Evening in the Hollow

 

Evening in the Hollow

11" x 14" oil on Belgian Linen

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The first evening I spent at the cabin, I looked up the hollow as the sun was lowering toward the ridge and thought, "why paint anything else?" I love this painting. It might be the favorite of all that I've ever done. But it still doesn't come close to capturing the pristine beauty and color of Seldom Seen Hollow. 

What I love about my favorite painters and what I've tried to work toward, is the ability to say so much with so little detail.  It appears simple, even though I know it's far from it. I think I'm closer with this one than I've ever been. 

Fence Line

Fence Line

8" x 10" oil on board

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This is the seventh of seven Highland County paintings - I'm saving my favorite for last.  I painted this quickly because the sun was going down, and I like the looseness.  This is the view looking southeast so I got to stand in the shade on the side of the house as the sun was setting diagonally behind me. I had been standing in the sun all day, so the shade felt as good as jumping in the river had earlier in the day. When the sun sets at the cabin, the cows seem to take up a conversation, each mooing its own distinct moo.  Sometimes the conversation dies, only to be revived a minute later by a braying that sounds more like a donkey than a cow. Once started, they all have to get a word in. 

Cowpasture Crossing

 

Cowpasture Crossing

8" x 10" oil on Belgian Linen

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I had scoped out this spot on my first day in Highland County - I wanted to paint it because I loved the shadows on the dirt road and the way the Cowpasture River (yep, that's the Cowpasture - see previous post) reflected the sky above. To get to the spot you cross a swinging bridge and head upstream from the junction of the Bullpasture and Cowpasture.  The Cowpasture River looks more like a hog wallow here than a river. 

I know no one wants to hear me complain about standing by a river, painting, but this painting was torture to make.  I was nervous because, while painting my first painting of The Junction, I had seen some sort of fertilizer or manure spreader with wheels taller than I am, pass through the very spot I would be painting. While I hadn't seen any no trespassing signs, I worried that if the farmer saw me standing on his land, he might not like it.  Whether he minded me painting there or not, he would have to pass back through on his way home. Hopefully, he would finish and head back before I finished my first painting. He didn't, and I decided to risk it. 

While painting this painting, I could hear the spreader doing its thing, so it was looming in the back of my mind that I might have to face an angry farmer or at least have to move my easel mid-painting to get out of his way. This sounds bad, but I also didn't want to have to take a break to talk to the farmer because it only takes a few minutes for the light to change completely. Now, I was hoping I would finish the painting before he finished the spreading

While the impending interaction with the farmer was unnerving, that was not the torturous part.  If you've ever seen a cow covered in biting black flies, that's what I'm guessing I looked like.  There were no cows around, only my dog Rainey, who drew in even more flies, so they all came to me.  At least cows have tails to swat with- I had a brush in one hand and paint on the other, so swatting was not an option.  

Then, as I was contemplating giving up out of pure misery, here came the manure spreader.  An alien rover with tinted windows - I had no idea who or what was going to hop out of that thing.  Rainey was cowering and refused to move and the thing didn't seem to be slowing down. I had to jerk Rainey by the collar with one hand while holding my tripod and easel in the other and trying to keep all of my brushes from sliding off the tray.  I got Rainey into the bushes beside the road, however, I had to search for my brushes.  

Finally, the thing stopped. What hopped out was a sixteen-ish year old boy who was nice as could be. He apologized profusely for making me move and said he wouldn't have to come back through again that day. So that was a lot of worry about nothing.  Regardless, I was done with this painting.  Despite the mental and physical torture, it turned out ok. 

The Junction

The Junction

8" x 8" oil on board

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The merging of the Mississippi and Ohio it is not.  The Cowpasture River is little more than a trickle before it meets with the Bullpasture River. Sometimes it dries up completely in summer, but the Bullpasture always seems to run strong and cold.  It's odd to me that after they meet, they take the Cowpasture's name.

This was a tough paint.  The values of water follow different rules from the values of solid objects or land. I don't have a ton of experience painting water, so it was tough to judge those relationships and I'm not sure I got it exactly right.   The Cowpasture sure felt great after two hours of standing in the sun, while getting devoured by black flies.

The View South

 

The View South

9" x 12" oil on board

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The VRBO cabin that I rent for my annual painting retreat, near the town of McDowell in Highland County, VA, faces south. To get to the cabin from the vantage point of this painting, you walk up and over the rise in front of you.  The cabin sits on a large terrace, halfway down a massive hill at the entrance to the hollow. The view south from the cabin's front porch is miles and miles of the same - hills, hollows and mountains. There's a reason why Highland County is known as Virginia's little Switzerland.  

Storm's Coming

 

Storm's coming

8" x 10" oil on board

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The storm clouds spilling over the ridge looked incredible so of course I had to paint them. Storm clouds change quickly, however, and by the time I got my easel in position, the clouds over the peak were not the clouds that had drawn me in. I actually had to copy these clouds from a different part of the sky and superimpose them on top of the ridge.  And what follows storm clouds?  That's right - so if it looks a little rushed, that's because it was.  Luckily, it was a quick shot of rain, unlike last year's retreat, which was a three day downpour. And the evening following the storm was one of the more crisp and spectacular evenings I have experienced. 

Country Crab Apple

 

Country Crab Apple

8" x 8" oil on board

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The first of SEVEN paintings that I completed in three days during my annual painting retreat to Highland County, VA. 

I told myself this was going to be kind of a warmup.  I asked for and received a new travel easel that if you've read this blog before, you've heard me talk about getting for years.  So this was a test run, but I started to like what I was seeing, so I finished it out. 

The new easel and tripod worked great and they definitely had a positive impact on the paintings I completed during this trip. Setup with my old easel was ten minutes of fury with parts breaking and balancing things so my panels didn't fall out on the ground. Now, I snap the pochade box onto the tripod and I'm ready to paint. There's no way I could have completed seven paintings in three days with my previous setup.  So thanks!  

Backyard - Redbud

 

Backyard - Redbud

8" x 10" oil on board

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Getting some practice in before my painting trip to Highland County, VA next week. My brain is a bit addled after having two teeth pulled earlier this week. I took a bunch of painkillers yesterday, but I liked them a little too much, so I decided not to take anything today, and I feel icky.  Plus, the gaping hole in my jaw hurts. I can see how people get hooks on those things. 

This is my 2nd attempt of the day.  The first one I tried to be really careful and draw everything out and pre-mix the colors and, of course, it turned out awful, so I wiped it and then painted this one really quickly, without drawing it out and using only one brush.  That's usually how it works.  Once I stop thinking, good things happen.