Behind the Art: Autumn in New England

Last autumn, we traded the California sun for crisp East Coast air and set out to experience New England in its season of golden light. Uur journey began at Rogers Orchard in Southington, Connecticut, where the shelves overflowed with crisp apples and homemade treasures. Maple sugar candy melted on our tongues, and a slice of fresh apple pie reminded us why this season is so beloved.

From there, we drove north into the quiet beauty of central Massachusetts, settling into the Clamber Hill Inn in Petersham. Tucked deep in the woods, the inn felt like a world apart. Just down the road, the Petersham Country Store welcomed us with its worn wooden floors and shelves filled with old-world charm. We lingered over steaming bowls of savory soup, thick sandwiches layered on hearty bread, and desserts that tasted like something our grandmothers would have baked.

A short drive brought us to Red Apple Farm in nearby Phillipston, where autumn greeted us with cider pressed on-site, trays of baked goods warm from the oven, and the friendly chaos of farm animals and fall flowers.

From central Massachusetts we wound through backroads glowing with color, until we arrived in Stockbridge at the Norman Rockwell Museum. For a few quiet hours we stepped into America as Rockwell saw it—moments of everyday life captured with tenderness and wit.

Our circle closed back in Connecticut at the Southington Apple Harvest Festival, where the air was heavy with cinnamon and sugar -- ahhhh, autumn. We stood in line with locals for apple fritters fried fresh before our eyes, the kind of treat you savor slowly because it’s as much about the memory as the taste. These are the moments behind the art and inspire my painting.

Each stop along the way became more than a destination—it was a thread woven into the fabric of autumn. And these threads, gathered from orchards, inns, backroads, and museum halls, continue to inspire the art that emerges once I’m home again, brush in hand.