meadow creek study

Tomorrow I will be demonstrating painting at the Elm Tree Gallery in downtown Franklin, TN as part of their annual community arts festival. This is the image I plan to paint, although the final piece will be a horizontal composition. I found the spot on my travels through the southern part of the state, and I am looking forward to portraying it on a large scale.

dark edge

This field edge caught my eye as I drove past on a winding country highway, but at first I did not stop. When I discovered that I had missed the unmarked turn to get to the river, though, I had to turn around and drive past again, so this time I stopped to get a shot. I loved the bright yellow line of the field against the impenetrable forest edge.

duck river

Yesterday I took the day off from painting to take a drive down south with my dog Umber. I researched the terrain of the landscape using google earth, and even studied the weather patterns for the last month, hoping to find trees that still had green leaves. This late frost situation has really compromised my ability to find new subjects! The highlight of the day was finally getting to see the Duck River. It is beautiful and slow, carving out deep channels through the limestone that seems to substitute for topsoil in the southern part of the state. We took some time to wander along a path that follows it, and Umber even had a little swim.

distant field study

Back in the studio today, I have been working on producing new paintings to restock several galleries. This is a palette I have felt very connected with lately, soft blues and greens. I like the haze in the atmosphere, pushing back the rows of hills. It grows my anticipation of summer, humid and hazy.

knotted tree

This weekend we ventured out to Beaman Park once again, unable to resist the perfect spring weather. We explored the upper ridge trail this time, sad to see all the black leaves dangling from the trees. It was surprising to see how many trees on the trail had deformities, presumably from disease. They made for some interesting forms, though, and this large trunk was one of the most unusual.

iris

Once again breaking my "no flowers" rule (which is starting to seem pointless), I couldn't resist this lonely iris that miraculously bloomed overnight. After the massive frosts we had here in Tennessee over the past two weeks, it is amazing this delicate wonder made it through. I wish I could say the same for the leaves on the trees-- it looks more like autumn than spring in some places with all the black and maroon leaves withered on the branches. This is the exact variety of iris that grew in my front yard as a little girl. Their appearance always meant long summer days soon to come.

hazy horizon

Still sorting through images to plan the week in the studio, I found this image that I think will translate well to a larger piece. I attempted it in a smaller study several years ago, but I would like to revisit it in large scale. I love the palette of faint purples and pale blue-greens.