Kempton farm

"Old barn in Spring" by Hilary J England
8" x 10" oil on canvas, 2014

I decided to post my painting today from Kempton, as I went out and scoured the countryside for interesting sites to paint.  This one barn, in the full Spring sunlight, just looked incredible the way the sun beat down on it, literally making it a beacon of blues and purples...it was awesome. It stood by itself, with one lonesome cow in the field...it was definitely an oddity.

So, that is it for today, I will post more tomorrow.  I am feeling really under the weather, and I don't know why I feel so incredibly fatigued today, but I do, and this was the most I could muster, much to my disappointment.  I had a whole day of activities lined up, but by the time I got home, I could just fling myself into my easy chair outside, and catch a breather.  I don't know...hopefully my "get up and go" will get up and come back tomorrow....

Enjoy!

Hawk Mountain

Woman and vista, South lookout
Hawk Mountain, April 2014

I went up to Hawk Mountain and took a series of photos and did some painting, as it was absolutely wonderful up there.  This photo here I took of a woman relaxing at the edge of the precipice, just for scale.  She was gracious to sit for me.

Vulture circling the Valley, North lookout
Hawk Mountain, 2014

Here is one of a turkey vulture circling the Valley.  You can see the bird right above the innermost boulder on the bottom left.  It was a truly magnificent Spring day, with the warms and cools of the clear day really bursting forth!

Hiking up on the mountain really clears my mind.  I initially went up there just to sit quietly on the South lookout, but the weather was so fine, I decided to hike up to the North lookout as well, and I wasn't disappointed. No, no great or wonderful bird sightings, but the views were absolutely breathtaking and majestic from the bright, clear sky, that you could just see for miles.  That view never disappoints, even on a cloudy day.

Near the hall of the Mountain King
 Hawk Mountain, 2014

I did take many photos, and got a painting and some sketches in.  I did rue hiking to the North lookout with my gear, but for some reason, hiking up is never as bad as hiking down for me, as I'm always afraid of just tumbling down the mountain, and it's kind of hard to fall "up" haha.  At least for me it is...

So, I will post my painting from the mountain tomorrow, but today, time to head down to the canal and enjoy the rest of the day!!

Wishful thinking

"Wishful thinking" by Hilary J England, oil on canvas, 8" x 10" 2014

 

 

 

This is not the painting I did today, it was from the other night, in the snowy night, in my studio, and I was thoroughly disgusted with the weather and life in general, so I began to dream of where I wanted to be, and that's when I painted that little painting.  I also trashed most of my studio in the hunt for Titanium white, because I have tubes of it, and not being able to find one was the final straw and I just snapped.

Today was a lovely day, and I trekked out to Tuscarora, where I found a nice little patch of air to paint in, and initially it felt wonderful...but after a few hours, the clouds came, and the wind came, and it was almost like an April Fool's joke on me, after I became chilled, I decided enough was enough, and that was that.  I still can't shake the depression of this Winter off...the angst is really entrenched.  I feel deeply frustrated at what I don't know, but it's there, and I can't pinpoint it, can't assuage it, can dissuade it, can't shake loose of it, and I'm angry and tired about it.  Maybe it's everything in general, or maybe something more, but at this point, I don't really care much, because I've dealt with this monster my entire life, and I will move through it. Another day or so with the sun on my face and a nice soft breeze through my hair, and I will begin to thaw....

So, enjoy my little fantasy painting.  Tomorrow I will post the one from Tuscarora...after I get motivated to photo it...

Last snow

"Dead tree, last snow" by Hilary J England
oil on canvas, 8" x 10" 2014

I can only hope this is the last snow.  I can't say it enough that I am done with the friggin' cold, the wind, the gray, the death, the Winter.  Enough.  Winter, go home. You are obviously drunk.

So, I don't care if we have a blizzard tomorrow, next painting I do will be of the Spring, even if I have to invent it in my brain.

Enjoy!

Marking time

"Creek in March on a blustery day" by Hilary J England
8" x 10" oil on canvas 2014

The never-ending Winter.  I'm sorry, I'm like everyone else at this point: ready to go insane.  I can't recall ever feeling this bleak during any Winter....it's just interminable and I can't get my head on straight sometimes.

I was a slacker for the last two months, but I don't care.  I finally got myself together, and here is a painting of the local creek, and trust me, it was damn cold.  Very off putting, since I'm not in the mood for this weather anymore...I would rather be complaining about the heat LOL.  Also, photoing this painting was very difficult, as my eternal struggle with my camera still endures, haha...but you get the gist!

Aaaanyway....enjoy~

Definitely

"March thaw" by Hilary J. England
oil on canvas, landscape, 8" x 10", 2014

So, here is another painting from yesterday, during the beginning of the thaw.  It was a really quick painting, trying to catch the grayish/blue atmospheric haze, along with the bare land still dotted with snow here and there.  I think after today, that is all gone, TG.

The farmland is beautiful any time of year, including during the beginning ides of March.  Looking forward to getting out and painting some more tomorrow....

Spring returns?

"Approaching Ides" by Hilary J. England
oil on canvas, 8" x 11" 2014

I've been absent.  I know this, but I didn't really care. The depression that consumed me after New Year's was so deep, it chipped away at me until it rendered me completely beaten down.  I didn't even want to get out of my bed, let alone look at the window--the relentless march of snowstorms, Polar vortexes, cabin fever, busted plumbing and other assorted problems that needed to be addressed just drove me into the comfort of my own mind, where I lounged for days, forsaking everything.  I can do that.  I don't have little kids haha.... I just didn't care.

After getting my butt whupped by the flu in January, the physical recovery took a few weeks which seemed endless, and that was the last of my juice.  So, when the warm weather, or at least the promise of it, poked it's head up like a groundhog through the snowy dirt, initially I thought nothing of it, but each passing day perked me up a little more, knowing that I could go outside and paint again...I couldn't through this Winter...it was too extreme, and barring one day here or there, I couldn't do anything constant, and that added to my depression, deeply.  I hate feeling trapped--and that's what I felt like: a rat in a trap.

So, at last the weather is arriving, and I feel in fine spirits along with the return of Spring.  I did several paintings today, as I am super charged (and bipolar LOL) with the promise of warm, fine weather, and languid nights.  This one above is the first:  "Approaching Ides."  It was hazy this morning, really high key and saturated despite the burn of fog in the desolate farm field.  Yet, right under the surface, you know, just by the look and smell, the flood of life is starting to percolate...~Enjoy!

First in Series

"The Mirror Image" by Hilary J. England
Oil on canvas 18" x 24" x 2", 2014

Here is the first painting in my series, "Transitions."   This painting is an extension of the "Rural American Youth" series in a way, in that many of the "players" in that series are continued into this series, but there are new focuses as well, and this series is rooted in change rather than in observations.

This painting, "The Mirror Image" revolves around Madeleine.  I saw the changes she went through after the sudden death of her young father, and how she struggled, and it sort of "diminished" her.  I could see her shrinking inside of herself, and suddenly, in a moment, she went from naive to wise, in the flash of that moment, it was visible.  I had never seen such a tangible moment in another human being, as if someone had literally lifted a veil from her eyes, and what she saw was horrifying.  It was lighting off a bomb, I saw the explosion, and then instantly felt the repercussions, and lastly, could plainly view the damage.

I watched as she struggled to process the enormity of everything, how a portion of her childhood was left in tatters, and the flashes of sadness and anger as she looked to blame but didn't know how, so ultimately, she began to blame herself, which seems to be weakness that comes so naturally to children, as they mostly lack the viciousness to blame others, or put the sadness where it belongs.

I painted her in her best dress, to show the feebleness of her situation, how brave she is, yet how little and lost.  I painted this in a dramatic light, to show how the situation was suddenly there, like spotlights in a prison break, yet she will come through it, eventually.

Digging Out

"Fresh grave in the pale winter sun" by Hilary J England
8" x 11" oil on canvas panel, 2014

Sometimes when I sit in my office, I get the maddening whiff of flowers, and it reminds me of a funeral home.  I don't know why, and it's all year long, and ONLY in this one particular room.  Strange.

The cemetery is not really a sad place though, and over the years, we unfortunately have had a pretty decent number of family and friends now become residents there.  We all die, but the sad thing is, for most of us, no one remembers beyond life.  Ever go sit in a cemetery?  Especially in Winter?  Not exactly a bustling place or beehive of activity.  I sat there for hours, and there was not one solitary visitor.  I walked the graveyard like a ghost, looking at the various headstones, both recent and old, and wondered how some of the younger people met their demise.  One particularly poignant plot of earth captivated my attention: a young woman of 18.  No marker.  Just a faded piece of paper, crumbled and ragged from the elements, waiving feebly in the wind, with just her name, date of birth, date of death.  I felt intense pity for her.  Was that all she was worth?

Winter is sometimes a hard season.  We get pent up and on each others nerves as the cold, bad weather, and illness keeps us indoors.  I don't know why I wound up at Skyview.  I had a coffee and was just happy to be out of the house, even though I am wracked with some kind of lung infection, I felt I needed the clean air.  And there was this place...

Sunlight and storm

"Sunlight and storm" by Hilary J. England
8" x 10" oil on canvas panel, 2014

This is how I feel lately, but that's OK.  I know that God is with me, and that the evil people that have surrounded us are getting their due, or at least, will get their due in time.  As the Good Book states in Romans 12:19, "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, and I will repay,' says the Lord."  Yes, these evil people who have tried to destroy my family, even some from within, will stand and face God, and receive their due, in this life perhaps, but certainly in the next.  That is enough comfort for me. I trust God, and with that, I move forward secure and confident that the evil that has been put against us will be dealt with completely by my Lord. I give them to God, and I do what is asked of me, I forgive the situation, and pity these people, because they live in complete darkness, and I move on.  I shake the dust of their evil doings off of my feet, and keep marching on.

I am happy today, very happy.  A new chapter of my life is opening, and I look forward to it with excitement, interest, and exhilaration.  There are many options open to me, no matter how haters have tried to crush out our hopes, it is not possible!  I am a Phoenix that rises from the ashes, always. 2014 is going to be an amazing year, a banner year!  I know this in my heart, in every fiber of my being!  When big change comes, it is like an earthquake, and sometimes it levels things we have shakily constructed, that we thought was good, but in actuality, was not.  We can't see it at the time, because as humans, we mostly fear change, because it is at best uncomfortable, and at worst, catastrophic, but if we remain faithful, all things work for the good of those that love Him.  This truth keeps my heart hopeful, always hopeful!

So, with that, I hope you enjoy this little painting, "Sunlight and storm."  May it bring a little peace to you as well~

Peace and Tranquility

"Lakeside flowers at dusk" by Hilary J. England
oil on canvas, 8" x 10" 2014

Things have simmered down for the moment.  The judge took pity on my daughter, with her never having been in trouble with the law before, and an extremely "flimsy" case against her which actually seemed to anger him that she was before him with four little children and an extremely agitated mother (ME), and let her go until the preliminary hearing, at which time, he feels all charges should and will be dropped against her.

I had to give this all to God, because I was fuming at the fact that the perpetrator who did this is walking around free, and actually making jokes that he did this to her.  A 70 year old man!!!  You can imagine how I feel about this person, but I gave it to God, knowing in the end He will deal with him, and that will be worse than anything I could ever say or do.

So, we move along.  Tomorrow I have an important occasion to attend with my old Master artist's retirement party, and I am very much looking forward to it.  I will miss him and his Studios, and the world will seem a blander place now that he is not in Coplay anymore.  "Time stops for no one" gets more and more true with each passing year...

Here is a little painting of the local lake, "Lakeside flowers at dusk" where I was trying to find my center again.  I imagined it in Summer, with the reeds and wildflowers and goldenrod all in full bloom.  I hope you enjoy it and have a wonderful day!

New Year, New Hopes

"Stormy waves breaking over rocks" by Hilary J. England
8" x 10" oil on canvas, 2014

I have high hopes for 2014.  2013 was pretty much an awful year for us, but I have high hopes for 2014.  Sure, it has started off with an unhappy bang, with some potentially bad events looming in the future, but I have faith in the Lord to work it all out to the good of us that love Him.  So, we steam forward.

We have a very serious situation that cold-cocked us out of left field:  my oldest daughter being wrongfully arrested and facing some very large charges that could result in substantial jail time for her.  Long story short:  her landlord put stolen property into her garage without her knowledge, and she was arrested for possession of this stolen property.  She is a widow with four small children under 7 years old, and this is a devastating situation, to put it bluntly.  She has never been in trouble with the law, so this is really horrifying.

So, rather than lose my mind at the potential ramifications of this for her, the children, and our family in general, I am in deep prayer and maintaining faith that God will protect her and our babies through this ordeal, and the landlord and his cohorts will be prosecuted, and all charges will be dropped against her.

So, the paintings I have been doing are reflecting this pain.  I can't touch on it too deeply, just move in a way that will be both therapeutic and releasing for the deep pain that I am feeling right now.

This painting is called "Stormy waves breaking over rocks."  Enjoy~

Goodbye 2013

"Clouds over the lake" by Hilary J. England
8" x 10" oil on canvas, 2013

This is the last painting of 2013.  It is number 2 in my 100 cloud studies...this, the last painting of 2013. Usually, I feel a slight twinge of sadness knowing that the year is over, never to return, now filed away in the forgotten cabinets of history, only to be dusted off and remembered in fragments.  I picture the old year as an old man, breathing out his last at midnight.  If it was a good year, people are joyous and hopeful.  If it was a bad year, people are more subdued and fervent with desperation that the next year will bring better fortune.  2013, unfortunately, was the latter.

I wish I could say 2013 was "lucky 13" for me, but as a whole, it was a sad year.  Sure, I was lucky, at the beginning, to escape a cancer diagnosis of my own, but Mark was literally diagnosed within a month of that episode with terminal cancer, and the following month we suddenly and horrifyingly lost Isaac on Mother's Day, all in the midst of a very chaotic and painful move from our B&B that we adored, and in that very week, the week of Isaac's funeral, my lovely cousin lost her own full term baby during a stillbirth.  It was traumatic to say the least.

On the positives, we were given a new, beautiful baby Isaac Jr. to warm our hearts. He doesn't replace his Dad, but he sure was a very wonderful piece of Heaven to be given as a final "piece" of Isaac Sr.  My sister Dale also had a beautiful bouncing baby boy, and my sister Jill got married in a beautiful wedding ceremony. We moved into a fine new townhouse, and after being here for a few months, really have come to love the quiet of having our home be our "own" versus the hustle and bustle of our Inn.  I made some very nice friends in town, including my new pal Craig, who has been a very big blessing.

So, we count our blessings, try to accept our pain without bitterness or the hindrance of cynicism, and just move forward.  We don't know what 2014 will bring, but we start off with a glowing hope for a wonderful year to look forward to!  I feel it in my heart that 2014 will be a year of great accomplishments and amazing new opportunities.

If I have learned any one thing through the years, it is to be grateful to be alive.  Life is a gift, and each new day is a gift.  It may be cliche, but it sure is true.  I am thankful for my beautiful and wonderful family, of whom I would never trade or change, lol, and for the many, many blessings and advantages my Lord has gifted me with, including the fact I was born into the "wealthiest" nation on Earth.  Thank you Lord, for the multitude of blessings, but mostly, for your personal gift of salvation.  That gift in itself is so wonderful, there are no words.  With that bright thought, I wish you all a wonderful, peaceful, healthy and prosperous New Year 2014!  God bless and keep you :-)

Head in the clouds

"Study of clouds approaching sunset" by Hilary J. England
oil on canvas, 8" x 10" 2013

I've been working on cloud studies these last few days, and think I will continue to.  I have decided to do 100 small studies of clouds, and 100 small studies of trees, because these things interest me, and keep my mind "limber." So, I have started these yesterday.

This was what I saw off of Hawk Mountain.  Just lovely!  I hope you enjoy it as well.

Old barn in the countryside

"Old barn in the countryside" by Hilary J. England
oil on canvas, 11" x 16", 2013

I painted this painting rather metaphorically.  The old barn is me, me in the countryside, but no matter how old and dilapidated I feel sometimes, there is a beauty to every season of life, and always a breakthrough, because God is always near, so there is always a beauty in life, even when it's hard to see through the storms.

Christmas always reminds me of the beauty of God's love for us, by sending His son to us, and loving us that much.  I have children, and the thought of the sacrifice involved with God's love offering to us is so enormous, it is hard to fathom sometimes.  It makes me humble and so grateful to know the tremendous power and love of a personal deity that is love incarnate.  Christmas is such a beautiful time of year, filled with the power of love, which is the Holy Spirit. It makes me so thankful for all that I have been blessed with, but most of all, that I know God, and that Jesus is my Lord and Savior.

I pray for the love of God to be with each of you, and that you may also come to know the deep love and sanctifying relationship of accepting Jesus.  It is a decision I made long ago, and a decision that I have never regretted, and will be thankful for through all of eternity.  May the peace and beauty of Christ be with you through this Christmas, and the new year to come!

Old year 2013

"Gray day" by Hilary J. England
8" x 10" oil on canvas, 2013

The snow has melted off, and now it is a balmy 62 degrees here in PA, strange for Christmas, but somehow nice and comforting.  The clouds rolled in, and yet, the feeling of happiness is still here, as we approach the end of 2013.  It was a hard year, very hard.  I know in my heart 2014 will be a good one, full of potential, promise, and progress.  I just feel it inside.  Last year, it was strange, but I knew 2013 would be a hard year, and it could be as obvious as it being the number "13," or just a gut feeling I had, and it proved to be so. But, this new year, well, I just think it will be a good one.

So, here is a little local landscape "Gray day" of the late Autumn/early winter fields in the grayness of a gentle rainy day.  I do love the gray, as much as I love the sun and the azure blues of a clear day, all things work together to be beautiful.

Enjoy~

Relaxation

"Little hands" by Hilary J. England
oil on canvas, 8" x 10" 2013

Well, it is the lull before the holiday "storm," haha!  Only a few days until the little kids can rip into their gifts, so between the snowstorms, I am holding down the fort!

The tree is up, the cookies baked, the house is decorated, the gifts are wrapped, so I feel pretty good ;-)  Now that all of the holiday stress is off, I have been quietly working away on my new series, and that requires a lot of figure studies, etc.  I began to study the little kids' hands, since children's hands are quite different from adults, in that they are so juicy and chubby, and that is a much harder look to capture than lean adult hands, or bony elderly hands, etc.

So, here is a little study I painted of two chubby little kids' hands.  I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I hope you do too!

Almost Christmas!

Wow, we are getting into the home stretch here!  I can't believe how fast this month flew by, and how we are nearly to Christmas and New Year.  Trust me, I am very happy about that :-)  I love the Christmas season, and New Year is always a blessing.  Each year is a gift!

I am really looking forward to 2014.  I have a feeling it will be an amazing year!  I am excited to do the artist's residency in Bucharest, Romania, for the summer (I think I mentioned this earlier!).  Just in case, I will rehash it:  I was one of 20 artists gifted to spend June/July 2014 in Sibiu, through the Dacia Gallery, New York City.  It should be an amazing experience, intensive study and all, as the Carpathian mountains and Transylvania have always been so very mysterious and interesting to me. 

I also plan to spend October in Berlin and Paris, so I have many blessings to look excitedly to, besides the wonderful blessings of family and friends I have as a constant in my life.

I would like to wish everyone a wonderful and blessed Christmas and Happy New Year 2013 just in case I let the time slip by and don't check in.  Blessings to you and your families for 2014!!!

The barren field

"The barren field" by Hilary J. England
8" x 10" oil on canvas, 2013

Winter is upon us, suddenly it seems.  This painting is of a local barren field, with all of the colors of Autumn still around, but not now.  Now all is covered in the first layers of Winter, in the delicate icy snow of our first inclement weather.

I have been very busy working, and that's great, because it's what I love.  I hope you have a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving!

Enjoy~

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!"
12" x 16" acrylic on canvas

Here is a fun painting I did in a "Paint and Sip" group.  We had a lovely time, and even though I don't "sip" (that is, I only sip water haha), I certainly love the painting and the being around a lovely group of people, so it was a really fun night!  Each person has their own personal interpretation of the idea, and here was mine--all whimsy, kitsch, and nostalgia--that's how I love the holidays!

Enjoy!