Toward megalopolis on the ‘Vermonter’

“Southbound” (pastel), by Ann Wickham, in the show “White River Junction: A Pastel Perspective, ‘‘ at the Long River Gallery, White River Junction, Vt., through July 31.

Map of Amtrak’s “Vermonter” route

— by Jkan997

Breakfasts are best there

Pastel pictures by Ann Wickham, in pastels show at Long River Gallery, White River Junction, Vt., May 1-July 3.

Red memories

Cristine Kossow, “Summer by the Pound” (soft pastel), by Cristine Kossow, at Long River Gallery, White River Junction, Vt. She lives in Vermont’s (Lake) Champlain region.

Landsat photo of the immediate Lake Champlain region—only part of the much longer drainage basin and overall valley that reaches the Atlantic Ocean north of Nova Scotia via the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Daily Paintworks says Ms. Kossow:

“{E}njoys painting everyday objects, finding what is personal in the common items we all encounter --vintage tools; teacups; our animal friends; piles of produce; piles of anything really, because she loves the rhythm of repetition.

”Cristine has her prejudices. She likes to punctuate her work with a sneaky dash of periwinkle; it's her color. And she had a bitter feud with red for decades. But one summer, at the urging of a bumper crop of tomatoes, Cristine called an emotional truce and began a cascade of red musings that, in hindsight, mystify her.’’