Pond at Trail Wood, Hampton, CT

August 17 - 22, 2026

I've begun working on an 8x10 landscape scene from a hike I took one fall at the CT Audubon Society at Trail Wood, in Hampton, CT. I worked on a 5 x7 version earlier this year but wanted to capture the scene in a larger painting. Here is a look at the progression.

I started "sketching" shapes with a thinned down dark earth red oil paint, focusing on the layout and lights and darks.

Then I began to block in colors of the rough shapes. First, I painted in the darkest color, a very dark blue-green, that will be the shadows as well as silhouetted leaves from an overhanging tree. Then I determined my lightest color. These will be dry grasses and several boulders in the foreground. These are like bookends that help me find the middle values and colors throughout the scene.

Now I am working on the far shoreline and distant rows of trees. I am beginning to adjust and define the trees. This is still very rough and may change quite a bit as I progress. Stay tuned!

Lots of details have been added...and now into the gallery.