#Snowtober

Erica Dale Strzepek, Snow in October,
Watercolor & Gouache, 5x7 inches, ©2011 

Recent weather brought unique landscapes and artistic vignettes to the New England area I love

While driving from Central New York, it began. First, we thought it was the elevation as the sun had long faded and the air was colder. Around us the I-90 Thruway bustled with 18-wheeler trucks on their long haul. A call to our family confirmed our fear; winter was rearing itself early just days before Halloween. What a cruel trick-or-treat indeed.

The historic October Nor’easter wreaked havoc covering the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states. I unpacked winter coats, hats, and gloves along with snow shovels and rock salt. To my dismay, the snowplow arrived 10-minutes before midnight, greeted by loud barks from our dog. Her barking was only muffled by the snowplow blade scraping against the blacktop driveway, back and forth in what seemed slow motion and endless. The Berkshire autumn season was now accompanied by 15 or more inches of heavy wet snow.

With the storm, the local landscape took on a new artistic promise. Scenes in town I had envisioned painting in autumnal brilliance, were now transformed with the addition of this white blanket. Mt. Greylock was a splendid site with orange and yellow trees capped with white highlights. Clumps of full evergreens added dimension to the unique spectrum of color.

Erica Dale Strzepek, Primary End, Snow in October Series,
Watercolor & Gouache, 10x14 inches, ©2011 

Among my favorite vignettes three busted, and rusting Volkswagen Beetles. The VWs aligned cleverly (or possibly without consideration) in primary red-yellow-blue sequence adjacent to the pharmacy in the heart of downtown. The subject of a vehicle parked for its final time has always captured my imagination, and is a theme I paint often. I wonder about the last driver and what they were thinking. How long since someone opened the car door and sat inside? How was the hood crushed or the bumper dented? Why has it been abandoned and forgotten? Without knowing the answers to its story, the possibilities are endless. I think that is what I find intriguing.

New original watercolor pieces inspired by #Snowtober are available from my Etsy Shop. Shop Small on November 26, 2011 and support artists and small business owners this holiday season.

'Tis the Gift to Be Simple

With autumn upon us, I find artistic inspiration during the simplest of tasks; picking up my kids from school, attending an evening soccer practice, walking to our local public library, or picking up mail at the post office. Especially beautiful in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, each autumn day brings a new composition from the quickly changing life of sugar maples, red maples, oaks, and elm trees. Autumnal colors delight my palette as I paint sweeping mountain backgrounds with perylene violet, gold and yellow ochre and muted greens. Foliage sings out in quinacridone gold, alizarin crimson, and cadmium red with interruptions from evergreens or tall white birches. The scene is complimented with skies of ultramarine blue with occasional wispy horse tail clouds.

With camera, paint, and palette in hand, I find the cooler weather a wonderful time to be out with my boys enjoying nature’s beauty and plentiful treasures. Greylock Glen sits at the base of Mt. Greylock in Adams, Massachusetts. The park has areas for hiking, walking, fishing, and of course abounds in potential artistic composition. Shallow running streams reveal rocks of local white limestone and sparkling granite which dance in the water with the fallen crimson maple leaves. Twisted bittersweet vines hang exposed bearing clusters of golden husks opened to reveal bright red fruit inviting birds to dine. With their season over, dried wildflowers drop seeds to return again with the spring renewal, now many months away.

Leaving the Glen, the view looks towards town and the valley. Family farms dot the landscape and far away cars move along like toys. Jaeschke's Orchard is a buzz with the apple harvest. The front of their orchard is adorned by carts filled with colorful maroon and yellow hardy mums. I find the simplicity of the area so beautiful.

Enjoy along me my favorite season. For a limited time I am offering free shipping from my Etsy Shop, where you can find many of my new autumnal pieces. Coupon code [FALL2011FS]. Offer expires November 5, 2011.

Planning a foliage ride through the Berkshires? Stop by the Adams Free Library, 92 Park Street, to see my exhibit of original watercolors on display through November. For library hours call 413-743-8345.

Rocks, Bugs, and Boys

Rocks and fossils were last year’s summer vacation theme. The five of us, my husband, me, and our three boys would make an afternoon of rock hunting and searching for fossils out and about in Central New York. The area of the state is perfect, due to the topography and geological timeline. We were astounded to hear our then six-year-old yell out, “I found a trilobite!” The boys even had luck sifting through our neighbor’s landscape rocks; easily identifying fossilized coral. With specimens in hand off to the Canastota Public Library we would go to do our identification research. All the librarians knew of our summer project and would suggest new locations or share their own treasures. It was an adventure we all as a family enjoyed, as well as, a great learning experience for the boys.

Erica Dale Strzepek, Io Moth,
Watercolor & Ink, 5x7 inches, ©2011

This summer’s theme, much to my dismay, became all things bugs. I guess having three boys I should know that’s part of their makeup. Insects are certainly more difficult to embrace over fossils, but a learning experience none the less. It started when our middle son found a large, may I say huge, dead black beetle. “Mom, this is awesome,” remarked my four-year-old. The next specimen was a horse fly larger than the size of a U.S. quarter. I was nearly eaten alive by the thing at the breakfast table while visiting family on Cape Cod. “Get it Mom,” the boys screamed. Their shrills were followed promptly by “get a bag so we can save it and look at its beautiful green eyes.”

When we came across a beautiful yellow moth, without a field guide or our local library to identify it, I turned to Twitter. The boys would ask every few minutes, “Did you get a reply yet?”

Twitter Feed PhthaloBluePB15

On and on went the summer with our bug findings. As our collection grew, their beauty was undeniable to us all. Whether a black beetle, cicada, horse fly or the moulted exoskeleton of a June beetle, we collected and drew our findings with true enjoyment. “Mom, the legs fell off this one so I am not going to draw them.” I was fine with that.