red cedar

On the shore of one of the hidden lakes grows this incredible, ancient eastern red cedar. In this view, none of the green "needles" are even visible. Its twisting, gnarled trunk grips the rock firmly as it has for decades. A captivating tree, an old soul.

under the tree

I often painted at this farm when I was living in Ohio. It is about a mile from where I grew up and has been a favorite subject. I also painted a larger version of this image, which turned out quite well.

woods mist

When I took the reference images for this piece, it was so rainy and steamy that the image turned out misty and foggy. I wanted to experiment with getting that effect in paint, and I have not attempted any larger pieces from this set of images,so I thought this would be a good chance to try it.

dark lake

Being housebound all week led me to search through some old reference for inspiration. This image is from our day at hidden lake this month, a view of the distant cliffs and murky water. I especially liked the pale trees against the darker pines.

new addition

When the weather was still warm last week, we made our way to the garden center to buy some plants. This sad little cactus was slightly diseased, but Derek liked its uniqueness, so we brought it home (at a discount!). We'll see how it fares in the long run...I don't tend to have the best luck with plants.

highway

I am finally catching up on the paintings after several days of resting the shoulder. I was drawn to this image after working at an art workshop all weekend last week with domestic violence survivors. It seemed like a good visual metaphor for where my thought were all weekend.

ouch!

Due to a very persistent muscle strain/tendonitis in my shoulder, I am under orders to rest my painting arm completely for at least a few days. This is why I have not posted for the last two days. I will be posting "catch-up" pieces as soon as possible. I can't wait to get back to the easel, but I have finally resigned myself to resting up so that I can get back to work quickly. There's no torture like sitting around the studio staring at blank canvas that you can't paint on. :-(

twilight through trees

I love the way the sky and mountains peek through the tree limbs like little jewels. It is quite enjoyable to experiment with images that I wouldn't necessarily attempt on larger canvases. I particularly like this one, and have already started thinking about a strategy for working on it on a larger scale.

mountaintop study

Apologies for the late post today...I seem to have pulled some muscles in my shoulder and after last night's drawing class I was simply in too much pain to paint. I am still captivated by imagery from our weekend in North Carolina. This is from a spot that I painted in the morning looking to the west. I can still close my eyes and see the rows of mountains receding in the distance.

dogwood flowers

On our way home from North Carolina, we marveled that we had not seen a drop of rain-- a rare thing in the Smoky Mountains. It was probably the first time I have been there that we had sunny skies the entire time. Of course, we had gentle spring showers all day here in Tennessee, the kind of warm rain that makes the pale green of early spring glow on the trees and ground. I was surprised to see that even in a few short days, the dogwoods had bloomed. We are fortunate to have both a pink and a white dogwood tree in a little grove beside the house. In our absence, spring arrived.

up the mountain

We ended up camping on the mountaintop Sunday night. I spotted this incredible place on the way up to the top and Lee was kind enough to stop the truck long enough for me to shoot here. This early in the spring, the green lichens on the trees almost glow against the dark ground. When we reached the top, Derek spotted a black bear running throught the woods ahead of us. It was my first sighting of an adult bear and his first bear sighting ever! That, combined with steaks cooked on the campfire, coyotes howling in the distance, and mountains stretching out in the moonlight, made for a magical night.

top of the world

There is something so deeply moving about standing at a high point, rising above the concerns and trappings of life, and viewing the world from a different perspective. When I was in Egypt I watched the sunrise from a point such as this, and it was one of those experiences that almost warps time...that hour when I normally would have been asleep or doing something equally mundane is forever burned into my memory as a significant event, lived in soul-time. Any time spent on a mountaintop has the same effect on me. We "climbed" to the top of this one in Lee's 4Runner (the plein-air monster, as he just nicknamed it), and I could not stop giggling as we approached the top, giddy with each new view of blue mountains reaching into other states. Tonight we will sleep there, and watch the sun rise on the world in the morning.

twilight path

We spent yesterday afternoon on a mountaintop near Lee's place in Big Pine. While I painted, "the boys" took walks and explored the ridge. I had a hard time deciding what to paint, since there were far-reaching views in all directions. I finally put down the brushes and went off to try to catch up to them, but became preoccupied with the silence and solitude of the path, and I ended up alone at the top of the mountain, watching the sun set.

french broad crossing

This weekend we are visiting our friend Lee in North Carolina, a little much-needed time in the mountains. We crossed over the French Broad River at dusk tonight on our way here, and paused to take in the view. Most often when we travel here, we seem to get to the mountains after dark, but we were fortunate to witness the golden hour in the midst of still-bare mountainsides and winding streams. Looking forward to a beautiful next few days. As always when I am camping or in a remote area, I may not be able to post each day, but will post the pieces as soon as possible.

on the path

I found this image in a group of photos we recently had developed from Derek's old 35mm camera. Apparently the film had been in the camera since it was replaced by my digital SLR two years ago, so it was a roll full of little surprises. Neither of us could recall the location of this image, though, even though it was by far the most intriguing one in the stack. I loved the dramatic light and the way the path led into the distance.

water tower

I ended up in a part of town this afternoon where I would normally not step out of my car. I had to step out of my car today, however, to have some repairs done. While I waited outside in the sunshine, I realized that I hadn't really experienced the urban, industrial neighborhood on foot before, and it felt strangely comfortable. I liked the concrete, the textures, watching people coming and going. I spotted this old water tower a few blocks away and thought it would be a good thing to paint today.

pencil cactus

Today was the first official day of spring, and it completely lived up to its reputation. All this sunshine put me in the mood for plant shopping, even though technically our last frost here is not until April 15th. After a few good frost-prevention tips from my garden guru at Gardens of Babylon in the Farmers' Market, I carefully selected my first flat of the season: an odd collection of snapdragons, sweet basil, hens-and-chicks, sedum, and two very cool cacti. One of my prized finds is a thornless prickly pear rumored to reach five feet in three years (assuming my black thumb doesn't kill it first), and the other is the subject of today's painting: a pencil cactus, reaching out with spindly "arms" for the light that promises only to grow brighter and hotter as spring comes to stay.

raccoon skull study

Today I introduced the study of the human skeleton to my portfolio class. The students loved it, especially since Watkins is blessed with a real human skeleton for their life drawing studio. Of course, this is a somewhat rare thing to find (most biology study skeletons are plastic), and to a class full of teenagers, a real human skeleton is a pretty cool thing. I have to confess that it was a pretty cool thing to me, too! I have a fondness for collecting skeletons and skulls, something only my closest friends know about me. It began when I studied with Chris Misencik-Bunn back in high school--she is an amazing artist and her husband is a game warden with an incredible collection of confiscated taxidermy (from poachers and those who possessed the specimens illegally). Thus began my "natural history museum." Since then, with the help of my dear father, I have collected all sorts of skulls, bones, and various other natural treasures. It started out for the benefit of my students' drawings, but it really is more because I like to have these things around. This is a raccoon skull that my father found and cleaned for me, and in the spirit of studying bones (and my current lack of human specimens), I decided to paint it today.

butterfly

Today I began teaching a portfolio class for teens at Watkins College of Art and Design here in Nashville. It was quite enjoyable working with that age group again (it has been several years since I have had the opportunity). We were doing projects focused on still life drawing, and I found it a little difficult to watch over their shoulders instead of joining in. I brought many "props," most of which included natural objects like skulls, flowers, etc. The most enticing was a jar of dead butterflies I collected last year in a friend's greenhouse, trapped inside (already dead, alas). I think this was a black swallowtail whose "swallowtails" have broken off...please correct me if I'm wrong.

hidden lake

Today was a perfect early spring day, so we took the opportunity to explore some new territory in the Harpeth River State Park Complex at a natural area called Hidden Lakes. After hearing plenty of rumors about the beauty of this hideaway, we finally explored it for ourselves wih some friends this afternoon. It certainly lived up to its reputation... beginning with a bluebird trail, the path winds past a dry streambed, through old overgrown farmland along the Harpeth River floodplain. It splits to traverse a beautiful cliff overlooking the first of the hidden lakes, and the lower trail leads to an even more beautiful lake surrounded by limestone cliffs and cedar. It all made for the perfect afternoon, and much anticipation for summer to arrive.