The Boston Public Garden Delights!

"Elo and the Ducklings" 24x30 oil

My 2 year old granddaughter, Elouise, lives near the Boston Public Garden. I think she thinks  of the Garden, the Common, and the Esplanade as her backyard. We have frequented the "Make Way for Ducklings" sculpture since she was born. Her first spring, summer and fall was spent sitting on the blanket and watching other children climb and play on the ducks. We would pose her on a duck for a photo now and then. By the following spring she was walking and couldn't wait to explore them by herself. I have loved them for a while, but have never spent so much time there until the past two years. The sculptor, Nancy Shon, has brought much delight, not just to children, but to adults too. Robert McCloskey's book delighted generations and inspired the sculpture. The book is a piece of my childhood, and it and many visits to the sculpture inspires me as an artist. My first painting of the ducklings was without  Elo, but now I am adding figures in to my landscapes and Elo is a favorite. I find the duckling compositions work from many different angles and the subject  matter has great appeal. The sunlit bronze reflects surrounding colors and is so tactile. I hope my painting inspires viewers to visit them too, or to recall a memory made there. They'll keep you forever young!

"Make Way for Elouise"

"Make Way for Elo"  12x12 oil

Our son and family live in Boston near the Public Garden. Having our first grandchild near the swanboats and ducklings is especially rewarding for me as I spent many days there with my grandparents when I was a child. The sculptures are the work of a Framingham artist making the ducks an even more special connection. After working all summer on a commission for someone, I was eager to get back to doing something I held close to my heart. And what that was was so obvious when I saw Elo with the ducklings on" grandparents day". Her red coat reflecting in the brass, their similar heights  and stances made this call out to me. The day was overcast and dreary so I decided to infuse the painting with reds to warm it up and unify it. The reds harmonized nicely with the greens of the brass. After 2 months on my last painting, I was able to complete this in two 3 hour sessions. I enjoy the spontaneity, the color harmony and, of course,  the subject matter in this painting.

Boston's Swanboats

"Reflections of Youth" 16X20 oil 2015

 After an especially tough winter, Bostonians look forward to spring. One sign of spring in Boston is the launching of the Swanboats in the Boston Public Gardens. Each day they are lined up awaiting the tourists and residents who flock to ride around the lagoon. At night they return to their dock and bask in the late afternoon sun awaiting the next day's riders. Swanboats were a major fascination for me when my mother took me as a child. I enjoyed outings there with my own children and many students over the years. Now I look forward to taking my granddaughter for her first ride this spring. The sight of the boats brings a smile as old memories surface. It's a happy place. I wanted to create a happy painting. I used greens punctuated by red to create a smooth diagonal path in the painting. My focus was on the variations in the whites as the light bounced off the whites of the swans.  The warm and cool whites presented many variations in tints of color which when put together appear to be white. The ripples in the water formed wonderful reflections as the boats quietly bobbed in place. The horizontal linear patterns and horizontal painting format were employed to bring a sense of peacefulness to the viewer.

Cityscapes

Church St. Burlington ,VT  18x24---

Swanboat Memories 16x20---

The old and the new, Oxford University, UK-16x20-

Winooski Falls, Winooski, VT-

When thinking about painting  city scenes, first thoughts are the downtown hustle and bustle. The great thing in exploring a city is discovering what makes it unique and what makes it universal. The old mill towns in New England are great;  factory buildings are converted and the flavor of the community is preserved. Some old mills are marketplaces, artist studios, restaurants, fitness centers and a multitude of other things. In some cities parks and walking streets provide places to gather or relax. Sometimes it's the history that attracts me. Although painting the city provides a lot of opportunity, I have much more exploring to do in this area. I was able to set up my easel on my daughter's balcony to paint the Winooski Falls. The blue and orange harmony attracted me as well as the rushing  water patterns;  but today that view is gone as new high rise condos went up right after I painted this one. Some scenes, like the swanboats, are iconic and others are pure luck. When I saw the students come through the doorway at Oxford it was the moment when it all came together. I was already hooked on the lighting, but the new and modern juxtaposed with the old and established was the moment I wanted to capture. Church Street in Burlington is another iconic scene with the white steepled church at one end. Sometimes there are banners and flags or street performers and pushcarts or in the winter-lights and people bundled up against the VT cold. Any season is a good one to paint Church Street.