Images from Vermont

A few images from our recent trip to Vermont. The foliage was incredible. From the top: 1) more of the barns at Scott Farm in Putney; 2) the view from our condo at Killington; 3) my wife and mugging for the camera while riding the gondola to the top of Killington; 4) foliage along the ski lift at Pico.

Barn Cupola (Vermont)

After a rather long, month-and-a-half hiatus from the blog (and painting), here's the latest. 9"x12", watercolor, pen & ink, on Fabriano paper. (What a crappy scan!)

Contains Lead

For use as a motor fuel only? What else would one do with it? I do know people who have used it on their charcoal grills - with spectacular results! But how else would one use it? I guess one could use it to clean up greasy tools. Weed killer? (So much for the environment!) And then there's the old lead issue in the gasoline from the pre-unleaded era. Where did all of that lead end up - aside from clogging up the engines of automobiles? How much of that lead attached itself to other compounds and either sits in the soil or found its way into our water tables?

I found this old Texaco gas pump (hence the bright red) in Vermont. In painting it I wanted to focus in so closely that it almost becomes abstract, while still retaining enough of its shape to be recognizable. This is another part of the series of small 5" x 7" studies of vintage objects. For the lettering I used a special Japanese brush pen that allows one to paint with the ink while maintaining precise control. Watercolor with pen and ink, Fabriano 140 lb. cold-pressed paper. (Although this Italian paper is often a bit more expensive than the Arches and other brands, I prefer its texture and the availability of brighter whites in some sizes.)

Odds and Ends from Scott Farm

Just some final shots pulled from the 300 photos I took over three days in November . . .

Scott Farm in Color

Ok, despite all of the black & white/sepia-toned images from Vermont, I did manage to take some color photos because the color variations in the wood are just as strong as the pattern and contrast studies. These shots were all taken of the ca. 1864 main barn. The sheep live in the bottom level when not mowing the surrounding fields. Unfortunately, their guard llama, Mac, picked up some kind of parasite which produced encephalitis-like symptoms. By the time we arrived on the Friday after Thanksgiving, he had lost the use of his hind legs. He loved apples, so we gathered leftover apples from the orchard for his Friday afternoon dinner. On Saturday morning, the vet came - and the man to drive the backhoe - so Mac could be put down and buried. My wife, who has years of experience with horses and has been present at many such ordeals, joined our friend Margaret to offer support. The boys understood what was going to happen, but we didn't think they had to witness it, so I took them to downtown Brattleboro for a shopping expedition. Margaret is already checking leads on a new llama and will likely purchase one in the spring. A guard llama is necessary up there to protect the sheep from predators like wolves and coyotes. Enjoy the photos.

More from Scott Farm

Some miscellaneous details from the ca. 1864 barns . . .

Barn Door, Scott Farm

After about two weeks of work, I finally finished my latest project. Although the subject is typical for me - a closely focused architectural element - the process proved a bit different. Although I've used pen and ink highlights in other paintings to accentuate key details or more clearly define the boundaries between objects, I haven't really used that medium as the foundation for a painting. There are those artists who employ consistently the pen and ink drawing/watercolor wash combination. Among early watercolorists, for example J.M.W. Turner, a carefully rendered pen and ink drawing nearly always represented the "bone structure" of a study, while muted washes from a very limited palette formed a secondary element.

Having studied this mixture of media over the last month, I decided to experiment more extensively with pen and ink. The result is this tightly-focused study of a barn door and rusty hinge from Scott Farm in Vermont. As you might have seen from many of my earlier farm photos, the wood on these 19th century barns displays incredible variation in weathering. Some boards retain large patches of whitewash and others stand with their intricate grain patterns bared to the harsh Vermont winters. In the end I was happy with the results, but recognize that this can prove a time consuming process on more intricately detailed subjects. Wood grain isn't easy to create! (9" x 12", pen and ink, watercolor, Fabriano paper)

Dodge

This old Dodge pickup truck sits abandoned in one of the barns at Scott Farm. It's a late 40s/early 50s model and has likely been parked here for a long time. Still, it's amazing how well the body has held up with its cab exposed to the harsh Vermont winters. Are you familiar with the recent bestseller, The World Without Us, in which Alan Weisman examines "how our planet would respond without the relentless pressure of the human presence?" Basing his conclusions on extensive research, he speculates on how long it would take for our buildings, infrastructure, and other man-made items to decay. Obviously these old Detroit-made behemoths of steel would take many years to rust away and fall apart!

A Fleecy Weekend

After spending a lazy Thanksgiving day at home, we traveled to Vermont for the remainder of the holiday, visiting our friend Margaret at Scott Farm near Putney. Between the sheep and Kip, the border collie, it was a fleecy, hay-covered weekend. I still have the sound of the more-chatty-than-usual ewes in my head after three days of walking through barns and fields, camera in hand. By our departure on Sunday afternoon I had taken roughly 250 photos, so obviously this is just the tip of a much larger iceberg. As always, Vermont proved entrancing, a result primarily of the quiet and lack of suburban clutter. I'll post more in the coming days.

Vermont, Part V: Scott Farm Textures

Here are a few more sepia shots from Scott Farm in Putney. With weathered barns and rusting metal, the farm offers a great study in contrasts that regular color photos just don't capture.

Kip the Wonder Dog

This is our buddy, Kip, who herds the sheep on Scott Farm in Vermont. He has to be one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met, and like most border collies, super smart. Plus he follows directions better than my children. We usually call him Kip the Wonder Dog, but about a month ago he wandered off for about 24 hours. Now he's Kip the Wander Dog.

Vermont, Part IV: Sheep

While in Vermont we spent Friday afternoon, Saturday morning, and Monday afternoon on Scott Farm - picking apples, wandering between the barns, and watching the sheep. The boys always enjoy helping with the feeding and watering. But our favorite activity is playing with Kip, the border collie, as he moves the sheep between different fields. I love the perspective in the second photo. Kip has set himself directly in the path of these ewes, blocking their progress. As I've mentioned before, he's a sweetheart of a dog, but is happiest when he's running the sheep.

Vermont, Part III: Church of Our Savior

The beautiful little Episcopal church is just off Route 4, east of Killington. We had seen it from the main road for years, tucked behind the trees on the north side of a mountain stream. Although we had always pointed it out when passing, we never stopped. I decided to change that on Monday, detouring onto the gravel road for a closer look. What a reward! And it was open! Consecrated in 1895, the Church of Our Savior reminds me of stone village churches scattered throughout England. All it lacks is the clocks that usually adorns the English churches. The stained glass was simple, but beautiful, and the woodwork of the church's interior was stunning (especially the tongue-and-groove arched ceiling). It represented a sharp contrast to the white clapboard congregational churches that dot the New England landscape. In the end, my wife was sorry we hadn't stopped in for services on Sunday.