Summer: Water, Land, and Light

( Odzihozo, Sailboat, Juniper Island (Lake Champlain) --Painting by Kevin Macneil Brown, watercolor on paper, 2009)

At the Lake Champlain shore, water, land, and sky come together in ways that create constantly changing light, shifting vistas. Even from a single vantage point, the total effect--of color, of atmosphere, of dimensions and spatial relationships between objects and landmarks-- can change radically from moment to moment. Noticing this, I can't help but think of Odzihozo, the Abenaki creator and transformer, present visibly now as the majestic rock in the bay.
The painting above is an attempt to capture a moment on the lake: a recent July morning just after fog had lifted to reveal a shimmering and paradoxical combination of haze and luminosity.