On Tuesday morning it was too hot to stand in the sun but extremely comfortable in a naturally cool spot between two small groves in the south field. While I painted, appearances were made by a marmot, deer, rabbit, squirrel, flock of bluebirds, and harrier chased by a crow. A low flying helicopter made repeated noisy sweeps across the area, possibly taking off from the airport five miles to the south.
I intensified the color today, influenced by faculty slide presentations and by sharing meals with the talented ceramic colorist Elizabeth MacDonald. Her oil landscapes on paper last summer were vividly elegant.
In the afternoon I set up near the new Center for the Advancement of Public Action (CAPA), a compact set of buildings clad in reclaimed white Vermont marble. The low profile design sparkles like a jewel in the agricultural landscape of mowed and baled hay.
On Sunday, Drew flew in to share breakfast with me and gave me a scenic flight over Bennington. The photo, looking north, shows the college in the center, buffered on all sides by fields and woods. The boundary makes the campus feel remote and secure. It’s too bad the southwest corner was sacrificed to development. Bennington is becoming my fourth college in terms of time spent on campus after Syracuse, Smith, and RISD, although possibly fifth since the workshops are administered by Mass Art.
ABOVE: Distant View, southeast toward down town, oil on linen panel, 9 x 12 inches (23 x 31 cm), 08/02/11
HH Push Pull for Alice (CAPA), oil on linen panel, 8 x 10 inches (20 x 25 cm), 08/02/11
Bennington College from the air