Stepping outside my studio one morning, I was drawn to the mist and fog -- how the sunlight glanced across the trees and danced up the hill.  I took the picture with my iPad and used it as the subject matter for the 5-week class on 'Trees' at Butler Studio in Gastonia.  I asked the painting each week what it wanted to convey and used a 'working title' of "Standing Tall."  

This became a personal piece for me to stand in my own 'truth' and to allow the Light to reveal the layers underneath.  The overall feeling was 'Serenity' and there were times when I was more involved in the process than the final product.  My main palette  included ultramarine blue, magenta, viridian, lemon yellow, and titanium white in varying hues and combinations.  Each week I recorded its progression with photo's in the classroom, and this was one of the few pieces that felt complete at the end of the course session.

Hope it brings the viewer much pleasure! 

This piece was my first venture into cold wax and oils.   It measures 24" x 24" and the substrate is on 1.5"  'Encausticbord.'  

Building each layer and then scraping through to reveal the underlying colors was fascinating.   Using stencils, marking tools, scrapers and palette knives -  the process to bring the piece to its completion was quite intuitive and very rewarding.  

On the final layer I placed my dog, Maggie, (who had just passed away) in the lower left corner.  She spent a lot of time with me in my studio and her memory garden is just outside under the dogwood tree.  A keyboard appeared in the upper right corner, representing the many years I played the piano (with nothing to show for it currently), and the balloons appeared in the upper left corner which remind me to stay child-like and playful.

Opportunity comes knocking on a giant pink door as if to say,  "Open the door to all opportunities that come your way...there are many delightful surprises awaiting!"  

Living in Mitchell County, NC is like going to grandmother's house -- over the river and through the woods.  The rural countryside in the county seat of Bakersville has small town charm and big hearted people.   On the way to our family's mountain home we pass this junction at Wing Rd. and Snow Creek Rd.   The old chestnut barn leans with age, its roof is rusted and torn.  It was originally a goat barn and sometimes one can see goats inhabiting it when not grazing on the field above.   A much loved landmark, the old barn is a testament to the fortitude of its original owner, Horace Phillips (now deceased) and to the people who live on Lily Branch in the Ledger Community.

The palette consisted mainly  of cobalt and ultramarine blue; cadmium red, yellow and orange; purple, ochre and white.   Taken from a plein air study and accompanying photograph, the painting evolved over the 5-week class at Butler Studio. If I'd stood much longer in the road, I might have been wiped out by a car or truck coming around the bend, so it was safer to paint indoors.

Using artistic license, I felt that it was time to give the structure a 'face lift' and a touch of renewed self-esteem, so I mended the roof and improved its posture.  Hope you like the new look!

Last winter when driving to the recycling center on Altapass Rd. near Spruce Pine, Mitchell County NC, I passed Soggy Bottom Farms and was compelled to stop and admire the pigs, cows, and  chickens.  Over the past few years, I’ve watched this place grow from a narrow strip of land which now houses several barns and outbuildings. The owners, Lacey and Nathan Stewart, have had a lifelong dream to live off the land and preserve their mountain heritage and culture.  I was invited into the roadside farm shop, and then was given a rare peek inside the heated barn to see the new-born piglets!  Queenie, the family bloodhound, was eager to show how she manages the farm yard -- greeting visitors, nuzzling the cows, and rounding up the pigs.  

As I stooped to take a picture with my cell phone camera, the pigs came running over to the wire fence to check me out.  I was able to capture this up-close-and-personal glimpse of the adorable creatures and it became a mutual admiration kind of moment!  Then I had the sinking thought that maybe these curious, innocent pigs weren't aware of what was next in store for them.  With the popular farm-to-table, plow-to-pantry movement , I imagined the pigs saying, "Farm to...WHAT?" 

This painting is 16" x 20" oil on canvas and was first shown in the 'Renaissance of the Family Farm' BRAG Exhibit (Blue Ridge Fine Arts Guild) in Burnsville, NC. It was painted at Butler Studio from the actual photograph made with my cell phone and is available for giclee prints and notecards.  

General Farm Info:  www.soggybottomfamilyfarms.com