Boulders at Sweetcake

Standing above Candlewood Lake in New Fairfield Connecticut, is Sweetcake Mountain Preserve, a lovely jumble of boulders and rock outcroppings which provide an elevated eastward view of the lake. The property was donated to the town of New Fairfield's landtrust in 2001 by the family of Charles and Dorothea Fox, two artsts who wished to keep the land as they found it. -Nancy Boudreau The painting is approximately 5" x 7" acrylic painting on gessoed matboard, in an 8" x 10" cream colored mat, unframed, shipped to you directly by the artist. The title and prose that appear above are handwritten on the back of the painting. The painting is also signed and dated on the back.

Confluence Above Rochambeau

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Standing above the confluence of the Pomperaug and Housatonic Rivers looking south to the Rochambeau Bridge. Named after the Comte de Rochambeau, who came from France with his troops to fight alongside George Washington for the independance of our country, this bridge was built just above where the troops crossed the river on their way from Newport Rhode Island to Dobbs Ferry on the Hudson River. At the time, this river was much more narrow, dams such as the Shepaug having yet to exist. Now, here, the river is wide and shallow in most places. As I write this, Pandora Radio has surprised me by playing an exquisite instrumental version of "The River is Wide". How appropriate. -Nancy Boudreau The painting is approximately 5" x 7" acrylic painting on gessoed matboard, in an 8" x 10" cream colored mat, unframed, shipped to you directly by the artist. The title and prose that appear above are handwritten on the back of the painting. The painting is also signed and dated on the back.

Lavender on Windowsill

Just a little painted sketch of some backlit english lavender sprigs from the garden, as they rest in a glass vase on a windowsill at work. - Nancy Boudreau

The painting is approximately 5" x 7" acrylic painting on gessoed matboard, in an 8" x 10" cream colored mat, unframed, shipped to you directly by the artist. The title and prose that appear above are handwritten on the back of the painting. The painting is also signed and dated on the back.

Mullein Heir of the Earth

Wands of buttered popcorn

offered to the faultless blue

by great pale-green velveteen

leaves growing through broken macadam

in a field below the railroad tracks

bordered by abandoned buildings.

What thrives in the wasteland

shall inherit the earth

when we are done

wasting the land.

- Nancy Boudreau

Mullein is a humble plant that has long been used for varied medicinal applications. It also contains compounds used in pesticides. Invisible to most everyone else, the field of mullein in this painting has drawn my attention for the last couple of summers by it's tall stems of yellow flowers against a blue sky patrolled by dragonflies, who'd use the tips of the stems to rest on, all facing the same direction, into the breeze. To me it is a wild patch of flowers, a field full of integrity, a microcosm singing the praises of summer, happily untouched by human hands who are too busy to notice.

The painting above, is approximately 5" x 7" on gessoed matboard, the artist's poem handwritten on the back, along with her signature and date.

Cicada

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The Annual Cicada, also known as the Dog Day Cicada, provides us with the sound of summer here in the northwest hills of Connecticut. Their mating call is a perfect description of August's sultry days: a loud electric buzzing rattle, high in the trees, that swells with the pressing heat of the sun and fades with the vague beezes. The Cicada, a benign harbinger of hot weather, is well known around the world. There are many kinds of Cicada, and all are passive creatures, who do not bite or sting, and spend most of their lives underground, unseen. It's their passionate celebration at the culmination of their humble lives that brings them to our attention, and gives them a fond place in the hearts of humans. -Nancy Boudreau The painting is approximately 5" x 7" acrylic painting on gessoed matboard, in an 8" x 10" cream colored mat, unframed, shipped to you directly by the artist. The title and prose that appear above are handwritten on the back of the painting. The painting is also signed and dated on the back.

Turkey Feather with Hen and Chicks

A turkey hen has been visiting our yard with her chicks for the past three weeks. On first sighting, she was striding gracefully up the lawn with ten balls of fluff chasing her. Three weeks later, there were five chicks left and all were three-quarter scale replicas of their mother. This weekend I caught them taking dirts baths in a drier part of the yard. Digging out wallows in the dusty earth all six were rolling, stretching, kicking up dirt onto their backs into their feathers then enjoying a good shake. I was reminded of the Peanuts character, Pig Pen, with his aura of dirt. Now I know why turkeys are brown. Anyhow, the hen left me a calling card the other day, a feather, appropriately placed among the succulents which are commonly called Hen and Chicks, a lovely coincidence.
-Nancy Boudreau

The painting is approximately 5" x 7" acrylic painting on gessoed matboard, in an 8" x 10" cream colored mat, unframed, shipped to you directly by the artist. The title and prose that appear above are handwritten on the back of the painting. The painting is also signed and dated on the back.

Ode to Dead Gila

Ode to Dead Gila

Cheeky bird,
did you forget to look twice before crossing the road?
For some transgressions, there is no forgiveness,
and I will never see you again.
But our Mother loves you
and has made you a grave of sunlight and flower petals.
Heartless cactus,
blooms pointing the way home
for a bird's heart
into the seamless blue.
-Nancy Boudreau

Images from my last trip out to Cave Creek, Arizona. A Gila Woodpecker lying on the side of the road amoung dried yellow flower petals. Nearby prickly pear cactus were fruiting and blooming. The sky, as always, an intense unbroken blue.

The painting is approximately 5" x 7" acrylic painting on gessoed matboard, in an 8" x 10" cream colored mat, unframed, shipped to you directly by the artist. The title and prose that appear above are handwritten on the back of the painting. The painting is also signed and dated on the back.

White Water Lily

As I painted this, I was thinking about all the conversations I've had recently with so many people who are very afraid of what they might lose over the next two years: they fear losing jobs, home, savings, careers, health, their lives, their dreams, their minds. This is a disturbing time for many people. • May I offer some small solace? May I remind you of something that you will not lose, something that you should not forget. No matter what befalls us, the sun will still rise, there will still be sunsets worth watching, and the lily on the pond will still bloom. • This is the lily growing out of a murky bottom, in a pond full of algae and weed. Notice it's aura of idyllic peace, it's suggestion of a pristine place too good to be true. How does the lily do this, one small flower, coming from a cold dark place? - Nancy Boudreau

The painting is approximately 5" x 7" acrylic painting on gessoed matboard, in an 8" x 10" cream colored mat, unframed, shipped to you directly by the artist. The title and prose that appear above are handwritten on the back of the painting. The painting is also signed and dated on the back.