Silent Sentinels

18"x24"
Oil on Canvas

with Palette Knife

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While walking in the woods, I noticed a striking composition of pale trees against a dark wooded background—all kissed by morning light. The trees resembled something like age-old sages—witnesses to all that happens around them. Perhaps they even were more like sentinels, silently at watch in the forest. 

Wisdom in the Woods

8"x10" Oil on Panel

with Palette Knife

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One of the paintings for "A Walk in the Park" event at Marcella Vivrette Smith Park, 

Brentwood, on Oct 30 from 1-5 PM.

There is much wisdom to be found in the woods. With trees as old as centuries and rocks existing for millennia, just think of the wisdom they can tell us if they could talk. Some of the large old trees in Smith Park, like this one, tell a story with every crook, knot and groove.

It is an honor to paint portraits of trees. Some of the things I love about painting outdoors is listening to the wisdom of trees and spending time with these great citizens of the world.

Rooted

8"x10" Oil on Panel

with Palette Knife

for the Friends of Warner Parks exhibit
SOLD

30 Paintings in 30 Days: January, 2015—Day 22 

Plein air painting with the Chestnut Group today. This beech tree is from a protected property nicknamed "Valley of the Big Trees."

About a dozen of us walked single file into the valley, our feet crunching on the stiff, frozen leaves. Our faces were already feeling the bite of the cold winter air. Some painters were well prepared with pouchade boxes neatly tucked into backpacks. I was hiking my trusty french easel with hacked back-pack strap attachments and a loud, but very functional TJ Max bag full of gear. 

Our guide told us stories of interest as we journeyed through. She told us how the land we were entering had been left mostly untouched for the better part of a century. She showed us places of interest— like where four species of trees were growing from the same mound of earth. She shared how they revere the fallen trees just as much as the living ones. The fallen trees become a new haven for other inhabitants of the forest.

The painters each found their places of interest from which to paint. I went the farthest into the valley to find this beautiful Beech tree. Its massive roots spread out for a distance of about 8 to 10 feet. They looked like giant fingers gripping into the side of the hill. Behind it, another tree had previously fallen and and broke apart on the back of the mighty Beech.  At first glance, the Beach just seemed to be shades of gray. But after spending some time looking at it, I discovered a rich palette of greens, pinks and blues. I knew this was the tree whose story I had come to paint today.

I set up my easel on the hillside. And a steep hillside it was. There was no level place to stand. As I painted, the winter cold was getting the upper hand one me. My paints felt thicker the joints of my fingers were getting stiff. My back was getting sore from the incline. But this is what plein air painting is all about. It's an adventure every time, and a opportunity to better understand nature. So, I pressed on. I loved every second of it!

As light began to fall behind the valley, we packed up and hiked back out of the forest. I felt privileged to have been a witness of such a sacred place. I felt thankful for my colleagues and the efforts of The Chestnut Group for arranging this unique opportunity. I made some new friends in those woods that day—and one very, very old friend—Mr. Beach.

Painters in the Valley of Big Trees

Reference photo… just in case I don't get finished.

In-progress photo

Fire & Ice 18"x24"

18"x24" Oil on Canvas

with Palette Knife

SOLD

30 Paintings in 30 Days: January, 2015—Day 8

Going big again. This time I painted an 24"x18" enlargement of one of favorite landscapes from last year's 30. It is of a fiery sunrise lighting the hilltop of a frozen landscape. 

Smoky Mountain Stream

6"x6" Oil on Gessoed Panel

with Palette Knife

SOLD

30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge—Day 27.

A friend told me I should paint rocky streams form the Appalachians. Her suggestion reminded me of how much I love to paint rocks and water. Today's painting is from an image of a stream I took while hiking in the Smokey Mountains. I have painted it before with brushes, but this one is with the palette knife. Either way, I feel these mossy rocks are calling me back to to the mountains to paint plein air someday.

Cool Trees

6"x6" Oil on Gessoed Panel

with Palette Knife
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30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge—Day 21.

Here is an impressionistic piece based on a favorite photograph I took while hiking in the fall. The shaded trees were a cool blue hue against a fiery backdrop of fall leaves. It was one of those scenes that I just knew would become a painting someday.

Frozen Forest

6"x6" Oil on Gessoed Panel

with Palette Knife

SOLD

30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge—Day 16.

If you live in Middle Tennessee, you live on the edge. The edge is the narrow difference between the frozen and the thawed. Last night, many areas near us were covered in ice. We were on the warmer side of the edge. A road near our home takes us up to a slightly higher elevation. As we drove up the hill, the landscape changed into a magical realm of ice. All of the trees were glazed with ice which looked like crystal. We stopped at an overlook and discovered this pathway cutting through the frozen forest. It was like we had entered the great hall of a crystal palace. I felt privileged to have seen it, and compelled to describe it with paint.