"Champe Plain Valley near Etlan, Virginia, August, 2005"

I was driving home, up this beautiful valley where I live, when the clouds parted and light cascaded down illuminating the base of Old Rag Mountain and much of the floor of the valley. Pulling off, I made quick sketches and photographs in the few moments I had to witness this scene. I don't usually make more than one monotype of a single time and place, but this remarkable event has inspired me to make at least five. One found its way on the cover of a CD by the wonderful group known as the Possum Ridge String Band. Get a copy and enjoy their old time and Celtic music: http://www.possumridge.org/ (five by six inches, printed on Stonehenge paper)

"Bohannon Road, August 3, 2009, 10:16 a.m." monotype printed on December 9, 2009

Here's a scene on the same road as the photograph of me walking, shown at the top of this blog! In spite of the monochromatic sepia color I use in the monotypes, I think and I print in "full color," just as classic black and white photographs evoke all the spectrum of nature's beauty. Ah, summer! (five by six inches, printed on Stonehenge paper)

"First snow on Etlan Road, December 5, 2002, 10:55 a.m." monotype printed on December 9, 2002

I am not a fan of cold weather which tests my resolve to head out for a four mile trek every day, but on this walk, I was rewarded by coming upon this pasture entrance, transformed by a couple of inches of snow as Red Oak Mountain fades through the snowflakes. The monotype has a nice 19th century quality to it, I think. (five by ten inches on Stonehenge paper)

"The Robinson River near Banco, Virginia, February 24, 2002" monotype printed on February 25, 2002

This late winter scene along side Hoover Road reflects the quiet beauty of late winter in Madison County. I like the way the sepia color warms up this otherwise cold moment. (five by ten inches on Stonehenge paper)

"Etlan Road, July 17, 2006, 8:45 a.m." monotype printed on July 19, 2006

As with many of the scenes in the prints I make in this beautiful but changing place, this copse of trees with sunlight outlining the leaves and branches, the essence of summer, is now gone. (five by ten inches, Stonehenge paper)

"Etlan Road, June 3, 2009, 9:49 a.m." printed on June 5, 2009

Two months of routine downpours have produced a lush June landscape in the western Piedmont, and this Paulownia Tree alongside the “Blue Grass Field,” knee deep in vegetation, looks like it might be in the tropics. Indeed, its distinctive heartshaped leaves seem to melt into the humidity. No summer would be complete if I didn’t print this stretch of roadway where acres of pastureland seem to collect and toss golden light everywhere. (12 by 16.5 inches, printed on Stonehenge paper)

"Memorial Day on Etlan Road, May 25, 2009, 10:38 a.m." printed on May 27, 2009

On this overcast but bright Memorial Day walk, the mix of refracted and reflected light falls gently through the Tulip tree colonnade on the left and the forest of Oak, Tulip, and Locust on the right, creating a nave of peaceful beauty. While I’m inking in the oil color two days later, I wonder if this story of filtered light is too simple an idea, but ultimately I discover its simplicity to be the print’s strength, not its weakness. (12 by 16.5 inches on Stonehenge paper)