Chase Farm Pond Painting – Plein Air
12″ x 16“, Oil on Canvas, Painted 2016
Chase Farm, Lincoln, Rhode Island
by Charles C. Clear III
Chase Farm in Lincoln is a big open space conservation area with rolling hills, green trees, a majestic sycamore tree, a butterfly garden, and many picturesque views of the countryside. Right in the center of all this beauty is a large pond ringed by trees. There are tall pines on one side, and smaller trees on the other. The water in the pond is almost always very still – sometimes it looks like a mirror! You can see the reflection of the clouds and the trees in the water, and the image is so sharp that you wonder which side is up and which side is down. And it’s always very quiet by the pond. There is a stillness in the air, as though nature was holding its breath. It’s a magical place!
In the summer of 2016 I packed my gear and went to Chase Farm to paint a Pond Painting. I walked up the gravel road, past the big sycamore tree, and set up my easel on the west side of the pond. It was quiet – there was no one around. Following a quick charcoal sketch, I started painting. Things were going well. And then people arrived, and these people had their three large dogs with them. The dogs were off-leash, happy, and running around like maniacs. Several times they passed dangerously close to my easel, nearly toppling it. Then they jumped in the water, came out, and shook the water off not far from me. Clearly it was time to go.
All of my plein air paintings are painted start-to-finish on site, within the space of about two hours. In this case I wasn’t able to complete this Pond Painting on site, so I applied the finishing touches in the studio. Fortunately I had already painted enough that I could complete the painting from memory.
Charles C. Clear III
cc@oceanstateart.com