Memory of the Day

Memory of the Day

16x20

Oil on Linen

My husband and I have an evening ritual. We sit in our living room facing the western sky with a glass of wine and watch the sun go down. Some nights there is brilliance and drama in the sky. Other nights, the sun is obscured by cloud patterns. But no two skies are ever alike.

I incorporated this sky into the composition from a different painting. I just had to try and record what I really saw. Nature is never stingy. She is always a source of inspiration. Anyway, sky watching is always cheap entertainment.

Twilight

I've become so involved in the technical aspects of my online class, that I need time to step back and observe.  Get out in nature - after all, nature is the best teacher.  Yesterday my daughter and I took a walk to town.  We do this quite often.  It's our little ritual.   Walking along with our hot to-go cups of tea, I observed some magnificent silhouettes of the trees at twilight.  The edges of the lit areas of the trees had a beautiful glow from the setting sun.  

If only I had my camera.  But, no, maybe not.  After all memory work is so important in painting.  

Some people have been asking what colors I use for glazing.  The transparent color in this painting is Brown Pink by Gamblin.  It's mixed with Liquin and can only be applied to the canvas when the underlayers are completely dry.  

Hidden Falls

Hidden Falls 

9x12

There are some places in my memory that are so much a part of me, that I feel the need to express them in my painting.  This place is one of them.  A few years ago my husband and I were visiting the Bayfield, Wisconsin area.  Since I'm always on the lookout for scenic photography as reference, we asked the locals where we could find some waterfalls.

That day we took a drive to a little town called Cornicopia.  People were so friendly and helpful.  They told us about a waterfall hidden in the forest about five miles in.  The only way to get there was to hike on the ATV trails.  No problem, right?  Well, we hiked back there and were rewarded by a beautiful, pristine waterfall.  I got lots of beautiful shots of the waterfall and river.  It was indeed worth the ten mile hike that day.  Except for the deer ticks!