68) Harvest Time With Pumpkins and Mums

11 x 14” watercolor on 300 pound cold press paper - $125

The last Friday in September sitting outside by the Cider House Store just as the orchard was opening for the day. A row of pumpkins lined the front of the deck on one side with mums on the other. Orange ran throughout the picture from the pumpkins to the shades in the gravel and the early signs of autumn foliage. The store sells so much more than apples, pies, cider, and donuts (though they would serve the community just as well if that is all they offered), also are found shelves lined with Vermont made products including maple syrup, salsa, shirts, and greeting cards . As a local artist I so appreciate this support of the local economy, a passion of Shelburne Orchards.

67) Liberty Harvest

11 x 14” watercolor on 300 pound cold press paper - $125

A late September trip to the orchard. Late in the afternoon about 2 hours before sunset I drove down to the Liberty block in the northwest corner of the orchard. I love this space with the two short rows of trees tucked between the sumac and the buckwheat. The gentle sound of the lake close by can be heard much like placing my ear to a sea shell.

Before setting up I jogged through the Liberties to the lake with Georgia. The water was still warm enough for a swim, the last one for me on in Lake Champlain this year … and maybe for some time. As I walked back to paint I smelled the ancient smell of cut hay, this odor sends me back to young days at my grandparent’s farm. A constant chorus of crickets followed us while the warmth of the late summer sun filtered through the branches.

As I set up to paint I looked east towards the runway to see a low cloud of dust being kicked up by the orchards “49” (a 1949 Chevy pickup truck). As it moved down the runway a circle of seagulls (really “lakegulls”) circled in the blue sky above the dust. Occasionally one of the gulls would arc downward into the settling cloud. Soon the truck appeared with Pat and his friend Nick (a recent arrival to work the harvest).

This painting brought me the desire to paint quickly and with little detail. I wanted to play and represent the inner bigness of this happy place. The two trees (as with most of the Liberty apples in this block) were heavy with fruit. The ground shifted in shadow with the movement of the sun towards the horizon leaving oranges and yellows and blues in the grass.

After 45 minutes I took a break to walk barefoot in the grass with Georgia. The coarse wild blades gave way to soft rows of mowed grass, which interested me that something alive would be painful while the dead cuttings were soothing on my feet. As I returned to continue the painting I picked up a Liberty apple from the ground. The dark red skin exposed a bright sheen with a little polishing from my shirt. The bright white flesh was tart and Georgia eagerly trotted by my side while I tossed her bites from the apple in the air.

Unlike other compositions I spent little time in detailing the branch structure of the trees. There gentle curving and melding of shadows interested me. In the right hand side tree is a “bug trap” (orange curved rectangle with a red circle), this is used to trap bugs that infest the trees where they can be observed to determine what insects are inhabiting the trees, and possibly attacking the apples. A long orange ribbon hands near the trap. As I drew near the close of the painting the clouds began to morph into their variety of colors, this time a pale yellow that would later darken into rose and purple before falling into night.

66) Young Fruit

11 x 14” watercolor on 300 pound cold press paper - $125

Two young trees from the many rows that run alongside the runway. Tall metal poles add support to each tree while corrugated plastic tubes protect the tender bark from gnawing mice teeth. Many trees are grown to sell, of which these may find their way to a yard or farm sometime in the future. I am happy with the simplicity of this work, the focus on the young trees and soft blue-green sky.

65) Jersey Mac and Clover

11 x 14” watercolor on 300 pound cold press paper - $125

Near the organic section stands a Jersey Macintosh, a small tree full of apples. I was amazed at both the quantity of fruit (compared to much larger neighboring trees) and the bright red coloring of the apples. Throughout the tall grass was both clover and chicory, as it was an early evening in August the chicory had closed their tiny blue blossoms (much to my disappointment).

64) Gate and Maple

11 x 14” watercolor on 300 pound cold press paper - $125

Mid July sitting on the lawn of Tom and Katra’s home looking towards the south. The red wooden gate stood open gracing one of the entrances to the orchard. A lovely maple shades the corner of the lawn by the gate. Earlier in the day Tom mowed the lawn leaving noticeable lines in the grass creating an interesting geometric dimension to the painting.

63) Buckwheat Field and Elder Lady

11 x 14” watercolor on 300 pound cold press paper - $125

Early June back in the old trees near the Gate House looking west. The apple tree reminded me of J.R. Tolkien’s Ents or a tree from the Wizard of Oz or a character from one of Walt Disney’s early cartoons. The branches became creaky arms with the possibility that any moment the trunk would lift up and march down the hill toward the newly planted buckwheat.
The willows stood out against the dark trees and lit up as the sun shifted towards the west. I tried to capture the warmth of this light on the trees and the earth of the buckwheat field.

62) Elder Lady 4

11 x 14” watercolor on 300 pound cold press paper - $125

Late May sitting in the old trees near the Gate House looking west. The elder ladies have so much character. Unlike the younger trees, these sprawling branches have fewer limbs and leaves. Yet after almost a century of life they still produce. I am intrigued by the angles and swirls of branches, some natural and some created through years of pruning. Even the scars from cuts long ago are beautiful creating orange and red swirls in the late afternoon sunlight. The bark glows a rosy red tint through the purple grey bark.