Eden in Winter

New paintings leave the studio in a first exhibition of work from the countryside

Feb 10, 2025

Dear Friends,

Not a long post today… I’m in the throes of preparing for an upcoming, 3-person exhibit at The Providence Art Club opening next Sunday. The exhibition titled, Three Paths Through the Natural World, features my work alongside fellow artist members, Heidi Baxter and Sarah Verardo whose work is also inspired by the landscape. I’m pleased to bring together about ten, recent oil paintings, most of which were made since we relocated to the new home and studio.

First of all - with all that we have had to do since arriving last Spring, I’m amazed that I’ve been able to pull together a body of work. It took a while to settle in and finish all the little projects to complete the house, make the studios functional and begin to put our mark on the surrounding landscape. There was travel and the Holidays to host, classes to teach and of course an election that has still left me in disbelief. All these many things can undermine one’s creative routine and provide endless distraction away from the studio.

Secondly, I’m happier that I’ve not only been able to paint this work but also to somehow move the ball forward. Part of being here has helped me realize just how much my environment means to my creative wellbeing. Planting trees, designing the gardens and tracking the birds around the property, all feed my creative soul. The house feels like an extension of the studio with art books by the fireplace and our paintings on the wall. It helps to have a creative partner in this adventure who is also trying to move her work forward. We encourage each other, bring each other coffee and visit each other’s studio in the evenings to share the latest work and give each other encouragement. It’s a life with art at it’s core.

Long Way Home, oil on canvas, 60 x 50 in

On a trip to London in September to celebrate Monica’s birthday, we stumbled upon an amazing exhibition of Van Gogh’s paintings and drawings at the National Gallery. Van Gogh is a favorite of mine and I always love seeing his work but I wasn’t prepared for this wonderfully curated selection of mostly landscapes to affect me as much as it has. Color, of course, is a shared interest with Van Gogh. The works on display felt as vibrant and fresh as if they had been painted yesterday in deeply saturated color. Also moving to me is the dedication to the landscape in his work. He is never a neutral observer whether in paint or the ink drawings included in the show. The landscape are his landscapes - his places, feet firmly planted, one imagines, in a tenacious search for mark, color and movement that reflects the density of a pine, the gnarl of an olive tree or the swirling sky overhead. What we’re left with, even through the distance of time since the work was made, was a sense of the person, the artist Van Gogh, trying time and again through his work to reach something in the deepest part of himself. It’s incredibly inspiring the more I look at him.

Me at the National Gallery for Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers

Moments from Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers at the National Gallery, London

These paintings I’m pulling from the studio are a nod to this idea that a medium as simple as color on canvas can be a path to discovery in a search for self. If you’re reading this and are in the Rhode Island area, please stop by and see the work in person. There will be a reception next Sunday afternoon (February 16) from 2-4 PM - it would be lovely to see you.

Best,

Michael