SCENES FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE: Waterfalls and Boulders

Spring and snow melt are synonymous in New Hampshire, along with 

Golden Grotto Pastel 18X24  

Mud Season (Very muddy, it can  render driveways and dirt roads unusable.)

followed by Black Fly Season (Gnat sized huge with the jaws of a barracuda. )

I tip my hat to these seasons. They exist. But as a hiker and painter I'd like to introduce a new name for Spring. To me, as the snow is melting on the peaks, the streams are rushing and rippling.

 Welcome Season of the Waterfalls. 

Last week, warm enough for plain air painting, I visited two waterfalls for plein air experience (one at the framers, one still on the studio easel) and visited "Golden Grotto," scene of a studio painting I'd finished over the winter from photos.

Mountain stream staircase
Pastel 9x12

Since I don't have a packhorse, I often depend on memory and photos for the paintings done higher on the mountains, from the tops or in difficult places to access. Stream crossings are tricky enough without 10 pounds of painting equipment and the necessary safety items (water, first aid kit, extra layers of clothes and rain gear). I do like to check my scenes though, particularly if they've produced paintings I like. 

Snow on Imp Trail last week: 

What I love about many of our NH mountain streams is the way the streams, often eight to ten feet wide or wider, riffle down the mountain through enormous boulders, often forming pools below some of the steeper drops.  

"Golden Grotto" is such a place located on Imp Trail, a loop hike with two trailheads on Route 16, a mile or so north of Pinkham Notch. There was still snow on the trail, but we did get to the grotto I had painted. This time I took a picture of my hiking friend and her dog, standing behind the tree which was actually growing ON the large boulder in the painting.The other photo was taken from upstream looking down towards the boulder. My grotto wasn't quite as golden on this day without the sun shining, but  it had its own beauty, surrounded by the large boulder, to the left, the boulders and fallen trees further downstream and the stony beach to the right.

The "Grotto" as seen from upstream.

Carol and Perry standing behind the tree
 at the top of the boulder in
"Golden Grotto."

Check my website BarbaraMcevoyArtist.com  for more paintings of streams and boulders.
Contact me at Barbaramcevoyartist@me .com with questions ad comments.

SCENES FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE: Bluets, finally

Lily, Cathy and Margaret!

My March 29 post had flower photo's of Spring in Bethlehem, PA, Including a clump of bluets, with a promise of paintings of bluets when they arrived in my New Hampshire neighborhood.
Here they are, finally...

Bluets have arrived, in my own 

New Hampshire neighborhood.

And they've come 

in their own New Hampshire fashion. 

Notice the bluets' surroundings, 

and what I love about living here!

Lichens and mosses 

 in myriad shapes and colors

festoon everything.

Notice the twig in the lower left corner.

The lighter patches, barely visible,

are small patches of lichen.

And next to the twig, 

the silver green bit of lichen,

part of what is sometimes called

Grandfather's beard. 

Last year's oak leaf 

and the grouping 

of three distinguishable pine needles,

and other grasses...

All this is part of the complexity 

of patches of forest 

and "lawn" floors...

Stepping back for a larger view of this particular "lawn,"

notice the flatness, the stones and sand intermixed with the patches of bluets, and the pine and birch trunks in the background. 

A little about my neighborhood to explain the bluets 

and their surroundings. 

A bit of geology helps as well.
South of where I live, the highway signs on route 16, also called the White Mountain Highway, welcome travelers to the Lakes and Mountain region. 

"Notches to the North"  

When the great ice sheets came from the north, covering the Presidential Range (the Whites) and creating the notches, they transported rocks and stones, grinding as they came over and through the mountains, digging out the basins that make up the lakes regions, south of the mountains. As the ice sheets retreated, the southern half of NH was left with lakes and outwash regions.

It is true that Freedom, a nearby town has "more civilized lawns" that include grass and the more "typical" flowers we associate with Spring. But it's the more natural parts that attract my painterly nature... my friends (Lily the 8 story pitch pine, Cathy and Margaret, the 4 story red maples) and their undergrowth. 
Check my website barbaramcevoyartist.com for other paintings and under  "writing painting" projects to read about "First Friends." 


http://barbaramcevoyartist.com/site/North_to_the_Notches.html

"Lily, Cathy and Margaret"
Pastel 9x12

SCENES FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE: ROCKS and rocks

Choosing a favorite painting...
This, being my most recent "finished painting" is in my current TOP 10.

Last Scramble to Jackson Summit    Pastel 18x26

Boulders on the North Twin TrailPastel 9x12

Painting rocks is difficult. My first and present plein air mentor, Michael Chesley Johnson did a recent blog on painting rocks, well timed for my purposes since I was on the fourth brush out of this painting.  In the blog Michael related that, upon showing his mentor a rock painting, he was told to go out and paint rocks for a year. Living in the Whites, you know I have been painting rocks, starting personally with "Little George," who still provides practice, and onward. Rocks are definitely hard, as in hard, solid, with mass, and that is not easy to represent. Rocks are a challenge to paint, but as with scrambling on them, there is a certain satisfaction. Good thing since they come in many forms here in the Whites from river pebbles to giant erratics, and they fit together quite well to form the bedrock substance of the 4,000 footers, even if the summits are not all like Jackson,Liberty, Washington, etc.

Something there is about climbing these 4,000 footers...a certain exhilaration on reaching the top, on the getting there in fact, possibly induced by the rock scrambling often (but not always) necessary.
Yes, I have seen mountain goats, and people I consider mountain goats, go up them standing, but I seem to need three points of contact, hand over hand, on many of these peaks, or at least parts of them. 
I am, as the saying goes, up close and personal.
Thus, I fully appreciate the myriad lichens and moss that festoon the rocks and boulders, as well as the ledges, the nooks, the cracks and crevices.
And then there is the glimpse of the next mountain top, or the extension of the one I'm on. Maybe krumholtz (crooked wood)...what trees do near the tree line. 
So here is Mt. Jackson peak...which may not look this way to others, but to me below, looking up, wondering if there was more peak after what I could see (sometimes there is), it was beautiful and bold and delicate! 

All this I wanted to capture. 

I'm not sure I did...I want to go back and see it, climb it again...a different trail perhaps, different season too. 

Notches to the North   Pastel 12X18

My third favorite painting also has rocks (also brushed out many times before I reached semi satisfaction). Here the view is from North Moat looking north to the notches. (See April 10 blog for another view)

So the question remains...is it a favorite painting because it was a memorable hike, or because the painting of it presented challenges overcome?

If you enjoy hiking in the Whites, or even traveling through, check out my website for more paintings of vistas, trails, and yes....rocks .

NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES: Favorite Painting/Favorite Hike

A recent viewer of my website http://barbaramcevoyartist.com asked,
                    Which is your favorite painting?  Tell about it!

Favorites change, depending on our mood, the weather...
                even who we are talking to or thinking about can have its subtle influences,
and I expect with painters it must relate to  our emotional attachment to 
              WHAT we are painting, 
                WHY we are painting it, 
and quite possibly to the fun or trouble we had with the actual painting.

That said, my very first favorite painting choice would be:

Franconian Ridge Trail: Lincoln to Lafayette (and Greenleaf Hut)

If you look closely you can follow the trail...from the foreground on the left where the trail emerges onto the ledge of Lincoln, across the front of the painting and out of view in the center, then reemerging, disappearing and reemerging as it drops down into the saddle and then ascends Lafayette. 
This particular view was momentous because from here we could see our evening destination, Greenleaf Hut, 1.1 miles down the left (west facing) side of Lafayette. Look closely to see the white dot of the hut roof, a very welcome sign.

Hiker on the trail!

Why is this my favorite painting (at the moment, anyway)? 
It's a wonderful trek. And painting  it gave me a chance to live the trek vicariously.
Walking ridges above the tree line is exhilarating and humbling. Hikers are just specks on the trail from this perspective, but we can feel the heft of the mountain, see its ridges and "ribs," and explore the lichens, moss and wildflowers that survive, even flourish, in this unique, alpine and sub alpine environment...right here in NH! 

Falling Waters Trail is only the start! 

On this particular trek, I was with a group of eight women, intent  on bagging several of the  intrepid 48 4,000 footers in the Whites,  (see Oct 10 blog, Chasing the 48) and making  use of the Appalachian Mountain Club huts on the way. 

We started from Franconian Notch State Park, climbed Falling Waters Trail to the ridge and Little Haystack Mtn, then proceeded north towards Mt Lafayette and down to the Greenleaf Hut. 

Check my website under paintings/White Mountain Trails
for more paintings.
Follow this blog for coming entries on favorite paintings and trails in the Whites.

Looking south, Lafayette to Little Haystack

NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES: Almost Gone

NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES:  Almost Gone

Only a week ago,
this was the scene at Bretton Woods. 
Snow enough to ski,
And Mount Washington was still wearing its white mantle.

Mount Washington from North Conway.

 But only 20 miles south,
really related more to elevation than latitude,
the snow was definitely going!

Patches of snow 
rather than patches of rock and ground,
were the new ground designs...

(see previous blog for another version of this rock)
And so, although the diehard skiers
are still finding places to ski, perhaps, 

Hikers are thinking of favorite trails  

View from South Moat looking towards Middle
and North Moat, and on toward the Notches.

 whether they are south facing,   and thus,

 more likely to be clear of ice and snow

 or north facing 

(possibly requiring micro-spikes),

or better left 'til later in the season!

In my own readiness to get hiking again,

(without snow shoes and full winter gear)

I spent time vicariously painting one of my favorites, The Moats, 

and too hastily had it framed 

behind glass
before  its photo session,

which diminishes detail and color...

(See it in person at  The Met  gallery and coffee shop.)

Beech youngsters stubornly hold their leaves
through the winter. 

And
Painters are thinking of Plein Air Painting,

Outside at last,

 to sketch and paint nature in real life.

And some of us
are lucky enough to be both painters and hikers....

Check my website, Barbara McEvoy, Artist.Com for my new emphasis and recent paintings...

NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES: Last Week and Soon, Maybe!

Steps to a friend's house! 

g



From this scene

             
                     And this scene

                                  only ten days ago,

Steps to a friend's back yard!

                To Snow Drops

and Crocus

                 and Bluettes 

Soon

Maybe?  

It's the miracle of Spring!

I admit, 

I had to go south 

of the White Mountains

to get photos of the 

Snow Drops and Crocus and Bluets

But,

that snow is melting,

and beneath it all

with green tips poking bravely upward

are the bulbs we planted 

and millions of wildflowers,

Just waiting!

I promise a photo and three paintings

of bluets, 

when the ones near home appear.

Meanwhile,

I'll paint the rocks that

heat in the sun

and 

uncover first.

Because rocks too, have something to say

about Spring!

 

NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES: It didn't go yet!

"Be careful what you wish, for," has been said often.

My last blog, "Snow going,"  ended with,  "Maybe one more storm." 

The ground patterns I had been watching around the trees

have entirely disappeared. 

The snow came back!

But the temperatures are still below freezing at night (12 last night) and well above during the day (40 at the moment). 

Meaning, 

We are left with confused icicles! 

And confused people...

It's the first day of Spring, but looks like winter, feels like winter in the morning,

and turns to Spring by afternoon...the old case of March 

coming in like a lion and out like a lamb.

March is definitely in transition. 

Sap is still rising, however, and sugar shacks are still boiling,

so for those of us whose creativity is aligned with the weather, we can move onward with our projects.  If Spring doesn't appear to be here in full force, at least it is wavering and showing signs of approaching, despite the "backslide" into winter.

Admittedly, ground patterns had me thinking about Spring, but the snow pushed me back to winter thoughts and I've used it to advantage. Artists can find patterns in any season...

Check out my changed home page at ... barbaramcevoyartist.com

I've switched to White Mountain emphasis, have two new paintings of winter, two categories added to my web (Can you tell which are the new ones?) and a few last comments on winter as well. 

Patterns   Pastel   9x12 

Do I dare say it?

 "But, maybe, perhaps, we could have one more snow storm? "

NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES: Snow going

NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES: Snow going

Lily in her blossoming glory of snow.

January brings snow and resolutions!

We may make our resolutions in January,

or even think about them in December, 

but how many of us really carry them out.

by February we have lagged, if we even managed a decent start! (I didn't!) 

In the White Mountains of New Hampshire

 some of us know the reason! 

Some of us are aligned with nature!  

That white snow is a blanket, covering, protecting, beautifying, and giving rest to the land. 

Wood piles ready...

Of old, we spent summer and fall storing our food, stacking our fuel, working against the winter to come.

Winter, then, is traditionally the time of resting and reflecting and using that wood for cozy fires 

Snow going

True,

snow to some of  us is skiing ,  snowboarding,

snow shoeing, ice fishing...

but those are rest in their ways

They are ways to wait for the snow to  go...

When we see the tell tale signs of the snow piles shrinking, 

of the ground patches spreading around the trees and rocks, 

Wood piles shrinking, along with the snow!

we know what is happening, 

we know what time it is. 

When the temperature is above freezing during the day,
and below freezing at night,
buckets come out.
The land is waking 
and rising to the call of spring...
It's sugaring time...



And, if we're aligned with nature, perhaps we can now move forward on our resolutions.

But, maybe, perhaps, we could have one more snow storm? 

(For paintings of NH snow scenes and "Lily," visit my website Barbara McEvoy, Artist.Com)

NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES: Chasing the 48

NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES: Chasing the 48

Lion's Head viewed from slope of Wildcat D.
(9 x 12 pastel)

Obsessions have their advantages and disadvantages, at least I tell myself so as I realize I haven't posted since May 10th! 

I've been busy with an obsession of sorts!

In 1957 a group of people connected to the Appalachian Mountain Club started the 4000 footer club. In NH there are 48 peaks over 4,000 feet from Mt Washington at  6,288 down to Tecumseh at 4003. To be a member one needs to climb all 48. The club has grown in scope  to include other goals, separately recognized, such as 4000 footers in New England, 48 in the winter, and even those who complete "The GRID," or all 48 in each month of the year.

You know from my blog that I've been hiking, and If you've checked my website, particularly the paintings and text related to Painting and Writing Projects or White Mountain Trails, you know I've been hiking the Whites, shorter paths and trails to start, for certain.

But the obsession? Slowly, and maybe not so slowly, the beauty pulls many of us to a peak, and another, and another, until we're reading the trail maps, the distances, the elevations. 

Mountaintop meadow!
(9 x 12 pastel)

And up we go!

Blessedly obsessed! 

Chasing the 48!

Although I think of myself as a Plein Air Artist, I just can't manage my art gear AND the necessary hiking gear to the tops of these beauties. For safety, because of the extremely changeable weather, hiking gear for a 4,000 footer means enough food and warmth to be able to stay out overnight!

Eschewing art gear for safety, I imbibe the scenes, sketch (a light weight addition to my pack, not the full monty), and take many photos to work with during the winter months, with occasional inspirational,  usually inclement days during the summer, for painting.

The two paintings above in this blog were done mid summer. You can see that thunderstorms were brewing two ridges over as I was hiking down.

Approaching storm

And, on another day, while hiking Isolation, there was a particularly troublesome storm north of us. We did NOT linger on Isolation that day. But we always stay long enough to appreciate the air, the views, the up close surroundings.

Today I began planning the last of my 48...Owl's Head, one of the longer (18 mi RT) hikes into the Pemigawasset Wilderness Area. Checking tomorrow's weather however, sunny though it should be here and in the valleys approaching Owl's Head, heavily gusting winds and snow are predicted for the peak, making wind chill below 0 F.

Wisely, I'm abandoning my 48 4000 footers obsession until warmer weather is a promise.

Presently, my studio calls. And did I mention my other, less demanding obsession? 

Chasing the reds! (some call it leaf peeping!) With plenty of photos from both obsessions, I can turn on the heat in my studio and get to play with another obsession.

  

NEW HAMPSHIRE SCENES: Mount Chocorua

New Hampshire Scenes: Chocorua, from multiple angles!

Mount Washington may be the highest peak in the Presidentials, and in the Northeast where it has earned its reputation for the worst weather in the world.

BUT!   Mount Chocorua is the iconic peak, complete with a lake to provide artists with the perfect scenes, changing with the season and the mood of the day... 

The White Mountain Painters did indeed spend hours on the shores of Chocorua Lake. 

Silver Mist  9X12 oil

At least one WM Painter, William Champney, evidently spent time on the mountain itself, since he has a trail named after him, the Champney Falls Trail, and it is with him, and any other hiking/climbing adventurers that I take my cue.

I love the variety on mountain trails, so changeable from bottom to top, and even more so if it is possible to follow a different trail top to bottom. And so with Chocorua. 

Autumn Glow 9x12 oil

Chocorua Peak from Liberty Trail   9X12 oil

The rocky peak, visible from distances, was no disappointment. Slabs of rock with greater and lesser cracks and crevasses, supported trees, creating the bands of greens seen from a distance. Switchbacking up the mountain and traversing the top(we went up Brook Trail and down Liberty), we found, as is often the case, more than that classic "peak." We found two humps, actually, with a bit of a saddle between the peak and its subsidiary. 

Brook Trail to Chocorua Summit   8x10 oil

The enduring highlight for me was the slabs themselves. The greenish pinkish cast sometimes seen from a distance is the classic decorative lichen. And climbing, sometimes hand over hand, seeing lichen up close and personal, it is even more exquisite, more varied, and for the artist in me, more challenging to paint then one can imagine. 

Lichen, like lace on the slabs

Definitely worth the climb.

Visit my website for these and other paintings with a New Hampshire theme: barbaramcevoyartist.com