New find and views

Pond Reflections

6x8 oil on canvas

Path between Spy Pond and Route 2

photo

So last week was a beautiful week at Spy Pond.  The trees are in their fall glory and lots of folks were out enjoying the good weather.  I've been exploring public access to the pond and found the area near the Boys and Girls Club quite lovely. The above painting is from a photo of a view from the shore taken last week. There's some possibilities of views and small water access on the streets off Lake St.  There's also a wonderful paved path along the pond and Route 2 that Cally and I explored yesterday.  No painting outside as it's raining and I'm a wimp so I'm posting a photo of the path.  My neighbor Debbie, who's lived here all her life, told me that the 10 stairways made out of stone which lead from the path to the pond are used by folks who want to fish-both summer and winter. I wonder if they put up any ice houses.  She also encouraged me to explore the path along the shore away from the Boys and Girls club.
Today is very blustery and the rain is heavy right now, courtesy of hurricane Sandy.  My building shakes during a severe gust and I'm hoping this is the worst of it.  I should be able to paint out later in the week, and also will check out the local museum which I hear has quite a bit on the early history of Spy Pond during the Revolution!  Wow!  Kind of ironic that I should land here, given my ignorance of American history.  After all my family emigrated from Lithuania a mere 94 years ago!  Geras dienna!

water view

Rock, water and leaves

6x6 oil on canvas

So today I finished a painting of the water, rocks and trees at Spy Pond Park done from a photo taken on Monday.  It was a blustery, cloudy day when I had to wait until the sun peeked through to get a good picture.  My goal is to paint on site but I have to allow for days when I can't access the pond and will use photos.  The water was choppy with hardly any reflections and though warm, there weren't a lot of visitors except for ducks.  I started reading "More Spy Pond Stories," by Eva Balazs and now want to find a way to walk around the pond,  just like she did in the 1950's when she and her family moved to Arlington and rented near Spy Pond.  I also want to ice skate, kayak and swim here.  The kayak rental is over for the season but I might be able to get my mini-kayak out on the water to explore Elizabeth Island in the middle of the pond.  Some trees are turning red and orange but for the most part every thing's still green.  October's showy and busy but I look forward to seeing what November brings as the light changes and every thing's visible-a sense of peace to the air.

beginning a year...

"The Boys and Girls Club" at Spy Pond

                                                                    8x8 oil on canvas

I told Adria that I needed a place to love.  Somewhere I could be outdoorswhenever I wanted and be able to find beauty and solace in nature, and good stuff to paint.  I've lived here two years and am still searching for that beautiful, grounding, natural space I had in Maine before my husband died and I was invited to babysit my first grandchild in the Boston area.  So this has to be near the water, have plenty of trees and places to sit, be easily reached on foot or bike, and have people around parts of it-basically have all of what Maine has.  We drove to Spy Pond park where I had been many times with my dog, but somehow I looked at it again through Adria's eyes.  She pointed out a whole year's worth of possibilities so I got right on it and painted the Boys & Girls Club.  I was part of a group of artists who helped raise funds for a public mural to be placed on the side of this building.  However, part of me also loved the blue and red reflections in the water so it was a natural to be my first of a weekly painting session somewhere on the pond.  I'd like to think that I'll also write about the place, my reaction to it, some history, and even include fellow pond enthusiast's views.  It'll be a year of discovery about the pond and people in my town, and a chance to find my way to a new life in this place and time.  I'm excited to start and will begin by reading stories written 30 years ago by a woman who moved here and also started a new life.

I'm oh so thankful to Adria Arch-teacher and friend, my family and new friends and neighbors for being so supportive.