Carl is a retired executive residing in Canaan New York with my wife Elsa. Their home sits high on a ridge just a few hundred yards from the Massachusetts border overlooking the Berkshires to the south and east and the Lebanon Valley to the north. If Carl wants to paint a beautiful scene of the Berkshires all he has to do is walk out the door and set up his easel. Given Berkshire winter weather however, he also has his own studio attached to the house in case there are several feet of snow on the porch when he goes out to paint. From here Carl has ranged the Berkshires taking photos, which he uses as the basis for composing his landscape paintings. On occasion, if he’s lucky enough to catch the right person at the right time in a photo, Carl will paint what he call his character portraits of subjects whose expressions tell a story of personal character and experience that are shared by most of us yet may not often be expressed in words. Carl also paints and draws portraits on commission.

Carl began drawing and painting as a second career 12 years ago, focusing on landscapes and portraiture. His chosen medium is oil, although he also enjoys drawing in charcoal as well. Carl has also studied at the National Academy and the Art Students League of New York and participated in art workshops in plein air and portrait painting.

“Before I’m moved to paint something, there has to be some aspect that captures my eye; that strikes me in a very strong way. Often it is the way the light illuminates a scene. Light in the Berkshires is particularly interesting due to the many steep hills that block the sun but then let part of it shine through to create striking patterns of light and shade not often seen in other places. In some cases, it’s a singular looking tree that seems to add character to an otherwise common landscape that captures my attention. In other cases, it’s an unusual architectural aspect that departs from what one might expect to see in a farm or other buildings in and around the Berkshires.”

The results are paintings that are focused on limited, contained scene, sometimes from a broad overlook, other times capturing the wonderful Berkshire Hills in winter turned to cold blues and warm lavenders or when autumn arrives and color is everywhere.

“I believe you’ll see these aspects in my work and hope you enjoy my particular way of viewing the Berkshires!”