"Never, no never, did nature say one thing and wisdom another.”
Juvenal
Painting en plein air is much like hunting—both require patience, a keen eye, and a deep connection with the natural world.
As a young girl, my father frequently took my siblings and I on hunting excursions. While I never had a strong desire to hunt, I found joy in wandering through the forest, searching for the ideal spot, breathing in the crisp air, and observing the world around me with heightened awareness. I cherished the quiet moments of stillness, listening and watching intently. Though I no longer hunt, plein air painting evokes those serene days spent in the northern Minnesota woods alongside my dad. Below are smaller-scale paintings created predominantly en plein air or directly from observation.
Taft's Farm, oil on panel, 9x12.
Hilltop Orchard, 9x12, oil on panel
Morning at Hawthorne, 5x7, oil on paper
Hawthorne Hay, 5x7, oil on panel
Hawthorne in the Morning Fog, 5x7, oil on panel
West Stockbridge Farm Country, 8x10, oil on panel
Spring in Austerlitz, 8x10, oil on panel
Stockbridge Scilla, 8x10, oil on panel
Hawthorne in the Fall, 8x10, oil on panel
Hawk Ridge, 6x8, oil on panel
Steepletop (At Edna St. Vincent Millay's Residence), 8x10, oil on panel
Crellin Park, 5x7, oil on panel
Behind Miner's Castle, 8x10, oil on panel
Lake Eaton in the Adirondacks, 5x7, oil on panel
Rhode Island Shoreline, 5x7, oil on paper
Gitchee Gumee Sunrise, 6x8, oil on panel
The Frosted Pond, 15x18, oil on panel
Roger's Wintertime Woods, 5x7, oil on paper
The Wintery Woods Out Back, 5x7, oil on paper
Crashing Waves at Two Lights, 6x8, oil on paper
Tunnel in the Woods, 9x13, oil on panel
Amity Creek, 6x8, oil on panel
Three Sisters, 6x8, oil on panel
Pink Sky, Pale Moon (Rigor Hill Barn). 11x14, oil on panel
Golden Hillside, 8x10, oil on panel
Williamstown Barn, 4x6, oil on panel
Frosted Winterberry, 8x10, oil on panel
South Lee Road Home, 8x10, oil on panel
Storm over Baldwin's Farm, 8x10, oil on panel
Queen Anne's Lace at Dawn, oil on panel
Meadow's Roses, 6x8, oil on paper
Hydrangeas from Home, 8x10, oil on panel
Crocus, 5x7, oil on panel
Trilium, 8x10, oil on panel
Queen Anne's Lace, 5x7, oil on panel
Willow, 8x10, oil on panel
Meadow in Blue, 6x8, oil on panel
Meadow in Green, 9x12, oil on panel