Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Glassmine Falls Overlook

Parkway Series #353  12 x 16  oil   Sold

An 800' waterfall, I'm sure, is fabulous close-up but you need binoculars to see it from this overlook.  The path to a higher platform was actually more intriguing to me.  I love the rock formations and the light falling across the path.  It seems that after several trips to this overlook, the path is always a specific remembrance.  Sometimes, in life, the "path down the road" is more memorable than the destination.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Road with Rhodes

Parkway Series #352    12 x 16    oil    Sold

Just before walking down the path to the lower waterfalls at Graveyard Fields, I glanced back at the Parkway and saw this image of the road with "rhodes" in the foreground.  This was one of those magical moments when Beauty was everywhere and my head was spinning 180 degrees to see it all!

Friday, July 22, 2011

Looking Back

Parkway Series #351  12 x 16  oil   $150.

Looking back over the last two years of this project, I can see incredible reasons to recommend the discipline of daily painting. Confidence, skill improvement, increased inventory, and speed in painting have all added to my daily experience.  Even though I am slowing down due to increased family demands, I still feel the benefits from my year of daily painting and I have no regrets that I challenged myself to this discipline.  The image for this painting was taken with a zoom lens as I looked back at the Parkway from Craggy Gardens around milepost 365.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Balsam Gap

Parkway Series #350    18  x 24    oil     Sold

Overlooking the Nantahala National Forest, the highest point on the Parkway stands between milepost 430 and 440 in North Carolina at 6,047 feet.  The Balsam fir trees rise majestically over the landscape, pointing to the Heavens to assure viewers that even the "rocks and the trees praise His Name"!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Graveyard Fields, Lower Waterfall II

Parkway Series #349    12 x 16   oil    SOLD

 Sitting by the water, hearing the sounds of the water and soaking in the summer sun while gazing at the Blue Ridge Mountains...... there is nothing better in this life.  I believe we are given glimpses of Heaven every now and then and this is one of them!  This is another view of the waterfall posted on June 11th.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Cowee Mountain Overlook, mp. 430.7

Parkway Series #348    12 x 16   oil    Sold

At 5,950 feet, the Cowee Mountain Overlook has spectacular views of layers and layers of mountains. But this project is much more to me than just documenting the overlooks.  It is the feeling of being transported to another world  - the breathtaking beauty  - that I want to share.  Wildflowers lined the road as I became an audience of one in an afternoon matinee of  "Summer Magic".  Hopefully, just as poetry communicates to others, my experience, translated through paint into a visual language,  will touch the heart of the viewer.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Craggy Pinnacle Tunnel

Parkway Series #347    12 x 16   oil   Sold

 This tunnel just north of Craggy Gardens, around milepost 364, shows the solid rock formation through which the road winds.  I cannot imagine the blood, sweat and tears it took to build this road back in the 1930's.  I am so thankful for the men and women who blasted through rock and mountainous terrain to create this incredible, scenic highway and their hard work inspires me to work harder.