Light and Shadow

 I have painted many times at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, but this particular January morning I saw a beautiful play of sparkling light and contrasting shadow effects that would only last for 30 minutes or so. This panel is small, but in under an hour, I captured the sparkling effect of the morning and the character of the bluff.

Painting is a lot like golf. A good passage here, a good composition there--keeps you coming back. If I knew now how much time, effort and tears it would take to get to this painting, would I do it again? Oh, probably...YES!

Pines

Here is a lovely poem by friend and Isanti-ite, Sharon K. Sheppard. You will see my paintings and her poems paired again soon. She has inspired my interest in poets Mary Oliver and James Wright. And without further ado, here is why I paint pine trees in winter.

Pines

Have you noticed
How the tall pines
Cast their long blue veils
Over the pale snow, lying like
Streamers of shadow as
Still, deep, and unbroken
As a mountain lake,
But non-reflective?

It is as though
Reclining,
Bare and bereft
In the chill morning air,
they cannot afford the loss
Of even one tiny
Candle's worth
Of light.

Copyright   Sharon K. Sheppard

Yellow Boat

First of all, I loved paddling in the yellow boat on Lake Superior and was caught in the act of admiring the brilliant pure Cad Orange colored lichen colonies living on this outcropping. And secondly, I found equal pleasure in painting the same subject. Simplifying the rock structure and recreating the undulating blue waters of the large inland sea with color variations and little hook shapes in perspective all the while remembering the sun on my face and the movement of the boat as I looked up in amazement at this colorful cliff called Gold Point which is located a 1/2 mile north of Split Rock Lighthouse. This is my largest epic painting to date at 24"X30". Making marks to represent moving water is intoxicating...