Saturday, February 25, 2012

New Hampshire Scenes: WE HAD SNOW

New Hampshire Scenes:  Finally, We Had Snow


Not a year for snow, 
and yes, we had it earlier
and it doesn't go away
when the temps
are single digits
at night,
but many of us have been waiting
for something 
more than an inch or two


To give the trees a different look.  


Even with a plow man, 



6 inches means 
Shoveling:  path to drive way, path to wood pile
path from front to back door, and I even get out my roof rake, though it isn't necessary for only 6 inches, 



but it's new to me, and fun!
Besides, notice the snow sliding off my roof.


I'd rather rake it off then have it slide
when I'm headed to the wood pile.



































Thursday, February 23, 2012

New Hampshire Scenes: IN THE PRESENCE OF A MOUNTAIN


IN THE PRESENCE OF A MOUNTAIN

A mountain commands space 
and demands looking. 
in any weather
but cover it with snow
and it gains a presence
that seems to go 
beyond its size.
Mount Washington 
is such a mountain.






Those of us who live close 
look for the first snow
which always melts
but there are more
snows 
and finally

a jewel

There are complaints
that   Mount Washington
is often 
cloud covered
which it is


But that too is a characteristic of a large mountain (or a large body of water!)
Their presence can command the clouds! 

In the presence of a mountain   (Pastel sketch)
Imagine living
in the presence of such a mountain,
close of far,
To feel its power
To experience its changes
daily...

If you can't live near a mountain,
just visiting will do! 

Visit barbaramcevoyartist.com for paintings of Mount Washington.
("In the presence" is available in "Barbara's Bargain Bin)



Thursday, February 16, 2012

New Hampshire Scenes: SNOWY STREAM BANKS

SNOWY STREAM BANKS
An editorial in a local newspaper mentioned the "sticks and gray" of winter.
Morning Haze

Morning Dew
I admit there are "sticks," 


the advantage of winter scenes is 
we get to see the bones,
   the skeletons of trees.


What I didn't capture is the glow and glisten of the dew drops.
(any suggestions of how to do that would be appreciated)







Background glow,
however,
is only the beginning
of the color.


Gray there is, but consider it's leanings:
blue, green, pink, purple?
And appreciate the tree trunks and branch tips...
adding subtly to the glow, never a single shade.


Reflections on the snow change,
even as the clouds shift and drift
giving color to the shadows
other colors to the sunny spots
and too, a blend where they meet.


Snowy Stream Banks are definitely a favorite.
Photo's don't begin to capture the myriad colors,
Winter Ripples      9X12 Pastel on paper  
where water reflects differently from the snow,
and leaves have clumped in the water,
adding both their colors and their reflections.


So yes, there are sticks and grays to winter,
but they are only beginnings.


Find a puddle or a stream, 
and see all the colors of the rainbow.


Winter adds drama to the shadows and sunny spaces. 




Expect it, look for it and you will surely discover it.


Winter Oak Leaf Collection    9x12 Pastel on paper.

barbaramcevoyartist.com













Sunday, February 12, 2012

New Hampshire Scenes: LITTLE GEORGE

Little George

Little George Dreaming of His Namesake
Little George is one of my  friends, a large rock that I view when sitting at my dining table. His name comes from his silhouette, which, with little imagination, is similar to that of Mount Washington. 
But Little George, like so many scenes and objects in nature, is a Shape Shifter, all depending on the amount of snow and the slant of sun. 



In Little George Dreaming (above) he was losing his snow cover, and left over bits of dried yarrow were catching the sun and casting shadows.


Then,
a snow storm... and
George in Sculptured Beauty


New shapes and shadows.


Another day, some sun, some breeze, and George again starts to reveal himself. 



The pleasures and problems of a plein air painter (someone who paints from life):
Nature is a moving, 
breathing 
art installation. 
Not only seasons, but time of day, clouds, and other varying weather, even shifts of the breeze create nuances to enchant and exasperate us!
The same scene/object never really stays the same. 




(Little George's complete story is on my website :
Go to Writing/Painting projects, Moving to New Hampshire.



New Hampshire Scenes: FROST HEAVES

Frost Heaves

In "the south" as in Pennsylvania, New Jersey
and other places that experience freeze and defrost weather, 
pot holes are the result.
NH has a different phenomenon. 
As the cold seeps more deeply into the ground, 
the ground beneath many of the secondary road beds slowly expands.
No pot holes, because this is an ongoing process.
But as the cold  continues, the expansion becomes much more obvious, 
causing the roads to heave, undulate, and generally become
quite uneven.
Towns and the state put up the glowing signs to warn drivers. 
Who needs speed bumps? 
By the time winter is over, we're used to driving slowly, and just when we begin to readjust, the signs appear again.

Signs must be for those from "away" because I've heard locals and "full timers" (as opposed to seasonal residents) talk about avoiding particular roads because of the frost heaves, and arguing about which roads are the worst. 
Last year the signs began appearing in mid-Nov, this year in mid-January.

And a word of extra caution, 
if you're driving on a back road and see a "BUMP" sign, it might be worth stopping and proceeding with real caution.
They are worse than mere FROST HEAVES.
         (Visit my webpage for more NH Scenes under paintings   barbaramcevoyartist.com   )

Saturday, February 11, 2012

New Hampshire Scenes: NAMING A BLOG


Naming a Blog



Having announced last April, my intentions of telling the story of my move, 
thinking and feeling it was epic at the time,
I became so involved in the living and being here, 
Check my website barbaramcevoyartist.com
that the story remained in its skeletal form.
(See 2011 post!)
Count it all as background.

That theme no longer fits.


Time like a river
moved on through the seasons.

I'm here, my house a home; 
my studio a separate, fleshed out reality;
and my life a wonderful mixture 
of painting, hiking etc.;  
loving living here in New Hampshire, 
and still feeling a need to share the wonder. 


But, 
What theme for a blog?
Then realization!


Painters see in scenes and vignettes.
We paint and sketch, 
we adventure, we remember with edited emotions,
River drifts
and many of us photograph
those scenes we hope to turn into paintings.
So, simplistically, humbly, 

my “new” blogspot purpose is to present 



Rising Sun Shadows
New Hampshire Scenes: 
From a Painter’s Perspective


Expect varying detail,sketches, finished paintings, occasional photos. Expect varying regularity. Although I'm aiming at daily, I know better than to expect it to happen.



But always expect something from New Hampshire.