"ink"

Rail Trailing

Monday, October 24, 2011

On Sunday, biked a few miles along the Norwottuck Rail Trail going east from Northampton, Mass., and then stopped to do a quick watercolor sketch of the dying light on the hills and fields somewhere in Hadley. Started rushing at the end because it got quite cold! Added a bit of ink later, to provide some contrast.

Farm fields as seen from the Norwottuck Rail Trail, Hadley, Massachusetts

"Susan Abbott"

Vermont Sketchbook

Friday, October 14, 2011

Sheep at Pie in the Sky B&B, Marshfield, Vermont

Was glad to be in Vermont, truly -- after it was ravaged by Tropical Storm Irene, I really wanted to support the state, spend money in its restaurants, eat maple candy and gawk at the glorious foliage. How fortuitous that I'd signed up for Susan Abbott's fall Vermont landscape workshop, I thought.

Well, we did the first three. The foliage (what there was of it) hid behind mists and drizzles and on-and-off downpours. Not the most auspicious weather for plein air landscapes. Despite my moodiness, and the bugs, and the mud, there was sketching. And painting. (Some outdoors, even.)

We stayed at Pie in the Sky B&B in Marshfield for the first two nights. They have sheep. (And a guard llama, which didn't stay in one spot long enough to make it into my sketchbook.)

Resting sheep behind Pie in the Sky B&B, Marshfield, Vermont

Later in the week we stayed at Emergo Farms B&B, in Danville -- it's a dairy farm that supplies Cabot.

Cows at Emergo Farm, Danville, Vermont

While it rained, we did exercises in the studio:

Path color exercise

House color exercise

Barn color exercise

And when the clouds parted, we rushed outside hoping to avoid the ambush of sudden showers.

Warm/cool color exercise, plein air, Plainfield, Vermont

Plein air landscape, Vermont

The rain helped paint this one:

Landscape with house, plein air, Vermont

It's hard to be spontaneous when faced with a sheet of Arches paper. I like this color sketch better than the actual painting I did right after.

Color study, plein air, Vermont

Landscape, plein air, Vermont

We sketched and painted on lands private and public. People have a lot of land up there.

Path behind the studio, plein air, Marshfield, Vermont

At the farm, Calais, Vermont

Walking on the path behind the studio, plein air, Marshfield, Vermont

So? Go! Go wander Montpelier and buy art supplies at The Drawing Board, eat at Tip Top Cafe in White River Junction and Elements in St. Johnsbury. Bike the Kingdom Trails rain or shine. And at the end of the day, savor a maple creamy at Bragg Farm. Yum.