August Light in Motion

In August the light and sky and water are in constant motion. The lake responds, reflects. Painting is a welcome challenge, a chance to engage the senses-- and whatever skills I might have-- toward the end of making images that come from not just what I see, but also what I feel in deeper layers. These three watercolors were made from inside the changing light, sky, and water of a single day in early August at Burlington Bay -KMB

summer lake

The first day of summer was breezy and hot. It was strange to have 90 degree weather with so much breeze, so much motion on the lake surface. A good day for painting at the Burlington waterfront, although the wind made it a bit of a challenge, especially in the morning.

Perkins Pier, Breezy Morning

Oakledge, First Day of Summer

Paintings by Kevin Macneil Brown, watercolor and graphite on paper, 6/20/16)

__________________

In honor of the lake and the longest days of summer, I offer this video combining poetry, music, and waterfront footage:

        june peregrine from Kevin Macneil Brown on Vimeo.

Spring Light

A clear April day brought a range of blues, of changing light and shadow, with the lake surface as still and calm as ever I have seen it. A perfect time to celebrate spring with a day of painting outdoors.

Paintings by Kevin Macneil Brown, watercolor, graphite, and marker on paper, April 2016.

                                                                         

Liminal Reflections

                                            SAILBOATS, LAKE CHAMPLAIN
                        Painting by Kevin Macneil Brown, watercolor and graphite on paper, 2015

Winter weather appears to be on the horizon at last here in Vermont, after what seems to have been the longest autumn ever.  This calm stretch has been strange, but it has also offered extended opportunities to contemplate big skies, bare light on the bare landscape, and reflections on waterways that seldom remain open and free of any ice so late into December.
Reflections, light, and water were important to me in 2015, coming up again and again in my painting and writing. So, as the year ends, it seems fitting that I take some time to go inside and reflect upon the currents, shapes, shadows, and light-falls that have guided my explorations.
Among these thoughts are those of deep gratitude for you who follow the words, images, and sounds I share. It is an honor to have you partake of these offerings, these energies I receive and transmit as best as I can. Thank you for your part in the confluence!
I look forward to new adventures and explorations in 2016, including the publication of the fifth book in the Liam Dutra New England mystery series, THE ISLAND OF ANCIENT LIGHT, sometime in the fall.
I wish you all wonderful things, for right now--and the year ahead!

-KMB

Winter Light

From Oakledge, Lake Champlain, December- Painting by Kevin Macneil Brown, watercolor on paper, 2015.


As the year turns, I once again give thanks for the lake that has taken hold of my heart and soul, inspiring so many explorations of mystery, power, landscape, water, shoreline, and sky...

Thanks  to all  of you who share these adventures with me here. I hope you'll be back in 2016!

-KMB

October Sketches

In autumn the shores and waters of Lake Champlain seem to hold on to summer colors and textures quite a bit longer than do the surrounding areas. You can see fall higher up in the mountains all around, and in the changing angle of light on the water and islands, in the flocks of geese in motion, the rust and gold of grasses and some copses of trees-- yet there are those remaining suffused blues and grays of sky and water, and still so much green all around. Eventually November winds will strip away the late summer vestiges, and snow and ice are likely to take over. But in October it is the way the light strikes and suffuses that offers the truest sense of autumn.-KMB

                                                               

Paintings by Kevin Macneil Brown, watercolor on paper, 2015.

A Look Back at Summer ( watercolor painting)

Last week, beginning a watercolor commission, I found myself preparing an autumn palette. 

With the light changing and the leaves turning, I thought I might look back and post one last Lake Champlain painting from the amazing, almost-endless summer of 2015.  

                                From Oakledge, August.

                                Painting by Kevin Macneil Brown, watercolor and graphite on paper, 2015.