NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES: Along the Trail

New Hampshire Scenes: Along the Trail
Finally, April 13 and 20, time to hike,  and the choices were Mt. Stanton Trail to Mt Stanton and Mt. Pickering, a shorter hike with two possible low summits because I've been recuperating from a skiing injury, and second one, Mt Chocorua because my foot is evidently fine! Halalulah!  In time for the start of early wild flowers.


First treat was the Trailing Arbutus. To really appreciate it, you need to lie flat on the ground, practically, and lift the leathery leaves to expose the often hiding flowers.
Then put your nose bumble bee close. The reward is a scent sweeter than honeysuckle and hyacinth combined.

 


Second treat was yellow violets, first singly, and then a hillside.  
Beech leaves, last year's left overs, add the contrast.

Glad to be back on the mountain trails,
I continue to wonder at at what I call
the "macadam" paths...

They look so planned, 

so "officially landscaped!

In fact,

the "macadam" paths

are exposed bedrock
looking so tame!

Amazing,

to look at the sides of those paths 

to think how little soil 

above that bedrock

and to think how long and arduous

the task of making

 the soil we see 

and 

the life it supports!

Though these are not examples of the typical  trail, 
when they appear they seem like old friends, 
user friendly,
always welcome,
and likely to appear 
on some of the toughest hikes.








Check my website for paintings of "less tame" paths and trails.

NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES: Clouds

New Hampshire Scenes: CLOUDS


Does anyone go to North Conway or travel north on Route 16 without trying to get a glimpse of Mount Washington? 

Of course there are specific events that watchers look for:

First Snow,

Snow Covered,

 Snow Leaving, 

Only Patches

and all the drama in between... mists and clouds that enhance the views...

And the inevitable...

 Mount Washington Missing in the Mists

As an artist I know that clouds can make the painting,

but as a plein air painter I've wondered about how the clouds seem to be so perfectly placed, shaped to enhance the composition. Then, from a geology presentation I learned the words:  orographic, orographic clouds, and orogenic

having to do with mountains, clouds forced and/or shaped by mountains.

The shape of the mountain and its valleys, the moisture on its slopes and in its streams, ponds and breathing trees...these all shape and often form the clouds above and around...

Looking south to MW...

If you know the mountain, and its shape, 
you can imagine how it sits beneath its mists,
and how those clouds swirl and tumble, 
above the mountain, around the mountain, and, 
as in the case above, up the mountain.  
The dressing, the scarves adding to the mystery,
The dance of the clouds.




Check out my website for the paintings in this blog and more , barbaramcevoyartist.com

NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES: In like a lion

From my dining room window

NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES: In like a lion

The first ten days of March 

did come in 

like the proverbial lion

and I watched my woods fill up with snow,

plein air from the window 

of my house 

and my studio

From my studio window

Skiers rallied, 

snow lovers rejoiced, 

and the long time residents said,  "Finally."

8 inch deep puddle!

But March didn't roar for long.

Temperatures soared, at least for NH, to high 70's. 

Mud season was upon us...

With the frozen ground thawing on the surface, 

and snow melting fast,

there is nowhere for the water to go,

but to mix with the top un-freezing layers..

thus, 

large puddles and much mud possible.

On the equinox, (March 21) Newspaper headline read,

SPRING IS HERE, WINTER WASN'T!

A hike up a mountain over looking Squam Lake

(setting for "On Golden Pond" for those who remember,)

showed ice melting, snow bare slopes and 

an early blooming hepatica!

Only a teaser!

Mt. Washington lost its snow,

but today the snow is back. 

Tomorrow? Next week?

Maples are budding, 

but it's still freezing at night.

Nature is a multi-media art installation:

always changing,

but definitely worth watching...

Check barbaramcevoyartist.com for new paintings and the new page of snow scenes.

NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES: Roofs and Snow

New Hampshire Scenes: Roofs and Snow

The snow came (6 inches) 

and 

came again  (12 inches) 

and

like most of the snow bunnies

I took to the slopes

but only between the required

shoveling

and 

roof raking

This is the end of a roof rake
which has a 36 foot sectional pole attached to it, 
to be used when the snow piles up 
to the point of danger from too much weight
or from sliding off the roof onto people coming out doors 
or onto decks and balconies with railings.
A rain and a good freeze can turn it all 
to very heavy ice, 
    then a good slide can wipe out even a sturdy railing.
 



Many homes have metal roofs, 
which help the snow (or ice build up) to slide,
and no gutters, of course.


And the roofs are best that are steep,
on both sides
or steep on one side, 
and shorter and not so steep on the other side.

 or some variation....

My house is steep on one side,

not so steep on the other,

with a balcony overhang

that allows me 

to rake the roof,

which I do 

before possible rain/ice develops.

Then I shovel the balcony! 

No complaints though. 

Look at the marvelous pitch pines 

that keep me company.

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.

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)

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

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   )

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.