Rural Hours

Landscape Paintings

In 1850, four years before Henry David Thoreau published Walden, Susan Fenimore Cooper, of Cooperstown New York, published a book entitled Rural Hours. Susan was a daughter of the novelist James Fenimore Cooper. Rural Hours however, is less of a novel, and more of a descriptive journal, with particular attention paid to rural life, and detailed observations of the natural world around Cooperstown and Otsego Lake. 

The name-sake for this art exhibition has been aptly chosen. Like Susan Cooper, the artists on display here have taken immeasurable care and precision in the depiction of the landscapes that surround them. This body of work is representative of not only the countless hours they have spent learning their craft, but also a lifetime of immersion and careful observation of the natural world that we live in.

If you ask Mark Tougias how long it took him to make one of his paintings, he will respond: “Fifty years,”. Certain mastery of medium, technique of artistry, and compositional intuition can only be gained through an extended devotion to a project.

Rural Hours has become an important work of environmental literature as a result of its effective recording and conveying of all the subtle detail and beauty in nature. The paintings in this exhibit will also live on, as a record of the natural world that we have had the privilege to experience in our lifetimes.

Exhibition Checklist:

Mark Tougias
Trees in a Meadow, Oil on canvas, 7 x 10 in.
Light on the Bridge, Oil on canvas, 12 x 16 in.
River View, Oil on canvas, 12 x 16 in.
Down to the Valley, Oil on canvas, 18 x 24 in.
Summer Vision, Oil on canvas, 16 x 20 in.
Summer Hills, Oil on canvas, 25 x 30 in.

Ursula Carr-Bower
Rocks with Oak Trees, Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 36 in.
Waterfowl, Acrylic on canvas, 18 x 28.5 in.
Wind in Evergreens, Acrylic on canvas, 23.5 x 28.5
Dark Ravine, Acrylic on canvas, 49 x 37.5 in.
Ravine with Leaning Tree, Acrylic on canvas, 46 x 33.5 in.

Christine Heller
Break, Acrylic on canvas, 38 x 30 in.   
Dense Fog, Acrylic on canvas, 32 x 26 in.       
After the Fury, Acrylic on canvas, 33 x 30 in. 

Robert J. Schneider
Roumbout Morning, Oil on canvas, 10 x 10 in.
Otsego Maples, Oil on canvas, 20 x 24 in.
September Meadows, Oil on canvas, 40 x 60 in.
Reflection on the Susquehanna, Oil on canvas, 30 x 36 in.
Summer Sunset, Oil on canvas, 30 x 40 in.
Lake Otsego, Oil on canvas, 8 x 11 in.
Hudson Shore, Oil on canvas, 8 x 11 in.
Lake Otsego from the North End, Oil on canvas, 16 x 20 in.

Tracy Helgeson
Color Field 246, Oil on wood panel, 18 x 9 x 1 in.
Color Field 247, Oil on wood panel, 18 x 9 x 1 in.
Color Field 248, Oil on wood panel, 18 x 9 x 1 in.
Early in May, Oil on wood panel, 24 x 18 x 1 in.
Leaving in the Fall, Oil on wood panel, 18 x 24 x 1 in.
Shadow Land, Oil on wood panel, 40 x 60 x 2 in.
So Very Pink, Oil on wood panel, 14 x 18 x 1 in.
Times Two, Oil on wood panel, 14 x 18 x 1 in.

Elizabeth Kenison
Home’s Glow, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 28 x 16 in.
Sunrise Brew (take on Monet’s Haystacks), Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 in.