56) Autumn Splash

11 x 14” watercolor on 300 pound cold press paper - Sold
Click HERE to purchase a reprint or cards 

The last Sunday in October, an unusually warm day allowed me to find an unexpected opportunity to paint outside. The autumn colors were still bright through the oranges and yellows or maple and birch. Blurring my eyes created an interesting effect where the grass of the field looked much like water with the dead grass and tire tracks resembling shadows from the trees. On the left side of the work can be seen the northern most rows of apple trees. On the left side displays a rail fence that forms the northern border of the orchard.

I tried to paint quickly with large swaths of paint. Being comfortable with a more abstract technique, I chose not to use purple and black outlines as with earlier works. The large dead tree in the left upper side reminded me of a neuron cell.

55) Autumn Crates

11 x 14” watercolor on 300 pound cold press paper - $125
Click HERE to purchase a reprint or cards 

Middle of October painting on the run way, half way down looking east. Rows of crates had been spread out blocking the young trees from public pickers. Most of the trees were turning orange and yellow. The hard lines of the crates worked well with the flowing outlines of the trees.

54) Autumn Half Moon

11 x 14” watercolor on 300 pound cold press paper - $75

Early October back in the old orchard near the Gate House looking southeast. The older tree on the right came out well including the early evening light changing the purple gray bark to a rosy blue. The center of the picture turned out muddy as I tried to capture the autumn maples and the flowing willow tree sandwiched between them. As with the prior work (Elder Lady 3) I needed to leave the orchard due to darkness and return a week later. During that time the moon went from a near complete half size to its full phase. I settled for representing the moon in the way I saw it the first time, halved in a beautiful crystal clear sky.

53) Elder Lady 4

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

Mid September in the eastern corner of the old orchard looking south. I was intrigued by this old tree whose form was mostly two trunks arching low to the ground. Despite her age, the smaller branches were loaded with apples. It was late in the afternoon and I painted until it was too cold and dark to continue. Four days later I returned to finish the work only to find all the apples gone (harvested).

Vines of dark and light green leaves spiraled up the main trunk, a cool pattern to paint. Despite the disappearance of the apples between sittings, I was able to capture the multitude of fruit from this elder lady.

52) Late Summer Early Evening

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

My favorite time of the day is just before sunset through twilight. As the sun moved quickly down upon the Adirondacks the light shifted across the orchard with an endless spectrum of gold and pink. Sitting on the east edge of the runway looking southeast, I observed the woody elements of the work (tree trunk and tall poles) morph from gray purple to pink purple. I feverishly tried to capture the fleeting hues while combating the looming darkness. In the end my favorite part of this work is the tall trees of the background, which benefited from a fast application of the paint that I laid down anticipating the changing light.

51) Dock

11 x 14” watercolor on 300 pound cold press paper - $75

Late August sitting on the shore looking south on Nick and Cindy’s dock. The water was very high (more than usual). While sitting I observed the water to be a montage of blue, green and purple circles, which fascinated me more than any other aspect of the painting. The sail boat came out nice with small shapes and lines of blue representing the hull and mast. I made several mistakes with the perspective including the front lines of the dock and the shore line (the land jutting out to the left of the sail boat should have been much farther back), though I suspect the layout works just as well regardless of my lapse in capturing the reality of the picture.

50) Sumac by the Gate House

11 x 14” watercolor on 300 pound cold press paper - $75

Looking north late August sitting on front lawn of Tom and Katra’s house (the Gate House) at picnic table with Katra painting. The center of the work is a large stand of sumacs with apple trees to either side and in the background. Hazy rows of high clouds floated slowly over the warm summer day, soon harvest will arrive.