A New Year - a New Start

 They say that it is never too late for a new start - so, here we go!

I have been using the snowy and cold weather as my excuse for spending lots of time painting and catching up on all those tasks that have slipped to the bottom of the proverbial list. Since the first events of 2026 aren't happening before Spring, there is also no external pressure. YES!

So, what am I up to? Winter watercolors

Winter Sunrise

                                    I enjoy the challenge of painting snow - or rather NOT painting. Leaving that bit of white paper seems so important, but is so difficult. Cold and flat or bright and warm? I think it must be the surrounding colors that determine this. Or maybe there is another answer?

January Day

  The biggest news from this desk. . . I have finally commited to relauching my website. It will take a while since it will be a major change, but I am really excited about getting this update out and into the world. I'll keep you posted. 

How about a bit of bright music for these grey days? 

Schubert, Trout Quintet, 4th movement

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwbWvGtaZGo

See you all soon. Thanks for reading. 

KLang

Movements

These last days have been filled with movements and motion. First, I flew from the USA back to Europe. On the first leg of the tour over western NY State I was lucky enough to have a window seat and enjoy the fantastic winter landscape below. With a cloudless sky and practically no snow, I was treated to a panorama view of the Finger Lakes and all the villages and byways I have known for so many years. The patchwork of many fields and woods - so many shades of gold, ocker, brown and green -  will certainly be a subject for future paintings.

Back in Berlin, I have been moving a lot of paint around - on paper, that is. The lack of snow has not hindered me from trying to capture a bit of winter atmosphere with ink and watercolor. Admittedly, there is no motion in this painting, simply the expectation of action that could follow. Perhaps a bird will fly or a lone hiker will appear from behind a tree; the decision is individual.

Winter Magic

Of the half dozen pictures I have started this week, my favorite (at the moment) is another ink and watercolor - pure motion.

Wind in the Sails

There is definitely wind in these sails - maybe a harbinger of spring. Aside from my play on Kandinsky, there is nothing more than imagination here.  The checkerboard, though, is a recollection of my flight over New York; the winter fields have become decoration for a sail.

Musically, I am in the midst of learning a new Mozart opera - new for me, of course. "La finta Giardiniera" is an early work, but full of tidbits that Mozart reused and developed in his later music. (There will be more on this next week!) It is stimulating to learn something new and interesting to experience the musical beginnings of a young Mozart. I will leave you with a bit of something different -  Bach's first solo sonata for violin - simply perfect. Each movement is a masterpiece of its own; I couldn't pick a favorite. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etB8MAjNaz0

February Fantasy