Water pounds its way down the falls: cascading, rushing, charging into the riverbed — flowing over rocks, swiftly moving forward. Untamed, the surge finds its way over, under, around the boulder-strewn river. Tumbling waters drive up mists above the falls, the rhythmic sounds create a soothing harmony below. Autumn’s low light casts long lines through the Aspen trees and glowing verge.
I decided it would be a fun challenge to create an extremely large painting, and I wanted the final piece to be very uplifting, colorful and full of energy. Opting for warm colors and working with extremely thick paint and palette knives, I chose this lily pond reference from our visit to Monet’s Gardens in Giverny, France. The grounds were breathtaking and I could actually see his paintings come to life. I was drawn to the energetic flow and yet calming serenity in this view, and I positioned the water lilies and my paint strokes in a curving pattern to add to that mood. The morning light peeking through the distant foliage added to a sense of mystery and promise that I wanted to capture in paint, and share with you that feeling of hope.
Growing up in the midwest, I loved the first snowfall of the year when everything would get a beautiful dusting of pristine white powder, including even the tiniest of branches in the treetops above. If you caught that moment early enough in the morning before anything had disturbed the intricate frosted web, it was just magical. Then the sun would start rising and peeking through the limbs, and everything would sparkle like diamonds. In Climbing Trees, I wanted to capture that beautiful moment when the sunlight dances through the icing on the treetops and you can feel yourself looking up in wonderment just like you did when you were a kid.
On one of our first trips together, my husband and I drove to Colorado to capture the fall foliage, and were greeted by one of the earliest snowfalls on record. While not the golden aspen glory we expected, the pristine white of that first dusting was beautiful. I loved this scenic overlook as we rounded the corner, and as you can see there was no shoulder to pull over on to capture the scene. So quickly grabbing my camera, I snapped away as we whizzed past. In this shot, I particularly liked a sliver of the school-bus-yellow 45mph sign contrasting against the vivid azure sky and framing the right side of the composition to lead your eye back into the breathtaking drive.
June 14th and 15th • 10am – 8pm
Chicago, IL • on N. Wells St.,
between North Ave. and Division
On this trip, it felt like we were flying up and down these curvy mountain roads almost like we were on an adult roller coaster. So I wanted to have a little fun in my painting and capture that sense of movement and playful excitement. Choosing bright vivid colors an curving my strokes almost in a fish-eye composition, add to the youthful energy and thrill of adventure that I wanted to communicate.