The Month of May

May 4 - spring in the woods. The browns of last year's fallen leaves broken up by the greens of Dutchman's Breeches and wild ramps.

May 4, 2018, 6 x 8" plein air oil on linen/birch.

May 6 - spring paint-day at the farm. A great group of artists came out to the farm to paint. It was so fun for me to see some old painting friends and meet some new ones, and to see this place I love portrayed through the eyes and art of others.

This is the painting that I did towards the end of the day. The fields were getting so green, and the trees of the woods were leafing out.

May 6, 2018, 10 x 7" plein air oil on linen/birch.

May 9 - an attempt. Apple twigs, leaves, and blossoms in one of my favorite pieces of pottery. This was so much more difficult than I anticipated. I hope to try again next year.

May 9-10, 2018, apple blossoms. 16 x 20" oil on linen/birch.

May 11 - another attempt. These cuttings off the apple trees were still in bud stage, and I painted them in an old "Atlas" canning jar. A very fun challenge.

May 11, apple buds in an Atlas mason jar. 12 x 10" oil on linen/birch.

May 14 - A rainy Monday. The woods were turning all sorts of green, and the wet weather brought out the deeper colors of the bark of the trees.

May 14, 2018, 10 x 8" plein air oil on linen/birch.

May 15th - I always like to see how the hickory leaves unfurl from their flower-like buds in the spring.

HIckory Twigs. May 15, 2018, 8 x 8" alla prima oil on linen/birch.

In the evening I went out in the fields. The trees and the fields were becoming greener, but hadn't yet put on their summer colors. The shadows on the bluffs looked blue as the light faded. 

May 15, 2018, 5 x 7" plein air oil on linen/birch.

May 17th - I started this one late, after spending time working in the orchard clearing brush from between the rows of trees. The light was so pretty that time of day, but so fleeting! I didn't have enough time to finish and I ended up going out again a few days later, May 22, to put the finishing details in. The blooms were a bit sporadic this spring, the result of a very heavy bloom last year which was the result of a late frost that took out much of the crop the year before! By this time the grass was growing tall and green, and the air was filled with the scent of the blossoms and the buzzing of the bees hard at work.

May 17 & 22, 2018, 7 x 10" plein air oil on linen/birch.

May 19 - The weather turned unusually cool this evening as I went out to try to capture a little of the dandelion-filled fields. A north wind blew and the sky clouded over.

May 19, 2018, 12 x 9" plein air oil on linen/birch.

May 24 - Cloud study. This was one of those days when I just didn't have enough time to do what I wanted on location. But I had a start, painted in the bones so to speak, and finished it up at home that night.

May 24, 2018, 8 x 10" alla prima oil on linen/birch.

May 26 - Hot, humid weather. In the evening I went down towards the woods and set up in the shadows of the trees. The light from the sinking sun shone on the tops of the trees on the edge of the woods and lit one of the little trees that grow along the fence that separates pastures.

May 26, 2018, 6 x 8" plein air oil on linen/birch.

May 29 - Some beautiful blooms off of the bridal wreath bushes that grow by the house. I love the expressive shapes of the draping branches.

May 29, 2018, 11 x 14"  alla prima oil on linen/birch.

May 31 - One more chance to paint the dandelions. A quick little study before the darkness fell.

May 31, 2018, 5 x 7" plein air oil on linen/birch.