Planting Fields

The leaves are down. The vibrant orange and red colors of autumn have come and gone. A sad time for landscape painters? Not in the least! In fact this is a very exciting time for me because I love trees and I love them even better when I can see their “skeletal” form. I love the way they come up out of the ground and rise high in the sky and I especially love the way they grab the warm sunlight and reflect that back to me. Surrounded as they usually are by cool mauves and grays they seem to radiate heat which is a welcome feeling on a cool day.

Both of these paintings were done on the grounds of the Planting Field Arboretum which is only a couple of miles from my house. “The former estate of William Robinson Coe and his wife, Mai, Planting Fields spans more than 400 acres and includes the estate house Coe Hall and other architecturally significant estate buildings, greenhouses, vast woody plant collections and the woodland trails”. It is a magnificent place to wander through and look for the right composition.

“In the Valley of The Giants” was painted at the westernmost end of the park where many grand old species of trees grow freely.

“November Lindens” was painted just off of the main path not far from the entrance. There is a row of about 6 beautiful lindens which line the path along with an old and very picturesque split rail fence which is in various states of lovely disrepair.

Note that all of these small sketches are available for sale directly from me via this website. Simply click on the “Paintings and Prints” tab and then on “Available Paintings”. The price includes shipping costs.