Vermont - Farms and Horses

"Autumn Afternoon in the Heartland of Vermont" (20"X16, Oil on Canvas, $650)

I've always liked New England, having grown up in it, and feeling a certain kinship that comes from the changing of seasons and the fertility of the land. The long-term effects of both of those things can be seen in this painting, done in the fall after the harvest, but before the snow flies. You can see the empty field in the distance, already lying fallow for the winter. The trees in the distance and on the left show the pale, late autumn colors, except for the line of evergreens, of course.

The mountains in the far distance show no sign of green, but in the spring that will change, and completely. The fertility of the land will return, as it always has on this farm and so many others in Vermont. The longevity of that promise, and this farm that takes advantage of it, is seen in the weather-beaten horsebarn and out-building on the right, and the leaning old silo with its collapsed copper dome. I'm sure it's still full of winter silage for the horses, though, seen in the meadow on the left.

The light from the setting sun catches the row of lightning rods on top of each barn and throws long shadows over the near meadow, cast by the fenceposts and rails on the right. The angle of the shadows draw the viewer into the painting and add a strong set of diagonals to a scene of rolling shapes and rather somber colors. The cold light of the sky says that winter is coming. The horses are instinctively listening and eating as much of the fresh grass as they can before it's gone for the year.

I like the feeling of the passage of time in this painting - in the past and in the present. There's always something in our present that's felt the years go by, and something from our past that still feels fresh, or has plenty of good use in it yet, and into the future.