Montreat Lake, oil on board, 14x11"

As I was leaving the western Asheville area last week I drove to the town of Montreat, home of the small liberal arts college. There appeared to be a very beautiful mixture of architecture for a tiny mountain town. To enter the town, one has to drive through an arch made of creek stones found in multitude close by. On the grounds of the College, I found a pond and a few places to take some reference photos. It was a peaceful paradise and a great place to study.

Black Mountain and Lake Tomahawk

Black Mountain and Lake Tomahawk, oil, 14x11"

I used a much bigger brush for the majority of this painting, and it was liberating.  It was a size 16 filbert instead of a 4 or 6 that I normally use. I found the 16 among some leftover supplies that my college kids didn't take with them and decided to give it a good home. It worked.  This photo reference is from the NC mountains, and a small lake.

Michigan Dunes

Michigan Dunes, oil on gessobord, 12x12"

I tried to work on still life for about two hours yesterday, but it wasn't happening and they became swipers. I had found this photo a few weeks ago and saved it for another time, which ended up being yesterday and finished today. I need a vacay. Visions of beaches are seeping into my subconscious.

Fishing Lake, Parklands 2

Fishing Lake, Parklands 2, oil on mounted canvas, 10x8"

I struggled with this painting to the point that the first version was wiped away with mineral spirits and a rag. The funny thing is, unlike gessobord, the image didn't completely go away. It was like a ghost :-) So I went with it, started over with the "ghosted image"and eventually was satisfied with the results. This is another image of the beautiful new Parklands of Floyds Fork park in Louisville.

Fishing Lake, Parklands

Fishing Lake, Parklands, oil on mounted canvas, 10x8"

The Parklands in Louisville, is an incredible experience of newly acquired  land that borders one of the main, long creeks in the east-end of the county. Formerly sections of private land, it took nearly 15 years to piece together, and develop into a linear park, about 10-15 miles long. It includes waterfalls, small palisades, deep forest, areas for mountain and road bikes, long canoe or kayak passages, wildlife viewing, hiking, hiking and more hiking. My kind of place. Here is an unnamed fishing lake near one of the higher vistas. It had many small boulders on its outer banks that shown in the sun this particular day.

Buffalo Trace State Park

"Buffalo Trace State Park"

This past weekend was supposed to be peak foliage weekend in my area. There was real beauty out there, to go along with warm air and blue skies. I drove to a State Park about 30 miles from Louisville in Indiana and ran my dog all around the lake taking photos. This is the first to come from that series of photos.

Signs of Fall, Lake Nevin

Signs of Fall, Lake Nevin, oil on board, 10x8"

I really don't have a favorite when it comes to seasons because each one is a welcomes different extremes.  Fall is definitely a time of beautiful color, but in some ways difficult to express on a canvas because it's so overwhelming. With that said, I like the understated scenes, like this one from Bernheim. 

Signs of Fall, Tipsaw Lake

Signs of Fall, Tipsaw Lake, oil on board, 10x8"

A couple weeks I went on a day trip to several river towns in Indiana, and then stopped at a few state parks within Hoosier National Forest.  One of those was Tipsaw, which had a cute little swimming beach for its fishing lake.  At that time, Indiana was already showing small signs of Fall.

Beside the Lake

Beside the Lake, oil on gessobord, 8x6"

I had the best of intentions yesterday, to start a long weekend working and painting outside in various locations. My intentions will not go as planned now as it is going to be a rainy weekend.  It was raining when I set up near a park lake under a tree but I didn't let that stop me. I painted for about 90 minutes before wiping the painting off.  Turning more towards the lake in a brief moment of light, I saw these little fuzzies lining the bank. Before the next downpour could do me in, I captured this little grouping.

Dawn's Early Light

Dawn's Early Light, oil on gessoed board, 16x20"

One of the interesting things about waking up beside a large lake is the amount of space available for natural light and color to present themselves on a minute-by-minute basis.  Yesterday's painting showed a near colorless scene right as the morning has broken. The scene for today's painting is after the sun has gathered some energy and illuminated  everything on the horizon. 

Morning Mist, Looming Clouds

Morning Mist, Looming Clouds, oil on gessoed  board, 16x20"

I spent four days last week on a houseboat on Lake Cumberland. It was an interesting experience as far as painting goes - I was able to do some paint sketches. The first morning I was up so early and everything had lost its color. It slowly, slowly was regained as the clouds parted and the sun appeared.  This scene is right in the middle of all that.

Fishing Lake

Fishing Lake, oil on board, 20x16"

I finally feel like I am headed in the right direction with this one. It's probably hard to tell by the photo , but there are layers of color interacting with each other in the painting, as well as the gestural mark making, which I've always been drawn to.  These isolated lake scenes are becoming my favorites and have allowed me to not feel so inhibited.

Overcast Lake

Overcast Lake, pastel on paper, 12x9"

Hugh and I did a return visit to the park with the lake, with the dog. This time the weather was overcast, windy and cool compared to bright, sunny and hot yesterday.  I sat uphill from the Lake to draw this time.  Because the light was static I used local color for the ease of drawing during my time constraints.  

static I used local color for the ease of drawing during my time constraints.  

Sandy Beach

Sandy Beach, pastel, 12x9"

I took my dog to a large park with a lake in the middle. We found this small beach, to serve as a point of launch for him to get in the water. While he was sunning himself afterwards, I pulled out my pastels and did this 20 minute sketch to use as a reference for a future painting.

Reflection

Reflection, oil on board, 16x20"

These colors are really moody in a beautiful kind of way.  I have to believe that is my subconscious talking.  Despite the fact that I want to paint on some days, it's been difficult. And then when I feel up to it, I haven't had the motivation.  But the photo I took back in April that I used for this painting was inspiring - half sky, half water with a glowing parcel of land in the middle. I also love the word reflection because of the dual meaning. So which ever version you choose for your interpretation, it works! 

Kansas Farm Lake

Kansas Farm Lake, oil on gessobord, 10x10"

I returned to the subject matter that I love the most for this painting, vast and sweeping farms. The photo reference  was taken last summer while driving to Colorado.  I am an urban girl, through and through, but I am always drawn to expansive amounts of space, a big portion of it untouched in many ways. I guess it's the yin and yang, the push and the pull, the balance. And the never-ending search for a scene to translate into a painting, is in itself, very humbling.

Parklands #4

Parklands #4, oil on Arches oil paper, 16x12"

I feel like I am gaining momentum with each new painting in this series.  This painting was done from a photo reference with very little light variations. I painted it that way but added a lot more color. 

On a personal note, today is the last day of my Spring Break, and I am already feeling a bit melancholy. I have gotten into a nice routine of waking up, finishing a painting that I started late the night before, posting it, then deciding where I will hike or bike for the day, to explore and take photos.  In other words, doing exactly what I want to do, which I rarely get an opportunity to experience.  I was very productive this past week, so I will heed a warning now, my painting is about to slow back down, much to my chagrin. Thanks for the support I have received through the evolution of the Parklands series. Any artist will admit that comments and "likes" help to keep us going.  So I'm not sure if this will be the last of the series or not. I still have a few interesting photos I want to explore through paint. We will see what this next week brings :-)

Parklands #3

Parklands #3, oil on Arches oil paper, 16x12"

I've been using wonderful references photos as a starting point for for my paintings in this series, but eventually I reach a jumping off point and focus on what's unfolding.  These painting have definitely been an experiment for me. When I gave up painting in 1990, I had reached a point where mark making was just as much a part of the final interpretation, as the image itself.  When I returned to painting (almost 2 years ago) I thought I would pick up where I left off. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. But that's ok, because in all the experimentation, I had the opportunity to explore different methods, re-learn aspects of painting that where forgotten, and learn what I like and what I don't.  This is still evolving and will continue to do so. For now, I am struggling with working through a painting and not giving up on it. I guess this is a metaphor for  a lot of things in our individual lives - not giving up. I will always be an eternal student, so as frustrating as the challenge can be at times, I welcome it. 

Parklands #2

Parklands #2, oil on Arches oil paper, 16x12"

This is the 2nd in the Parklands series. It was much more difficult to accomplish/finish, but the second one usually is. I was listening to a podcast of a contemporary artist's interview yesterday. She was saying she usually has 5 paintings going at once. I could not wrap my head around that concept when I heard it'. But today as I have given it more thought, I am actually thinking of attempting it. I've been in a gear-shifting mode with my painting style, and working on several at once, just may be the answer to continuity. When I start something 24+ hours later, I tend to lose momentum. This (hopefully) will help it will continue.

Parklands #1

Parklands #1, oil on Arches oil paper, 16x12"

Yesterday, I went hiking in two different rural parks in the Louisville area. It was a beautiful, uplifting experience that yielded many photos consciously shot to use as references for drawing/painting.  I decided after reviewing them on my computer, that it was time for another series. And since I am attempting to use more abstraction, what better time then now.  Here is the first, which I worked and reworked, wiping and scraping paint on and off.  There were a few moments that I wanted to give up on it, but the photo kept drawing me back in to the actual moment I was there. Plein air painting from memory!!!!  Hopefully, I will be able to begin painting 2 with a bit more spring in my step!