change of plans

As many of you have noticed, I have stopped posting new images for the last couple of months. I have been far too sick to work since we found out that we are expecting our first baby in the spring. With this happy news, I am already having to make adjustments to my work schedule and habits. My original intention for this project was to exhibit the paintings as a complete body of work, but I have since decided to make the pieces available individually online at my new Etsy shop until early 2008. I am thankful for all the good feedback and kind words over the past year, and I hope that you have enjoyed looking at the pieces as much as I have enjoyed painting them. Many thanks!

~ Megan

blue jay treasure

For some reason I have been finding blue jay feathers in the backyard all week. Each is different, but each glows an unbelievable blue against the parched ground.

evening warmth

This beautiful image came from our trip up north, shot as the sun was setting. In that lovely "golden hour" everything takes on the pink-orange cast of evening.

pasture

These rolling hills are familiar territory from my years in Ohio, a spot that I passed frequently on country drives. I love the deep green just after a rain.

summer haze

I have always loved this field, especially in the deep heat of summer. The humidity lingers over everything, tying together golden grass and treelines.

sun baked

The recent heat wave here in Tennessee (several days in a row over 100 degrees with no rain in sight) has inspired this piece, a dry field cracking in the sun. It has truly been a year of records here, strange weather in all seasons.

fields in motion

This image caught my eye for its rolling fields, waves and lines of alternating crops against dark trees. I miss this sort of land, rolling Ohio farms. It is most difficult in summer, which was always my favorite season there, watching the crops slowly grow until harvest.

green hills

After feeling under the weather for the better part of the week, I find myself again in the position of catching up on delinquent posts. I have been sorting through piles of old reference in my studio, and have come across several little gems. Before getting a really great digital camera, I shot all my reference on an old 35mm all-manual camera that gave me tiny, blurry prints. Not ideal for painting large pieces, but great for doing tiny studies like these.

spider lily

Derek happened to spot a stand of exquisite spider lilies near our campsite. They look so exotic that it is surprising to find out that they are native to the south...as much a surprise as finding a passionflower.

upriver

My favorite spot for trout seeking lately is at a shallow bend in the river where the wading is easy and the banks are somewhat open. Beautiful farms line the banks, alternating with dense woods.

caney evening mist

Continuing my recent obsession with the Caney Fork River, I managed to get in a few hours of late-afternoon fishing on Sunday, leaving just as the mist was thickening on the water, rolling in the evening chill.

center hill lake

Over the weekend we camped on Center Hill Lake, luckily during a time when it was mostly deserted. We discovered a spot near our campsite where a rocky bluff dropped deep into the lake with just enough of a gentle slope that we could swim there. The water was perfect, slightly cool on the hot summer morning.

companions

This field had just been planted when I photographed it, baring its dry soil beneath the towering trees in the distance. By now there is certainly a field full of soybeans or corn, deep summer green.

distant cornfields

Another farm image...this one in honor of my friend Anne, who always chose cornfield rows when we went out to paint together in Ohio. I am finally beginning to understand the draw of those rows upon rows, the natural rhythm of the field stretching into the distance.

passing fields

Somehow yet again, too much time has passed since my last post. It has begun to feel like my summer is in a constant loop of driving to Atlanta (which I have done three out of the last four weekends) and camping. Not all bad, but just very busy! So, in the spirit of catching up, here are some new paintings. This one is from much earlier in the summer when we drove through the midwest...I am still finding all sorts of inspiration from that wide-open landscape.

fast study

Tonight in the painting class I found myself getting stuck as I reworked the piece I started last week. I took the last fifteen mintues to do a quick sketch of the model in profile, in order to get a fresh look at everything. Although I am no more pleased with this canvas than I was with the original attempt, it was still a fun exercise.

ohio field

I originally painted this farm in a vertical format several years ago, but coming across a photo of it today, I thought it would make a good daily study. I have always liked the solid white sky against the velvety fields.

farm memory

We ended up "down south" this evening in Williamson County, my former home, to go tent shopping and out for dinner with my mom. We took the country way, past several old farms that eventually disappear into a sprawling shopping area. This image from a Brentwood farm was on the top of my reference pile tonight, and I thought it was a good time to revisit it.

woods edge

We heard from our friend Lee the other day, who is trying to help us find a place to live near him in rural western North Carolina. Now that Derek is finished with school, we are preparing for the next phase of our lives, hopefully one with plenty of woods, streams, and mountains in it. This image reminded me of what I hope will be the future.

open water

I really have been painting every day, but in the excitement of the new Harry Potter release, I seem to have forgotten to actually post the pieces. Here is a river study taken from my last Ohio trip. I like the simplicity of it so much that I just might paint a larger version, even though I had only intended this as a small study.

big meadow

A student from my painting class had requested a demo on my landscape approach, so last week I showed the students how I handle a typical painting in the studio. I had a large pile of reference accumulated from the exercise, and on top was this image from a painting trip to the Shenandoah Valley with my friend Steph from several years back. We have both painted this spot numerous times, and to the best of my recollection it was called simply "Big Meadow." There was something magical about waiting for the afternoon storm to roll in, standing on a bald surrounded by the highest mountain all around. I will never forget that week.