Winter at the Pond

Winter at the Pond
oil 6 x 6
Sold

Earlier this week we had cold foggy weather. The vault of the sky was so leaden and heavy it seemed it might collapse in on itself and completely envelope the earth. I love the muffled quality of sounds and the gauzy look of the landscape on days like this. One of the challenges of painting these effects is understanding that the sky is actually lighter in value on foggy or overcast days than it is on a sunny days, so the entire painting must be keyed higher. And of course, the range of values is much more narrow. The sky is slightly darker closer to the horizon, and grades lighter as it goes up-again, exactly the opposite of what it does on bright sunny days. But, what I love most are the soft edges and the exquisite jewel like warm tones against the sea of fog and mist.


2009 Workshops

Winter at the Pond (2007)
6 x 6
Private Collection

We had the first of our lovely winter fogs yesterday morning which reminded me of this little painting from almost two years ago. I wrote about the challenges of painting fog and mist here.


I came across a quote this week which I think beautifully sums up the value of art and beauty in our lives and as an underpinning of civilization. Thanks to Matthew Innis and his excellent blog Underpaintings for finding this.

The following sensible reflections on the permanent value and enjoyment of true works of art are taken from the columns of the New York Nation:

"Is art a luxury, like wine or silks or laces? Does it minister only to the pleasure or ostentation of the rich, without benefiting the community at large? Decidedly we say no. The first great distinction between a work of art and those luxuries with which it is falsely classed is, that it is not consumed by the man who buys it. If I buy a bottle of wine and drink it, it has pleased my palate, given me an hour of pleasant exhilaration, and it is gone. The money or the labor it cost is destroyed absolutely in procuring me that hour of pleasure. If I buy a silk dress for my wife the pleasure lasts a little longer, and, if she is a handsome woman, spreads a little further, but the dress wears out, and there is an end of it. But if I bring into the country a beautiful picture or a noble statue, I have brought something that will last for hundreds of years after I am dead, and will contribute to the higher pleasures of generations yet unborn. So far from destroying the labors of others for my personal and temporary gratification, I have paid for the enjoyment of thousands, and in so far am a public benefactor. We all recognize the public spirit of him who erects a fountain or gives a garden to the people, and doubtless we are not called upon to admire in the same way the generosity of him who puts a picture in his parlor. Doubtless he puts It there for his own pleasure. Yet, as far as the public is concerned, the benefit is but deferred. Be he as selfish as he may, he cannot keep it shut up forever; he will die, and the picture will live. Even in his lifetime many will see it, and a work of art truly belongs to him who enjoys it, not to him who owns it. Sooner or later it will change hands, it will be seen in public exhibitions, it will be sold, and the history of all great works of art is, that at last they become the property of the public, and are placed in museums for the pleasure of all. Luxuries are for the moment, but "a thing of beauty is a joy forever." The first quality in which a work of art differs from a luxury is its permanence; the second is its productiveness. It not only gives pleasure to thousands and for ages, but it gives much more than pleasure—it gives education. The history of art is the history of civilization. Art, in one form or another, is the great beautifier and ennobler of life, and a nation without art—without poetry or painting, architecture or sculpture or music— is a nation of barbarians, though it possess the steam-engine and electricity."¹

¹"Art No Luxury", The Deseret Weekly, Vol. 39, June 29, 1889,

A Summer Idyll

I continue to work steadily on the Lennox Woods body of work for my solo show next spring. There will be five large scale paintings - 48 x 60 up to 72 x 96-  and a total of about 42 paintings in the show. I started with the smallest of the "BIGs" as I call them, and am working my way up in size. I am working on several of them at the same time, plus others as well- usually about 8 to 10 pieces at a time. 

In January of 2012 when I first started on this journey, I was out in the Woods one day with Steve and Allen Phillips (the filmmaker for the project). Allen and I managed to wander off the trail. I didn't know my way around the Woods very well back then and neither did Allen. But, he had a GPS on his phone and we knew if we kept heading north we would hit the dirt road that runs along one side of the Preserve. So, we kept going instead of doubling back to find the trail. It was winter so bushwhacking through the Woods wasn't too hard and we got back into some spots that would be hard to find in any other season.  Pretty soon we came upon a small pond. It was a big surprise because the only water I had seen in the Woods was Pecan Bayou and the small streams it spawned throughout the Preserve. This pond looked self contained, although Steve thinks it is fed by a spring on adjacent property. Anyway, having found it, I knew I wanted to come back.

Here is a study for the 60 x 72 painting I am now working on.

A Summer Idyll

20 x 24

I started with lots of sketches, working out my ideas. This is my preferred way to work- hunting for motifs, then using drawings to work out designs and to gather reference materials.

Once I had the design organized and the field reference I needed, I started the 20 x 24 study.

I made a grid of the study and traced the main shapes and lines. I gridded the large canvas with proportional squares with vine charcoal, then drew in the composition.

Here is the studio with the large canvas on the left, the grid in the center and the study to the right of that. Just to get an idea of the scale, the painting on the easel behind the grid is 36 x 48!

Morning Fog at the Pond (2008)
11 x 14

Here's another painting from the archives. The image is a bit larger than usual so if you click on it you can get a good idea of the what the surface layers of glazes and scumbles look like. My aim here-other than to exploit the luscious, subtle color harmonies-was to create an envelope of air, atmosphere and mood.

These are very much the color harmonies I am looking at these days- bits of warmth from dried grasses and leaves still hanging on, coupled with winter fogs or heavy leaden skies. So, I plan to revisit these motifs in the coming weeks.

I've finally posted my materials information over on my new site for online classes and workshops. In the next week or so, I'll begin posting some rather extensive reading lists on different topics too.

New Work

Winter came back with a vengeance this week, giving us our first snowfall. My favorite haunts were covered in four inches of snow.  Here they are, back in November, shrouded in fog and rich with the color harmonies of late autumn.

 November Fog

20 x 20

 Foggy Morning

20 x 24

November Morning at the Pond

20 x 24