It’s Wednesday morning and I’m just beginning to wake up.  There’s something positively tranquilizing about the cool Vermont air… besides these blankets are warm.

Yesterday, the weather, which had been lovely, decided to show its teeth.  Rain became hard rain– hard, cold rain.  Then, it became something that is known in Florida only as a legend—snow.  White, swirling snow.  The accumulated warmth of the ground melted much of it away, but the trees became spectral white shapes.  It looked beautiful, a bit sloppy, but still beautiful.

The snow inspired me.  That is it inspired me to stay put inside the studio.  Beauty has many different aspects and when one of them involves wet, cold shoes paired with a completely inadequate jacket, it is best viewed from a distance with at least one layer of Thermopane between the viewer and the viewed.

The time for the figure drawing class came and went and still the snow came down.  Contenting myself that the by now snow-covered landscape was as aesthetically satisfying as the human form, I took a few pictures.  Besides, I had taken those same views a day before and I plan to do a few studies in contrast.  You know the sort—winter and spring.  I didn’t need to tell any potential viewer that in Vermont those can be only hours apart.

Once the creative ice was broken, I took out the sketch of the river scene I’d made on Monday and re-rendered it in watercolor.  This took much of the rest of the day.  It came out so well that I began another, drawing from my earlier inspiration, showing the same scene in the snow.  I plan on working on it for much of today.

One reason for this dedication is that the snow is still falling quite enthusiastically, and there is a winter storm warning in effect until four or so this afternoon.

One of the natives commented that this snow was even after “the sugaring snow.”  It is so Vermont.  I just love being here and I’m looking forward to finding a place so we’ll have a permanent northern New England address.

Last night, I braved the outdoors to listen to the writers’ readings.  The various writers were reading selections from their works.  It was a wonderful change of pace from working in the visual and really enjoyable.  There were a wide range of material being presented.  One man read a comedic piece that was quite funny in a tongue-in-cheek way.

On the way back, I stopped off in the studio.  It’s interesting to get to know my “studio mates.”  We took the opportunity to do a bit of show-and-tell about our various projects.

Vermont Week at VSC