Mother Nature’s Works of Art
By Rene Wendell
June 2009
I was reminded recently, as I drove past a woman painting a pastoral scene of river and farmland, how closely art and nature are entwined here in the Berkshires. She was painting a place I have observed many times at Bartholomew’s Cobble, the nature reservation I manage. 
I have marveled at this very spot numerous times, but in all those times never have I put brush to canvass. I consider myself more naturalist than artist – to be both, like John James Audubon, is just a dream.
Nature is beauty in its rawest form. Not made to impress but just to be. I witness its incomparable wonders almost daily while working and walking outdoors. Yesterday, I watched a crab spider on a rose bush blossom. The spider was almost indistinguishable from the flower itself, completely camouflaged matching the petal colors exactly. It sat without moving. Its front legs outstretched ready to pounce upon the next unsuspecting insect to visit the flower. My patience ended in about ten minutes, but I wonder how long that spider had to wait for its meal?
I can still see the scene in my mind. I imagine a painting, Georgia O’Keefe style, a large close up of vibrant colors with just the spiders’ outline visible on the flower - an animal in perpetual stillness waiting for its meal. However, while I can imagine it, drawing it is another thing altogether. I am forced (poor, poor me) to enjoy and be contented with the work of others. Fortunately, the Berkshires are the perfect place to see both Mother Nature’s works of art and her children’s interpretation of it.
One of my favorite works is by Renoir. I can recall being mesmerized by his painting of onions at the Clark Art Museum. A walk through the Berkshire Museum’s room of Hudson River School paintings should not be missed. 
Here I once stumbled upon a George Catlin exhibit of the American Indian, probably one of the best surprises I have ever had while visiting a museum, and I had the whole room to myself! One of my last outings with my mother before she passed was a trip to the Norman Rockwell Museum. She was a huge fan and it is hard not to be awestruck at his exacting detail. His subjects look so alive! We had been there before and had come this time to see the Maxfield Parish exhibit. I can vividly recall the artists’ dazzling, almost unbelievable, cobalt blue skies. How many times have I myself starred at a sunset or incoming cloudbank filled with a storm and said, “If someone painted this, no one would believe it truly looked this way.”
Just like the woman painting the Housatonic River recently, there are many artists working in the Berkshires today. I particularly like a few that entwine the social messages and stories that nature is telling us today with that of their subjects. There is Morgan Bulkeley with his fanciful renderings of birds and people, Walton Fords’ dramatic visions of animals, and Gregory Crewdson’s meticulously staged photographs of inspired scenes. And, the real joy of the Berkshires is that my artistic affinities are just a small fraction of 
what is offered out there – chamber music, theatre, sculpture and all with the backdrop of our majestic mountains, placid lakes, sinuous river, and dark forests.
To have this sort of world class art and natural beauty in the same place is rare. To be able to witness the real, the imagined, and the interpreted is a gift. To be able to schedule a hiking trip, eat a delicious lunch in a quaint setting, and spend the afternoon amongst masterpieces and galleries is truly a fulfilling day. Here are some combinations that I often enjoy checking out:
Williamstown
Hike at Hopkins Forrest or Field Farm
North Adams
Hike and camp at nearby Mohawk Trail State Forrest
Pittsfield
Hike or camp at the Pittsfield State Forest or hike at Canoe Meadows
Lenox
Visit the Lenox Gallery of Fine Art
Stockbridge
Great Barrington
Hike Monument Mountain
Eat lunch at Martin’s or Bizen
About Rene Wendell - Introduced to nature by his father, Pittsfield, MA native Rene Wendell knew the names of wild creatures as a toddler. After living in Florida and Arizona Wendell returned to the Berkshires to obtain degrees from Berkshire Community College and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and now works a conservation ranger for the Trustees of Reservations. As such, Wendell spends his days knocking back invasive plants, tracking rattle snakes, and teaching others about the great outdoors. He likes to hike, hunt, fish, bird watch, collect antiques, and go metal detecting with his 91-year-old father.