2026: First Great Blue Heron

I was surprised to see my first great blue heron of the year at the dam this morning. I do have a sketch of one flying over from February last year but they usually arrive and settle in late March or April. I hear that they spend the winter months near the coast where the water doesn't freeze so much.

The river has opened up a lot in the last week after a few days of warm temperatures. It stalked about and poked in the usual spots. It even hopped in, belly-deep to hunt in the old cattails. My guess is that it won't stay; the water's too high and that's where the best fishing is, just below the spillway. Now if the heron would tell my tulips and daffodils that it's safe to come out!

03-13-26-heron01

03-13-26-heron03

04-19-21-heron01

04-22-21-heron01

Mallows: Then and Now

It's pretty hard to connect the summer mallows with their winter versions. In each moment, they are completely and utterly themselves. 

08-14-15-mallow

07-28-21-mallow

09-06-25-mallows

10-01-25-mallows

10-16-25-mallow01

10-20-25-mallow

02-18-26-mallow01

02-18-26-mallow03

02-18-26-mallow02

Sycamore Seeds

I am always enchanted by the pendulous seed balls of sycamore trees throughout the winter. They are Nature's Christmas ornaments. But with a big snow coming to Massachusetts later today, I wonder how many will fall to the ground weighted down by snow and ice. We shall see. Stay warm and vigilant good people!

11-23-20-sycamore

01-07-22-sycamore

11-26-22-sycamore

01-28-23-sycamore

11-29-23-sycamore

01-22-26-sycamore

Red tailed Hawk

 

01-17-26-hawk02
ink

More birds of prey here.

Look Down to See the Sky

 We've had a "January Thaw" the past few days. I wish I could say the same about other parts of the country (and the world). 

01-11-26-puddle

01-12-26-river

04-27-20-puddle

02-28-25-puddle

2026: Happy New Year

01-01-26-goose02
oil pastel, watercolor, 11 x 17"

01-01-26-hawk
charcoal, ink

01-01-26-branches
charcoal

The Island

12-21-25-island

11-30-25-island

11-22-25-island

11-04-25-island

07-08-25-island

01-01-25-island

 

What Will I Draw Today?

In the past few weeks I've been building a database of all my sketchbooks. I'm currently cataloging my books from 2020. I record the starting and ending dates, elapsed days and notable events or ideas that occurred to me and were recorded in a specific book.

So far, I've processed 152 sketchbooks starting in the year 2000. Five more years to go to get up to this year. Because I'm a completist, I'll go back and record the 20-30 books that I have from before 2000. And the database evolves as I work through things so that will mean going back through everything at some point soon to get all the records to a similar level of detail.

And this made me think about this date, December 8th and what natural observance I made on it in the past few years, 2020 to 2024. I wonder what I'll see and draw today?

12-08-20-mergansers02

12-08-21-geese

12-08-22-hawks02

12-08-23-cattails01

12-08-24-yellowhouse

 

Turkeys

02-03-19-turkeys
charcoal

11-06-25-turkeys
charcoal, wash

"In the Woods" poems by David Elliott
Candlewick Press, 2020

 

Autumn Colors

I leave my studio in the early morning with the bare minimum of art supplies* in my hands and pockets. But Nature throws a spectacularly colorful New England autumn at me. I do my best and try to be inventive yet strategic in my drawing and painting.

*most materials are obvious but by "crayon" I mean oil pastel, china marker or water soluble Neocolor crayons.

10-08-25-island
pastel, crayon, charcoal on colored paper

10-14-25-bridge
pastel, charcoal on colored paper

10-15-25-heron
crayon, pastel, ink, charcoal

10-16-25-mallow02
ink, crayon, charcoal

10-20-25-mallow
pastel, crayon, ink, charcoal

10-31-25-oak
pastel, crayon, ink, charcoal

11-01-25-bridge
charcoal, ink, pastel on colored paper

11-03-25-island01
mixed media

11-04-25-island
crayon