Vermont - Farms and Horses

"Posted but Not Private - Waitsfield, Vermont" (18"X24", Oil on Canvas, $750)

This was done as part of a series of paintings that were inspired by trips to Vermont in the Spring and Fall that I've taken with Tina. I was kicked back into painting mode following a layoff to do some blog work (as mentioned in an earlier post) by doing a picture that wasn't of any landscape in particular, but was a mish-mash of feelings rising from those trips.

After that, I thought I should continue in that vein, by doing paintings that were based on photos I'd taken on site.

Driving around and looking at the farms and fields that fill the countryside there, we came upon this horse farm alongside the roadway. We stopped so that I could get out and take some shots. As seen in this picture, this was at about sundown so the shadows were long. It's also one of the Fall visits, as seen in the bits of orange foliage and the bare trees in the background. The large blocks of dark contrast sharply with the sunset light, and the overlapping diagonals draw the viewer into the painting, all the way back to the fading line of mountains in the distance.

I like the feeling of quiet and the chilly light that fills the upper half of the scene. The one horse, standing in the fading sun while eating the dried grass of Autumn probably doesn't have much to do at this time of year. In the spring he'll be back at work, either pulling farm equipment around the fields or providing carriage rides to the tourists. Right now, though, he's taking it easy in his "Private" space, waiting for the Vermont winter to come and go.