Mountains --- daughters and granddaughters: 

This summer past, our oldest daughter and her second oldest son, took a trip to Germany, the native country of this artist.  Along their journey they visited Neuschwanstein Castle, a 19^th century Bavarian fortress, high in German mountains, commissioned by King Ludwig II.  The watercolor below depicts a view from the back balcony into the German heartland.

 Neuschwanstein (NFS):

Our oldest granddaughter took a scenic trek up Big Slide, a prominent Adirondack dome of 4240 feet elevation in the High Peaks Region.  It takes energy to get there, but worth the effort.

 Big Slide (NFS):

 

Family:  As Wanda Hope Carter noted, "Family and friends are hidden treasures, seek them and enjoy their riches."  Below are different watercolors of various family members.

Perhaps there's nothing as relaxing as taking a dog for a stroll in the Groton Town Forest.

Groton Town Forest and grandchildren (NFS):

As author/angler Ray Bergman noted in Just Fishing, "Just Fishing!  All life is that to some extent.  If we are not fishing for one thing it is another."

A father and son fishing (NFS):

As Lois Wye noted, "Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation."

Grandson shadows (NFS):

Mohonk:  The Mohonk summerhouse, which reportedly is the official logo of the Mohonk Mountain House.  It's been said that at one time 155 summerhouses could be found on the property.

Mohonk summerhouse (Sold):

MSK:  On my journey battling cancer I’ve met some wonderful people who work at Memorial Sloan Kettering, people who see their efforts helping others like me as much more than a job.  One such delightful young lady visits me regularly, checking on my needs, every time I’m there for treatment.  We got to discussing my love of landscape watercolors, so I did the painting below for her.  I call it MSK, but it’s really a pleasant viewpoint from the Ashokan Rail Trail overlooking the reservoir, not far from the Boiceville terminus.  A vision of hope for those in search of better days yet to come.

MSK (NFS):

 The cabin:  Last November I was commissioned by Peter Leitner--- a Catskill Fly Tyers Guild member and active participant at the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum--- to do a landscape of a cabin that had ties to his family, and Catskill flyfishers alike.  About the same time, I learned I had cancer, changing my life on a dime.  While undergoing treatment, I was finally able to paint again, something I truly enjoy, painting the landscape below. Its background history was first told to readers of the March 2022 Gazette, newsletter of the Catskill Fly Tyers Guild, and now is retold below for readers of this blog.

Pete and his family have deep Catskill fly-fishing roots, embedded along Willowemoc Creek.  Pete’s grandfather, Bert Leitner was a member of the Beaverkill Trout Club prior to 1959. In the 1920’s, he purchased property in DeBruce along the Willowemoc next to Charlie Ward that included  Anvil Rock and Sheeleys’. Then in 1959, he along with the late Bucky Sterns’ older brother Dick, and other anglers from Rockland County, started the DeBruce Fly Fishing Club (DFFC.)

In the early 50’s, Bert sold his original Willowemoc holding, which eventually became part of the DFFC water, and purchased a cabin on the south side of Willowemoc Creek at the Conklin Hill Bridge --- Bendo Covered Bridge.  Pete’s grandfather owned the cabin until 1968 when he passed. Recent investigation, plus input from one of the Catskill “old-timers”, suggest that Roy Steenrod at least stayed at the cabin while teaching fly tying at DEC’s Camp DeBruce conservation camp. It is not known yet whether Roy in-fact owned the cabin and sold it to Bert. That is what a recent tip to Pete indicates. A future visit to the county land records is planned this spring to confirm, or deny that information.

 At age five in 1962, Pete recalls catching his first trout under the Bendo Covered Bridge.  And he informed readers that the previous owner (Steenrod’s?) called their cabin “Cliff Dale”, while his grandfather renamed it the “Royal Coachman” in ’52 when he bought it. On the property there was a little spring fed pond along the cabin where sometimes a few DFFC hatchery brown trout found their way until being released into the Willowemoc early autumn.

 New York State eventually acquired this parcel, assimilating the property into their Forest Preserve. Then the historic cabin was in complete disrepair as it painfully sank into the ground.

The cabin (sold):

 The Abutments:  I was happy when my husband asked me to do a landscape watercolor for a book he’s working on.  He provided a photo of old bridge abutments, once found on the East Branch Neversink, across from the Frost Valley YMCA farm along Denning Road.  Climate change and high water has destroyed these; sadly, only rocky remnants remain.

I sat in front of this with brush in hand for three hours, as I wanted my efforts to be loose and artsy, but still recognizable.  It was completed in one sitting with a few tweaks here and there.

The Abutments (NFS):

My husband's book, The Wanderings of a Mountain Fly Fisher: Tales from a Catskill Eddy and Other Trout Waters, was published by Epigraph Books in early 2022.

Bomber & Hardy:  An underwater photo of a recent fishing outing my husband made, caught my eye, begging to be painted.  I thought the shapes and lines made an interesting composition.  These colorful trout can be a fun diversion from my typical landscapes.  He titled the watercolor “Bomber and Hardy”, which left me with questions needing answers.  I had to ask him, what’s an Ausable Bomber and why do you need so many Hardy reels?  This watercolor appeared in the September 2021 Gazette, newsletter of the Catskill Fly Tyers Guild.

 Bomber & Hardy: