have more bridges in my system to do, and maybe that's just fine.  There is tomorrow (or the next day if it rains!)