I can see Vermont from here! the Battenkill @ Camden Valley Rd.

22  F  Sun then clouds.

The Battenkill river very close to Vermont,

9 x 12

This bridge has been out for some time......

The brightness of the snow, was the most salient part of my scene and it contrasted very sharply to the canvas, which was all the darker in the shade.

The next items that were the most different was the sky and far hills and the water.

As the session progressed the light started to rake across the surface, so I'd move the panel a bit, it does make it weird, but it's better than shadows.

I discovered that the tone of my canvas was very close to the middle ground trees!

I liked the scene for it's big view and little view, but was having trouble getting them together.

Here is where I ended up, today was over 2 hours of painting time! The temp was reasonable, but I'm always pushing the envelope and don't go until my feet and hands say "go"

Here is my scene at the start, the sun was out and high and the contrasts were well defined. As the session progressed it slowly became overcast, and it crept up on me, I didn't realize what was happening!

Cropping on Quaker Hill Road White Creek, NY.

20  F,  hazy cloud cover,

This is in the "Crik" South and East of Cambridge, very close to N. Bennington, Vermont, and where I ended up today.

11 x 14

I liked the softness of the snow, and the way it rolled back to the barn roofs, then the hills behind peaking out, middle and distant.

I blocked in with white first. It seemed to make sense.

The "drawing" of this felt a bit contrived, at least at first. The depicted area in this painting is a bit bigger that I've been doing and it felt a bit "bigger".

The light was seeping into the scene from behind the cloud cover, and there was a subtle "pulsing"  between the warm light and the cool reflections, their boundaries were ill defined and seemed to WaWa with each other.

By the time I got here I was starting to "over work" the barn roofs and a few other spots. I had been outside for most of 2 hours and even though the temp. was 20 or more, the cold was seeping in especially my fingers and toes. I started out at 2:00 drove around more than I wanted to, (right by some spots I'd been to before), then kept going so by the time I actually started to put paint on it was about 2:45. It's important time, and part of the process.

 Money Shot.

So when I spend all sorts of time trying to find "the" scene, I'm essentially "cropping" the picture, maybe not the way the modernist did, (by literally cutting the paintings up), but by finding the composition in the elements of the landscape.  Does that make any sense?

Looking South, I'm on Quaker Hill Rd. looking toward Meeting House Rd.  Not far, about 1 mile is Jermain Hall where  Alane and I had our wedding reception, and the school house, that we bought and converted to a house and sold, so I know the neighborhood a bit.

 Looking East.

Looking North.

Battenkill River boogie woogie

26  F, sunny fresh snow.

OK so I guess this is a theme.

12 x 16

I'm really liking the middle tone. I'm not sure why I put the clouds in first.

It was a beautiful day with the mercury topping out at 26 degrees!  Paint time was close to 2 hours, over 2 hours total outdoor time, and I was hardly cold at the end of the session.

It's close to a monochrome, at about 3/4's the way into it.

This is the end of the session, the tree could use a little help.

Here is my scene at the beginning of the session, the light changed a little, but it wasn't a deal breaker, I've painted at "Pook's" before,  maybe 3 times?, all of the old metal RR bridge, right next to this, the road bridge. It's a modern bridge, concrete, and I like it's relationship to the wildness of the river and surrounding landscape.

My pallet. I don't understand how to keep the colors "clean" nor the brushes, nor my mind.

Here is all my stuff. I can carry it in one shot, although today I hiked around a bit to find where I wanted to paint from, it was close to where I had to park, so going back once to carry works fine.

It's a bit primitive, but true to it's owner.

Out back in the fresh snow!

10  F  sunny and crisp,

9 x 12

I got my taxes done today! and had a bit of time after my appointment to paint. the day was bright and crisp, but cold, I didn't get started until around 4:00, so it's nice that there's more daylight.

I'm sizing the canvas, with rabbit skin glue, so there is a nice tone before I even start. I'm also much sketcheir with the first dark strokes.

I'm liking the concept of actually using the canvas/tone and letting it how through, why not Sargent and Homer did.

I put more blue in the sky than there was, and I tried to put the sunlight on the tree tops in back, even after the sun was just about gone from them.

This was my scene when I started, it's right out side of my shop doors, I didn't want to do the swing set, so I didn't. Notice the light on the trees to the left, I didn't get it. I painted for less than an hour, but with set-up and break down.  I'm also more cavalier about my layering, I didn't have my heavy weight thermals or my insulated bibs on,  only one wool sweater,  and my fake wool socks. It makes a difference, so next year I'm going to get some better stuff, like boots and maybe if I'm good some wool long johns!

Some sun on Tingue Rd, Cambridge, NY

30  F  Sun, then clouds.

OK.

12 x 16

I started with the lights today, something I've never done.

I left the space for the silos, they look a bit weird here but it worked out OK.

I had a hard time trying to get the shadow right, I'm de-facto using a limited pallet, but I didn't want to get the shadow too blue, so it went more to the red.

There was a lot of noise in the farm yard, and I had to reduce it down and put it in it's place, I liked the vantage point painting on the road going up, with a bird's eye view of the farm.

I wasn't even sure I was going to put the trees in, but they were too much  part of the picture, of course I greatly simplified them.

The veil of trees had to be darker and more saturated than anything else.

I loved the way the pattern of bright snow enforced itself through the farm and then the trees, so broken up yet still so strong.

There was some bright sun when I started, and it slowly became hazy then cloudy, It was a very reasonable thing to deal with, thanks, Mom!

My pallet: essentially I've been using Ultra marine, Burnt sienna, cadmium yellow,  titanium and zinc white. I've left on it, lemon (cadmium), alizerine crimson and a touch of cobalt, but the last three colors are used very sparingly, as you can see it looks like a mess, that's because it is!, I go from one type of mud to the other, feeding and pushing the pile in one direction then the next.

Looking down the hill, not a sole came by, close to 2 hours!, mostly glove-less.

McMillan road, x 4 grey prevails

30  F  Cloudy, dank.

11 x 14

This is the 4 th time at this spot.

As you can see there isn't anything but grey.

I started at about  2:15.

I started with the far hills, and because the dark masses were split between bluish grey and brownish grey I chose to split the dark application, and put in the sky anyway. The drawing is way off, as is the color of the hills I just put in, but you can't see it until you get more in.

The other dark. Always checking drawing with scene and making changes as I find them.

The process is a constant back and forth look at the scene and the canvas, and always correcting, until it'll pass.

It's easier to see that the outline of the far hills were way over exaggerated, when I have a lot of the rest of the elements in play.

Having a ground that can be used in back of the white of the snow I just put down is a real help, and for this reason I like having a course canvas to get that texture.

Sorry this is out of focus!

I normally wait untill the end to put the trees in and tighten a few things up, even thought it seems fuzzy still.

Here is the scene taken at the start, as you can see there was no change in lighting during the session. I just got cold!

I felt like I could have gone a bit longer, maybe put in the telephone pole or more tree trunks.  I spent 1 1/2 hours and it wasn't that cold, but the dampness got to me, and my hands and feet were done.