Bowdoin Hillside Farm

This watercolor was created from an on location drawing trip to the neighboring town of Bowdoin.

I was struck by the hill rising and disappearing to the left - begging the question of what is around the bend and the contrast of the shadows spilling across the road and the field in the process of being plowed.

One of the things I've noticed in my travels throughout New England is how land is, or was, not wasted.  Rocky, sloping, and steep hilled land was, and in some cases still is farmed.  Toughness and persistence is required to earn a living in these conditions and climates.  I sense its far more of a calling than a business decision.

In Pennsylvania there is farmland as far as the eye can see.  So to it is here in Maine - the difference is the miles one can see in PA is so much greater as the land is so flat.  In Maine, in many places you will see a hayfield tucked in a corner of a property where the Spruce haven't yet found their way to the edge of a road.

The Spruce and Pine grow slowly, but are relentless.   When you drive along a road and there are many Birch and other opportunistic species of trees and few Pine and Spruce you know something has happened there - its not random.   Birch grow very fast, often after a fire or when land has been logged clear.   Pines and Spruce grow more slowly, but are relentless.  The acidic nature of their sprills also make it more difficult for other species of trees to survive.

Still the Pines and Spruce have their own charm.  I still vividly recall entering huge stands of Pine near my childhood home.  The undergrowth of the forest disappeared and their was an almost alienlike landscape of rust colored pine needles.  It was also so quiet until you heard the wind wistling through the pines.  So different than the sound of leaves rustling in the wind.

I only indicated a pine on the right of the painting.  The reality is that they dominated the road leading up to the farm.  The contrast betwen the dark spruce and open field was very dramatic.  One of the things I love about painting on location, is that the possibilities truly are endless.

A slight move up the road brings the farmouses into view and so many other subjects as well.  There was a tractor plowing when I was sketching so I'll try another version with that as well as fitting a sketch I did in PA with a horse and plow as well.