Nelson Pond sketches

Ahhhh, we have returned from a lovely 10 day vacation in Vermont.  The air was cool and crisp - a wonderful break from our Maryland summer (familiar local phrase . . ."It's not the temperature, it's the humidity!").

For the past few years we have been fortunate to rent a cabin (in Vermont they call this a 'camp') on Nelson Pond just down the mountain from my son's farm. It is delightfully rustic, with a large screened room that overlooks the pond. There is a great dock - access to the cool, clear water . . . great swimming!

We spend a lot of our time with the grandchildren, so I don't even bother to take painting supplies. However, I love to spend a quiet morning or two sitting in various places with my sketchbook. Each year there are flowers in new/used containers  - sap buckets, barrels, a coal skittle, the ripped out seat of an old chair and more.








Here is one of the barrels.  It's the end of summer and the delicate blossoms were doing a rather dainty dance routine.

On the short walk down to the dock there is a fire pit area.  It's set up with comfortable seating - Adirondack chairs and a bench. Here is the bench by the fire pit. . . it just called to me to be sketched.
















As I was sitting on the bench, a dragonfly paid a visit. S/he seemed very at ease and enjoyed the sunshine just inches away from my sketchbook.









Alas, summer is almost over and now it's back to the 'real' world. . . after I make a few notecards with these new sketches, that is.

The Escapee

The Bicentennial Celebration 1813-2013 Art Show is this weekend and I am almost ready. Yesterday I framed my last painting - the boy and the crab.

You may remember from my last post that I was working on this painting and had put it aside to just look at it for awhile. Well, I kept looking at it and finally figured out what was wrong - I needed something to connect the boy and the crab.  I had painted them from two different pictures and they still presented as two different pictures.

Aha, sometimes it takes longer for that light to come on . . . the missing ingredient was a crab net! For those of you who are not into crabbing, this is how it goes. You tie a chicken neck (yes, I am not kidding - a raw chicken neck) onto a piece of string and put it in the water.  The crab finds it - sometimes this takes a long time - and begins picking at it. He actually holds on (hopefully) as you slowly pull up the string and then you scoop him up in a net.

Thus the need for a net in the picture to connect the boy and the crab. When children are crabbing they get very excited about catching a crab and sometimes just want to watch the crab run around on the dock for a minute.  I would NEVER let a child wearing flip flops be this close to a crab (they are fast little critters who threateningly wave their claws in the air and run sideways), but I think it works in the picture. I am calling it "The Escapee" - as if the crab actually escaped from his captor.

Hope to see you at the art show - Saturday from 10:00-5:00 at the St Michaels Women's Club!

I will also have commemorative posters for sale - a bargain at $15 . . .

Sorry, it's not the best photo - just put the poster by the kitchen door and took the picture . . .it's a rainy day.