I had recently returned from a trip to Italy and my mind was filled with many images of the olive groves in Tuscany.  When this happens to me,  I fall asleep at night and dream that I am painting in full color. This painting was done as a result of one of my dreams.

 

                                                          Olive Grove in Tuscany

                                                                      12" x 16" 

                                                             Watercolor on paper
 

 

 

I used to drive to UNH every Friday to pick up my son when he was back in college. I always took a shortcut down this country road. There is a large farm on the way with a large grove of trees in front along the road. I had a very pleasant dream the other night, that I was going to get my son and those trees appeared. This is how they looked in my dream.

                                 "A Grove of Trees"  18" x 24" Oil on Linen board

Tangled Bush

This is the second painting I did during my session in the pine grove. I turned my easel to the right and saw this bush. That was it, I decided to just paint it. Sometimes, it is good to not spend a whole lot of time walking around searching for a subject to paint. Sometimes, the subject finds you. I like the way all three of the paintings came out from that afternoon on Monhegan. I plan on doing this type of plein air painting more in the future.

                                                                  "Tangled Bush"
                                                          6" x 8" Oil on linen panel

Sunlit Pines

This is actually the first painting I did on the day I set up my gear under the pines. I was instantly drawn to the way the light was beaming in from the left, leaving these deep long shadows across the grassy area. This was painted very quickly, keeping my brushes constantly moving across the canvas. The next painting I post will be the third painting from that afternoon session.

Sunlit Pines

                                                            6"x 8" Oil on Linen Panel

House On the Hill

I just returned from a fantastic week on Monhegan Island working as Stan Moeller's Assistant at his annual September painting workshop. We had great sunny weather for the most part. I normally paint a lot of seascapes while I am there, but this time I focused on the trees and houses. This first painting I am posting was executed on a very warm sunny day. I found sanctuary in a shady grove of pine trees. I set up my easel and decided to just paint what was straight ahead. I turned my easel to the side and painted another and repeated the process. I produced three paintings that day. It was like heaven being outdoors in the cool shade on such a beautiful hot fall day. I will post the other two paintings in the next few days.

                                                               "House On the Hill"
                                                          9" x 12" Oil on Linen Panel

Tree at the Monhegan House

I painted this from the Monhegan House porch this past June. It was one of those days that was raining and then it suddenly stopped and the light turned beautiful.
                                             

 

                                                 "Tree at the Monhegan House" 
                                                      6"x 8" oil on linen panel

A Field In Quebec

5"x7" Oil on Canvas, Framed