The grounds of Cedaridge Farm, the home of the Bucks County Designer House & Gardens, are sublime. The owners, Derek and Caroline Fell, have created special views from each window of lush gardens and trees of all varieties. The colors this spring are truly inspiring and breathtaking. My studio room has stunning views of this magnificent weeping cherry tree with it's branches dripping in pink blossoms. And, only but for a few days to enjoy. Four days later, the ground was a carpet of pink petals and the branches were popping in small green leaves. 

Another favorite from the Ulrich Farm Series. "Morning Mist,' was inspired from an early morning visit to the farm. Entering the front lane from Bedminster Road, one views the front pastures looking east. The sun was making its entrance burning through the cool and cloudy dawn - there was still a hint of its pink glow from earlier at sunrise. The mist rising from the pastures created this wonderful atmospheric effect, as well as the frosty dew on the grasses in the foreground. I paused on the driveway, turned off the car and just watched for a while. I made some notes and quick sketches, took some photos and then continued on to the barn to care for the donkeys.
For months, I reflected on this scene and then set about to capture it on paper in the studio. It's a large piece for me and a new direction in terms of medium. Laying in the large areas of color with watercolor and then going back into the painting with oil pastels to add depth and texture. I love the play between the paint and pastels. It affords me the opportunity to add to the color process and bring some of the emotion of the scene to life.

​I've been busy getting ready for my benefit show for the Land Trust and gathering all the paintings together to hang in one place. Four seasons of paintings from my time on the Ulrich Farm will be hanging for people to enjoy. It's exciting.
I am actually excited myself to see them all together as they have been scattered about my home and studio - on shelves, in drawers and some hanging on walls. This is a big deal for Laura also and I hope it brings her as much joy and pleasure as it has for me.
A few people asked me which paintings are my favorite. Gosh, that's a hard one. And yet, there are several that come to mind.
This is one of them. The barn at night basking in the glow of the floodlight.

I painted this on a late summer evening - it was cooler than usual and the bugs had died down. We had a spectacular pink and purple sunset and I immediately thought it would be a good night to capture this scene. I'd painted it many times before. In my head, that is. I do that so often when I see a scene that inspires me – I'll go over it in my head and think about how I'd paint it. I love how this massive barn just emerges from the shadows and darkness. The glow of the lights in the donkey's stalls are inviting. I also like how the darkness pares down the details in the overhang or outside in the barn yard. The barn's floodlight almost acts like a stage light – bringing your focus to the weathered wood and wagon wheels leaning up on the wall.
There are more favorites, but I'll save that for another blog post!

This is a recent painting from the Bucks County Plein Air. Just down the road from our farm is this farm... "the old Derstine place" a local farmer told me. I love how the farms carry the original farmer's name long after they have been on this earth. It's a farm's legacy and, rightfully so. Farming is hard work and we should remember these great stewards of our farmland. The new owners (15+ years) couldn't have been kinder or more welcoming when I stopped to ask if I could paint. I especially enjoyed watching the chickens move around and under the old corn crib (isn't that roof with all the old paint colors wonderful!). When the painting was just about finished, they hopped up onto the stairs, each one taking a step for themselves. "Now, why didn't you do that when I first started the painting?!?" I thought. Next time. I'm hoping they'll oblige and take their respective perches!

These little vignettes I discover while spending time on the Ulrich Farm inspire me. I love these old wagon wheels sunbathing in the afternoon light against the crumbling plaster of the barn wall. They are the original wheels from wagons that were found in the upper loft of one of the outbuildings. Parked next to them are old feed troughs from the pigs that used to be on the farm. The weathered barn boards and the subtle colors weaving through the old plaster are a wonderful backdrop to these items. All part of the farm's rich story.

The approach of evening is one of my favorite times of day to paint. The sun dropping down to the horizon creates dramatic long shadows and piercing shafts of bright light. These are the back fields of the Ulrich Farm. I hiked my way back making my way through the boggy sections still glazed over in thin ice and the snow retreating from the warmer day temps. 
I wanted to paint this scene with the old hay wagon, retired from its many years of service, now parked out along the scrubby brush line dividing the two fields. It's almost as if it has become one with its setting, echoing the colors and textures of its surroundings. I loved the long shadows stretching across the ground and the glow of the brush along the back horizon - that evening glow. It doesn't last long... I painted until it was dusk and then finished it up in the studio that night while everything was still etched in my memory.

We have enjoyed some unusually warm days in between the cold wintery ones. (In fact, the next day, this scene was blanketed in heavy snow!). But this day, was delightfully warm, almost 70 degrees and I took advantage of the weather to return to the Ulrich farm to paint.
I love the old farm lane that enters from a smaller, older side road, Hill Road. It's the original entrance to the farm, and there is a special feeling when you turn onto the dirt lane and pass through the canopy of trees along its edge. There's a sense of timelessness, a feeling of reverence as I make my way down past these wonderful barns and outbuildings. Though they are now quiet, dormant in this stage of their lives, they speak of years of hard work, lives well lived, endless seasons and harvests of plenty.

"The Old Farm Lane," plein air watercolor, 18" x 12"
If you look closely you'll see Piccadilly and Midge sunbathing in the barnyard... they are the resident donkeys who still enjoy the comforts of the barn and farm.

My time spent on the Ulrich Farm in Bedminster is special. I am so enjoying getting to know Mrs. Ulrich, my honorary grandma (as she so sweetly wrote in my Christmas card) and feel so blessed with her warm friendship. Safely tucked away in her memories are all the wonderful stories of this farm and the generations that came before her. We are going to be working together in the new year to commit them to paper – both in writings and paintings. I am excited and look forward to bringing them to you in future blog posts.
When the light begins to depart and I pack up my painting gear to leave, this is my view as I get in my car. The other night I just had to stop and sketch it out, make some color notes and then hurried home to paint it. There is a quiet that settles over the farm, a hush over the pastures and the soft glow of lights from the house appear in the windows. Everything is tucked in for the night.