Timber!

The US Fish and Wildlife Service recommends letting the dead and dying trees alone in the woods.  There are at least 200 species needing dead and dying trees to thrive. Many dead trees make great nesting and feeding areas for wildlife.  In my area, there are numerous Great Blue Heron rookeries.. Their large twiggy nests are set a top dead trees in wetlands.  Decaying trees are hosts to many species of mushrooms and fungi. In some places of the country dead trees are more valuable than the lumber they could yield  because the economic impact of wild mushroom harvesting, such as the wild Morel, is greater.

A few days after a recent snow storm,  I was at Maudsley State Park to paint. Not having my snow shoes to traipsed through the snow covered lanes, I walked along the plowed Curzon Mill Road in search of subject matter.  Succumbed to the chain saw, a large pine tree has been felled and  dismembered. I am not sure if the tree was alive or dead at the time it was cut down but it was in a area where it could be a danger to barn and people if it toppled. Many of these old growth firs at the park have been toppling over. (See my blog post, Old Growth Pines Trees). Patron safety is a major priority at the State Park esp. along road ways.

With my critical eye, I viewed the remains piled haphazardly near the road side. Cylindrical shapes are wonderful forms to paint especially with rough bark, textured coverings.  Yes, this is what I want to paint today!

Concord Art Member Juried show

There were 86 pieces of artworks,all paintings and sculpture, accepted into the CAA Member Juried Show.   My plein air painting, Winter Pond Series 2, was one of the pieces selected for the show.  Six artists were singled out by jurors, Emily Eveleth and Penn Young, and given special recognition with monetary awards at last night's reception... and I was one of them.

Jurors' statement regarding my painting: "We admired the subtlety in composition, tones and values. So too, the certainty in the paint application.  The scene is wonderfully observed and the scene beautifully cropped.  We liked that the brushwork was loose and free, yet done with control."

I couldn't describe my painting process better than those written words. Thank you.

Here are the four paintings I painted separately last winter at Maudsley State Park.  Enduring cold toes are worth beautiful paintings. This winter, I am waiting for the perfect winter storm, so I can get out and engage with the elements.

Return to the honey bees

On a cool autumn day I painted at a residence homestead in Lexington, MA which kept chickens and honey bees. Hmmm, just a thought...chicken fingers and honey dipping sauce...could be a good combo for lunch.

Thinking back and reminiscing, my husband and I maintained a five acre homestead a few miles from the Chesapeake Bay in southern rural Maryland. We began our intro husbandry with a small flock of chickens and three hives and our first vegetable garden. Keeping an apiary was a captivating as well as delicious hobby. Learning about the native trees and their bloom times was much needed practical knowledge for keeping the hives active and healthy.  Although I do not keep bees now, each spring I still search along the roadside for the blooming of locust trees...such delicious honey.

Here is a very early block print, 1981, the beginning of my block printing journey, entitled The Apiary.

Once again, 2015, while my husband was being treated for uveal cancer, I took an interest in producing linoleum block prints of bees and flowers.




Below is the en plein air painting of the bee hives in Lexington. and no I didn't have chicken fingers and honey for lunch but the home made veggie soup hit the spot.