Below the High Meadow
24" x 24" oil on canvas
In real life, I'm an 8th grade special education teacher with two young kids that never stop moving. So, while it may seem like I spend all of my time painting, in reality, a lot of the painting takes place at 5am on weekends, in short bursts while my kids are doing other things or in rare moments of freedom like my yearly solo trip to Highland County. That's also the reason why most of my paintings are small and completed in one sitting without a lot of touch up once the moment has passed.
Over the winter, however, I decided to try having a larger painting going that I would visit here and there during spare moments. I liked this approach at first, however, after the initial excitement, it became a little tedious, and I just wanted to finish the painting. I may try it again this winter, but I do prefer to paint quickly, preferably outdoors.
The painting is partly based on an image from a hike to Seneca Creek/High Meadows in the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia and partly imagined. The imagined part is the top right quarter. In the image, you can't see through the trees, but it felt a little claustrophobic, so I added the ridge in the background and the little spots of sky.
The approach felt tedious, but I guess it paid off because the painting was accepted to the Prince William County Art Society's, "best of the region," art show for Fairfax, Loudon, and Prince William County. I didn't realize what it meant to have a painting accepted into the show until I attended the reception and saw the other pieces. Amazing! I didn't win, but it was a great experience and I received some great feedback. A couple of the winners told me that my painting was one of their favorites and that they voted for it in the "people's choice" voting, which is still taking place.
If you're interested in this one, I'll warn you that the price is a little higher than usual. It's a big painting and, all in all, I spent over 50 hours on it.