Image of the Week: Autumn in Shandaken
© Durga Yael Bernhard
Here's what it looks like at this time of year where I live. Though the autumn foliage did not peak all at once, patches of forest and individual trees have been beautifully vibrant. The mountain in the distance is Panther Mountain, as seen from lower Westkill Mountain. It's a view that's always changing. The seasonal changes are the most obvious – but this is also the direction from which most of our weather comes, here in the central Catskills. Major fronts make their way up from the southwest, roughly parallel to the coast, creating dramatic skies. Often I've seen thunderstorms gathering, or snow. The mountains quietly accept it all.
I've also seen black bear, mink, red fox, hawks, eagles, a buck with a huge rack, a flock of cavorting swallows, clusters of darning needles, woodchucks, snakes, wild turkey, and pileated woodpeckers.
I finished this painting just a few weeks ago for my landscape painting show, titled "Eye on the Mountains", which presently hangs at the Catskill Watershed Corporation in Margaretville, NY. The painting was done from a photo I took at the same time last year in the same place, while walking my dog. I walk here so often, I was also able to work from memory.
As I often do with my landscapes, I composed the picture with a prominent object in the foreground (the tree with orange foliage) that stands in relation to something in the distance. Textures across the middle recede in scale, drawing the eye down into the valley. I love the woolly texture of these mountains, like a sweater knit from all the subtle hues of the forest. Sumac and aspen are prevalent here, adding beautiful reds and yellows. Truly, it's a feast for the eye.
"Eye on the Mountains" is open from 8-4:30 Monday through Friday at 905 Main St. in Margaretville. Eighteen paintings are on view – all for sale. I'll also be posting an online version of the exhibit sometime in the next few weeks.
Happy Autumn to all!
D Yael Bernhard