Process steps for House on starwberry hill farm

Shawsheen river in summer, ●

Shawsheen river in summer, 20" X 16", Framed to 24" X 20", Oil on linen, Sold

View of the Shawsheen river from across the Andover Ballardvale Fire Station. 

Fall in West Parish Cemetery

Fall in West Parish Cemetery, 20" X 16", Framed to 24" X 20", Oil on linen

A walk in the West Parish Cemetery, Andover in fall is a not to be missed event. This scene has the chapel at the back, framed by a large maple tree. The fallen leaves on the ground, the yellow orange canopies above and the sunlight peeking through this lattice .... all create a surreal atmosphere.

Pond at the West Parish Meadow trail

Pond at the West Parish Meadow trail, 20" X 16", Oil on linen

Lovely colors of fall, leaves floating in the water, graceful branches...  

Tree by the pond, Sold

Tree by the pond, 20" X 24", Oil on linen 

A majestic tree by the side of the pond in West Parish Cemetery.  The pattern of shade and light was hitting on the tree trunk and ground. The pond was glittering with reflections of nearby shrubs and trees.

Fall tree at Rolling Ridge, Sold

Lake Cochichewick, View from Rolling Ridge, 20" X 20", Sold

A beautiful fall day, rustling leaves and sparkling sunlight on the lake. I get carried away by such beauty. It is my good fortune to paint this and so many other beautiful scenes of nature.
The orange and red leaves speckled on the lacy tree branches grab your attention while the lovely purple colored bushes underneath quietly whisper something in your ears. It is a visual poem and I am certain it will take your breath away every time you look at it.

DETAILS
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* Title - Lake Cochichewick, View from Rolling Ridge
* Dimensions -20 inches X 20 inches X 1 3/8 inches
* The surface is textured with a matte finish.
* The 1 3/8 inches deep sides are painted black
* No Framing needed. It is ready to hang with wire on back

Sunlight through the woods

Sunlight through the woods, 20"X16", Oil on linen

I love painting the long shadows of trees. This was in the morning, when the sunlight is very yellow. The snow in the shadow looks even more blue.  I am happy that I was able to achieve the sense of perspective, by the receding woods and their corresponding shadows in the distance.

Winter pond and tree

Winter pond and tree
 20" X 16", Oil on linen canvas, Sold

When you paint from nature, i.e. en plein air, you can observe many more details than a photograph. I have learnt to see so much more. 

In this painting, the foreground snow and tree, middle ground lake and background trees are clearly defined.

 The foreground is defined by the use of thick paint for the snowy ground, and the tree trunks.  

The lake and accompanying slope of the land in middle ground is depicted by the flatness of water and diagonals of banks of melting snow.

The hugeness of the tree is contrasted by the smaller distant trees.

The subtle color of the tree trunk in the foreground, which is not too dark and not too light, was the trickiest for me. I had to show the tree both in light and shadow. I did not want the main trunk too dark, but also I wanted it to stand out from the background landscape.

In the photograph, the tree looks very dark and sky looks too blue

Painting in the snow

Painting in progress

A photograph of the scene

Pond reflections, Sold

Pond reflections
10" X 10", Acrylic on canvas

This is a semi abstract pond painting. The horizontal and vertical lines create a patchwork design effect. It gives more definition and abstract quality to the artwork. This work was inspired by artwork of artist Paul Klee.

I also divided the composition vertically using the strong orange and green. The bright red amid the variety of greens creates a nice contrast.  The busy pond is full of waterlily pads diminishing in size with the distance. This adds to the linear perspective.

The whole painting is focussed more on design. It certainly isn't realism. I would term it more playful, creative and imaginary.

Neighborhood house in winter

Neighborhood house in winter,
12" X 12", Oil on board

I painted this yesterday. Looking out from my studio window. This house and tree make a perfect subject anytime, any season. The March 14th Nor'easter deposited 18 inches of snow in one day. The snow started early morning and by the time I started painting, the houses and trees were already covered in snow. 

There is no better place to paint than outside