Meadow or Marsh 16×20 oil on gallery wrapped canvas
This was painted from my photo of a meadow on our property. The last of the Snow on the Prairie wildflowers were still blooming. It’s a scene I see when I walk our trail through hay grass and assorted wild plants.
After I painted it, I showed it to my son who questioned, “Is it a meadow or a marsh?” He knows that I spent many previous years painting the marshes of Coastal Georgia. So, maybe it is. Maybe it has some “marsh influence.” Maybe it can be a meadow or a marsh…whichever the viewer’s experience brings to it.
This painting came about after a recent visit with my son’s family in Axtell (outside of Waco), Texas. I needed to paint it as confirmation that I could enjoy painting the landscapes there. For you see, we are looking toward moving to Texas. Yes, you read that right!
We are at the stage of life where one thinks about the future as one of the last chapters of one’s story (but hopefully a long chapter full of lots of action!). Both retired from our careers, we have been searching for where God would lead us next. So, without all the questions answered, we are remembering what Abraham did when God said, “Go.”
In the next months, we will be cleaning out, packing, selling, searching, settling and looking toward Texas. Yes, we will miss Georgia. Yes, we hate to say goodbye. But adventure beckons and you can still follow me on Facebook!
I hope to be involved quickly in the Waco arts community. There is a lot happening downtown with all the new energy created by Chip and Joanna Gaines, including new art galleries!
Steve, who always wanted to be a cowboy when he grew up, is looking forward to using all those woodworking tools he has collected for years, in a western setting. And we are both looking forward to being near Luke and his family, who have been Texans for over a decade.
If you need a painting from me before I leave Georgia, now would be the time! I would rather sell it to you than try to pack them all. Look on my webpage and give me a call.
“I come down here every evening,” he told me. “I come with my drink and watch the sunset.”
I had been painting the swing and the tree en plein air, after a full day of learning at Plein Air South. As I painted, this gentleman took a seat on the swing. It didn’t seem to bother him that I was looking his way. I took a photo of him to use as a reference later.
The end result that day was disastrous. I was ready to wipe the oil paints off. But the artists with me encouraged me to leave it and look at it later. The gentleman came over to see if he was painted into the scene. He was not especially impressed…and neither was I.
The next afternoon I got busy painting sky and water and thought no more about the panel tucked into my wet canvas carrier in the car.
The third day, I sat in James Richards’ two hour session about Abstraction in Landscapes. I learned so much just watching him paint. As he started his painting with BIG shapes of dark and light values in random colors, he suggested that we simplify shapes by painting OVER too much detail and bringing it back to an abstracted form. I remembered the painting of the landscape with the swing and knew what I needed to do to fix it.
As soon as the session was over, I drove my car back to the waterfront. There was the empty swing, hanging from the curving tree. I spread red paint over the top portion and yellow on the bottom. I began defining the abstract shapes of lights and darks and masses were formed. Reminding myself to stay loose and abstract, the scene developed.
On cue, at 5 p.m., the man came back out with his cup in his hand. We talked of painting (he thought this one was looking better), of Georgia (he was from Moultrie), of mutual friends, of careers, of life choices, of faith, of retirement and old age. The time came for me to pack up to get to dinner on time. I planned to put the swing in later from the photo.
Back in my studio, I added the swing and since I had a photo reference, added my new friend, Mr. Lowery. It would not have been the same without him there. After all, it is “his” swing — his seat for sunset. May he enjoy many more of them! And I hope he sees this post!
I’m in Port St. Joe, Florida this week for Plein Air South: a gathering of artists who paint outside and a faculty of ten or twelve of the best contemporary plein air artists I know of, from which to learn! It has been raining all day and many of the outside activities had to move inside. But this afternoon, the rain stopped. The sky cleared and the clouds and colors were amazing!
After observing all morning, I was ready to paint. I went out by myself to find a pavilion (just in case another shower passed over) and painted until sundown. What a great time to be a plein air painter!
Catching Anything? 9×12 oil $125Study of Water and Sky 9×12 oil
The smaller pictures are photos. A highlight of the afternoon was seeing both ends of the rainbow that appeared. The three fishermen, the couple on the pier, and myself, were brought together to share the moment of adoration and wonder.
The atmosphere was crystal clear as the setting sun illumined the earth and sky.
As I drove back toward Mexico Beach and the rental house, I pondered why I love painting outside. It’s not just the finished painting, it’s definitely the process. Painting from life causes me to be acutely aware of all my senses. Not just seeing and touching, but feeling the breezes, hearing the birds, smelling the fish. And yet, feeling so small against a huge backdrop of life. It is a time of worship of the almighty Creator God and admiration of His art. Amen.
I showed this to my husband and asked, “Who does this look like?”
He answered with a question, “Us?”
(Good answer, but not who I thought he would recognize.) The models are his brother and sister-in-law. But it could well be “us” with the sentiment behind it. We are strong together, even in dark times.
As I painted, I was impacted by the play of light against dark, the blinding strength of the sun, and the deepest cold darkness of the side away from the light. I could feel the wind of that fall morning on the beach and the warm comfort of an arm around my shoulders.
My Protector, My Strength, My Constant… all words that I use when I think about God and his relationship with his people. But these words also come to mind when I describe my husband! (yes, really)
It does not offend my worth as a woman for him to be the strongest, for him to be the bravest, for him to even be the tallest. I know he loves me and is my best friend. Almost forty years of marriage hold many stories of facing darkness and many blessings in the light. The faith and principles we base our marriage on have held us together. And in times of darkness the light always seems the brightest! (ok, not immediately, but in hindsight…)
This brother and sister-in-law have seen some recent dark times with health. They have come through on the other side, ready for the morning walk, ready to soak up the warmth of the sun, ready to see light and all that it will illuminate day by day.
Day 21 of 30 – This was a FULL day and I never picked up a paintbrush. But I did present a program about my paintings. And I did observe the “September Skies” as I came and went, thinking about how I would paint them. This, one of my favorites, was painted several years ago. I always notice clouds in September. There is something about the way that the shadows get longer and crisper in September, something about the billowy look of the clouds as they float by, changing shapes as quickly as one realizes that summer is gone! The change in the clouds and atmosphere each September reminds me of a day, thirty seven years ago today, when we stood in a hot cemetery for my mother’s funeral. It was a sad season, with beautiful clouds overhead, clouds that surrounded me with comfort. They still do, today.
Once Upon A Time… (you complete the rest.) Don’t you just love a Once Upon A Time story? I used a photo from a trip in Mississippi to paint this. There is just something surreal-looking about the landscape. As I painted, I remembered being there on that summer day, breathing fresh air and feeling the warmth of the sun. But now that it is finished, I can imagine the rest of the story… Once Upon A Time…
