Concord River

I had a lovely paddle this afternoon. I did four sketches from my kayak. Two of them came out okay. The top sketch is of the North Bridge. It's fun to sit in the kayak under the bridge and eavesdrop on the guides that give Revolutionary War tours. The bottom sketch is of a field where I stopped off for a break. There's an easy exit spot on the bank right there. It may be private property. I'll have to Google Earth to find out. I'd love to paint there. The air was very hazy and all the background trees looked especially blue. I couldn't figure out why all the hazyness, as it wasn't particularly hot and it wasn't in the least bit humid. I heard later on about the forest fires in Quebec. The wind was blowing the smoke down the East Coast. Halfway home, the haze was gone.

Both sketches are on Stonehenge paper Vellum finish which I LOVE! I have a small 5x7 pad of it, but it's almost gone. Very pricey, but great paper.

Acton again

Went to the arboretum again with a friend. The pen & ink was done with my brand new fountain pen. The brand is Lamy and it has a calligraphy tip. I bought the converter for the pen so that I can fill it with any ink that I like. I used Noodler's Ink.

Acton Arboretum

A few sketches from a beautiful afternoon. The arboretum was busy! I discovered a spot with a tiny pond for next time. It'll be a perfect spot to paint when the irises open. Hopefully the pond won't dry up anytime soon.

Sholan Farms

There are some nice trails in back of the orchard, and some of them are along the water. The top image is a value study, and the bottom is a quick color study- both are in oils. I took some photos so that can add more detail if I want. The trails are popular for dog walking. I was sitting on the ground with all of my materials around me engrossed in my work when suddenly a big black lab came crashing through the brush.He plowed right through all of my supplies and even stepped into my container of turpentine. After a brief swim in the lake, he circled around and came back, this time remembering the turp, and leaped over everything. I had had about a spoonful of turp. by the time he left with his owner. I couldn't even clean my brushes.

Catmint

This is late. It's the pen & ink challenge for the month of April (something beginning with the letter "C") . I tried cantalope but it didn't work out. Then I tried a few clam shells that I gathered from my kayak yesterday. That didn't work out either.

Nashua River- Groton

I saw a lot of wildlife while kayaking today. A beaver, two snapping turtles, kingfisher, eastern kingbirds, and an osprey. The water level has receded quite a bit and I for awhile I watched the clams slowly making their way from the bank into deeper water. They made little grooves in the mud.

This little pen & ink was done from my boat.