May - A Month in Pictures

I've been so busy getting ready for my first art show of the season in Philadelphia that this past month has flown by in one giant blur. Thus, I've been little bit remiss with my postings.

This month was also complicated by the mother of all head colds, which had me out of commission for about eight days....It's never a good time to get a cold, but I was especially peeved because for months I made it to our local swimming pool by 6:30am to swim laps during the black winter mornings without so much as a sniffle. And then when the weather moderated - pow!

The good news is that spring is here in central Pennsylvania. Finally. And I thought it would be nice to share with you some of the pictures that I've caught over the past month during my outdoor excursions. Enjoy!

Annie and I along Honey Creek in central Pennsylvania's Reeds Gap State Park

Annie helps herself to some of the fresh spring melt

A delightful panoramic over the farm country of central Pennsylvania during a May morning. I'm always a fan of "cottonball clouds."

During an outing to the Penn's Valley area, I came across these silos, aglow in the fading evening light

Along the Blue Ridge Parkway

This morning I made my first foray onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, beginning at the entry point just off of I-64 in Virginia. I drove about 20 miles south and soaked in the wonderful white dogwoods and redbuds, whose blooms seem to be enduring for longer than usual this year with the cool overnights.

I stopped at the "20 Minute Cliff" overlook to paint a study of a gnarled pine tree. The light was absolutely beautiful, but I was swarmed by what the locals refer to as "black flies," which I would unflatteringly characterize as a cross between the common house fly and a gnat. This was not something that I anticipated having a problem with at 3200 feet of elevation!

My easel along the Blue Ridge Parkway, with a work in progress

Nonetheless, I resorted to wearing my coat over my hat and my shoulders to keep them at bay and out of my ears. This worked reasonably well. Oddly enough, my resulting bizarre personal appearance did not deter interested passersby from stopping and approaching me to see the work in progress. I always try to be polite to people when they approach me at my easel (I don't want to perpetuate any negative notions about aloof artists), but it is a challenge to work with someone watching closely over my shoulder. Indeed, I could avoid this altogether by venturing off the beaten path to a remote area, but I try to minimize my risks when I travel alone, so I tend to work in more trafficked locations as a result.

With the distraction from the flies this morning, I'm not sure that the field piece will be what I call a "keeper." When a plein air piece falls short of being a "keeper," it becomes a "study" for something larger in my studio. There's never time wasted in the field; I always learn something, even if it is that there are flies at high elevations.

Following my work this morning, I ventured into Staunton and walked throughout the historic district of the town. It's really very charming, especially at this time of year when residents have colorful tulips throughout their gardens. One of Staunton's claims to fame is that it is the birthplace of President Woodrow Wilson. If time permits tomorrow, I may visit his presidential library.

But the real plan to tomorrow is to get up early (not my strong suit) and venture out before the heat of the day causes the haze to build into the atmosphere. After spending a day and a half here, I have a better sense of where to go to get the kinds of vistas that appeal to me. Stay tuned for more.