October 2009   volume 8 number 9

  Hello and Welcome Friends,

Being back in Vermont for October has its benefits. For one, we live in a place where millions of people (literally) come each year to see the remarkable transformation of the landscape into a gigantic display of brilliant colors that defy description. Just sitting in the studio, looking out over the Connecticut River is enough to enthrall the most seasoned traveler.

When we moved from Alaska, 23 years ago, I was pretty sure that after ten years experiencing the grandeur of the Alaskan landscape, I would not be overly impressed with autumn in Vermont. But I was wrong. It is dazzling sometimes and even hard to believe that trees could turn the colors that they do.

  The Connecticut River from The Artist's Loft in Brattleboro

As in recent years past, the autumn colors came to our part of the state about a week later than they have in most years since our moving here. We took the opportunity several times to just drive around, finding dirt roads we've never been on before to enjoy the spectacle of the colors. Here are some of the pictures that I took on our drives.

    "Lilac Ridge Farmstand, Brattleboro, Vermont

    "Grafton Covered Bridge"

    "Green River"

    "Autumn Road, Vermont"

    "Autumn Farm, Vermont"

So that's a taste of our neck of the woods. It is surely only a taste and will never convey what its like to see in person.

So now on to some artwork. The first piece is an oil painting that I started in the winter. Since I was doing so much printmaking during that period, I didn't get around to finishing it. I picked it up again at the beginning of this month. Influenced by the view out my studio window, it became an autumn scene.

    "Autumn Field" Oil on Canvas 38" x 28"

Continuing the theme of being influenced by my immediate surroundings, the next piece is a drypoint etching of the view of the Connecticut River and the bridge to New Hampsure from our home and bed and breakfast. The plate used for printing this took me about a week to prepare. My wife, Patricia pointed out that the results are, "...classic William Hays." She's right, of course.

    "Connecticut River View" Drypoint Etching 5" x 7"

That's all of the new artwork for this month. I've got several pieces underway that I hope to share with you next month. Until then, let me offer you another facet of a block print I did in February of this year. I'm referring to an image of the Congregational Church on Main Street in Brattleboro entitled, "Illumination."

The church is Brattleboro's oldest and was built originally in 1816 on the town common. It was moved to Main Street in 1842. A storm destroyed the steeple in 1864. It was rebuilt using the town clock, which was also moved from the town common to its new home in the church. The exterior of the church is being renovated and they are doing a wonderful job of it.

One of my friends, Rick Neumann, a fine stained glass worker, is restoring the glass face of the clock. He invited me up into the steeple to see him and Ian Bigelow work. Here are a couple of pictures of the restored faces of the three-sided clock being installed.

    Rick Neumann restoring the Congregational Church clock

    Ian Bigelow

    Connecticut River from the Congregational Church clock, Brattleboro

    Congregational Church interior

And that is the latest from The Artist's Loft. We're open daily and would enjoy seeing you in Brattleboro for Gallery Walk on Friday, November 6th. But feel free to drop in any time so we can visit. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,

William H. Hays

The Artist's Loft Bed & Breakfast and Gallery, Vermont
103 Main Street, Brattleboro, Vermont 05301-4308  USA
802-257-5181  www.TheArtistsLoft.com

The Artist's Loft Fine Art Gallery, Nova Scotia
120 Main Street
Liverpool, NS B0T 1K0  Canada
www.TheArtistsLoft.com