Zerah Fiske. I’ve been obsessed with this road in Shelburne, MA for 10 years. The name is powerful, romantic and it makes me want to meet that person. Surely with a road like this named after him, he had to be inspiring, expansive and somewhat remote. As ever, I am probably reading too much into it – but it’s a gorgeous road – where the sky meets the fields. I’ve always wanted to paint in a certain spot there, and after a decade, I finally did.
I’ve been working on this painting in my mind for years. I knew the composition, and how the spot would feel as I cruised the road looking for a place to set up my easel. In many ways, getting started there was like sitting with an old friend, and catching up after years apart. The day was perfect, high summer, crisp light, mobile atmosphere with clouds in the distance and a constant wind like a slow exhalation after a deep breath. There’s an honesty to painting outdoors – where the reality of what is in front of me demands I pay attention and be true to what I see and experience in that place. I think this painting is one of my best.
