After the Plein air event in NY state I returned to my local scenes. Driving to the monthly meetings of the Sussex County Art Society I pass a fallow corn field and this tractor resting, waiting to be put to work.
Red tractor
Always looking for inspiration from other painters I find some very good ideas in art magazines. This sunrise view of Lake Mohawk is totally fictitious. The sun does rise this way, but there would not likely be as many boats out to greet it. That would be more at evening sun set. with the sun at the west.
October is the height of fall foliage in the hills of Sussex. And although color comes later and lingers longer as one travels to the coast, it is always a joy to get the peak first. This view from our deck, looking toward the club struck me as worth capturing.
Autumn at Lake Mohawk
Next it was time to think about a Christmas card. And first I though of my usual capture of our local area which lends itself to winter and Christmas themes. So at first I did a snow scene of the club and boardwalk. I liked it well enough, especially the lighted tree.
Club and festive tee
But I felt the urge to move my painting into something more active, like the sledding which takes place on the hill by the golf course which is always a tradition when we have enough snow. Since it was still too early in the season for snow I had to use my imagination and created two scenes, one inspired by a photo of sledding in Amsterdam--curious because the city if mainly flat. I had to change it to a wooded area and update the types of sleds. This became the Christmas card. In the second I made the hill a long vista to a setting sun. Totally imaginary.
Sled riding
Sliding down the hill
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