A Weekend Of Opera, Art, And Tons Of Snow In Boston.

Two weekends ago my friend Nancy and I, and her dog Leah, drove up to Boston to hear Nancy's daughter Rachel (right) sing in the opera "Ithigenia in Tavris."  Rachel and her friend Coco are two of the many amazingly talented students at the Boston Conservatory of Music. (Thank you Coco for use of the photo.)

Once settled into our room high above the Brownstones behind the hotel, Leah checked out the view.
She said there was snow as far as the eye could see.

Indeed there was; piles on sidewalks and intersections five to seven feet tall.
And as we know in the week since, even more snow has been dumped on "Bean Town."

Saturday morning I decided I had to somehow chronicle the snowfall in a drawing, without freezing my butt off. Across from our hotel was the Prudential Center, in which I found the lobby of a condo. It looked out onto a snow covered garden. I settled into a warm and comfy overstuffed chair, and did this sketch in about an hour.

After lunch Nancy and I decided to brave the snow and walk to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Mrs.Gardner was a patron of the arts, and close friend of one of my favorite artists, John Singer Sargent.
The elegant home was built in the late 1900s, in the style of a 15th century Venetian palace. The three story building's interior surrounds this beautiful garden, the top of which originally opened to the sky. I couldn't help wondering how they would have dealt with snowstorms back then? Brrrrrr.

This is the last painting done by Sargent of  the ailing Mrs.Gardner, when she was 82 years old. She had suffered a stroke three years earlier. Sargent's water color captures her pale fragility, propped up by pillows, wrapped in shades of white cloth, surrealistically echoing the drifts of snow surrounding her former home.





    

Painting At The 300th Birthday Party Of The Barns-Brinton House In Chadds Ford.

I recently had the pleasure of spending a Saturday painting with two of my fellow "Plein Air"
friends, Bruno Baran and Jacalyn Beam, on the grounds of the Barns-Brinton House in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

There was a gentle rain when I arrived, and I found Jacalyn in the shelter of a tree, already half-way through one of her exquisite small oils.

Here is a sketch of Bruno as he worked on one of his paintings, also in oil.

By ten a.m. Reenacters were in place and mingling with the public as everyone celebrated the 300th anniversary of the Barns-Brinton House, a wonderfully preserved former colonial tavern built in 1714.

Because I enjoy talking to people about the process of doing a painting, especially when working in watercolor, I ended up finishing only one painting on this day.  

Here is my painting, which I believe captures the historical ambiance of the day. Happily the Director of the Chadds Ford Historical Society felt the same way, because she bought it.

In spite of the hot weather, and for some, heavy clothing, the Reenacters stayed in character throughout the day, dancing and sharing their knowledge of what life was like for Colonial Americans 300 years ago.

At times I felt like I was on the back-lot of a Hollywood historical film set, with all these folks "in-character."

Mmmmm...perhaps next year I will join them.

I hope you had a wonderful July Fourth weekend!