"Summer Morning, Trout Lake"
Oil on Panel
22x28"
2010
This painting is of the mountains above Trout Lake, just South of Telluride, Colorado. It's one of those places that seem almost surreal in their perfection, and I've painted this location quite a few times and failed to capture it's grandure. This time around, I kept it simple and focused on the mountains rising up above the lake, keeping in mind how small and inconsequential I felt standing on that lakeshore.
One of my favorite writers, Donald Miller, talked about this feeling in his book, "Through Painted Deserts," and I love his wording:
"It strikes me as I think about it, how beautiful we find massive structures, either man-made or organic. I wonder if we find them amazing because they make us feel small and insignificant, because they humble us. And I remember feeling that way back in Colorado, that I was not the center of the cosmos, that there were greater things, larger things, massive structures forged in the muscle of earth and time, pressing up into the heavens as if to say the story is not about you, but for you, as if to remind us we are not gods."
This idea is one of the reasons I paint pure landscape. I love how when I'm outdoors, the details of my everyday life just drop away as I stand in awe, humbled.
Wow I didn't notice your recent return post and was surprised and delighted to see something from you in my reader this morning.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back! How are you and how have things been going? How has the artist&mother juggle been treating you? You are a total inspiration as an artist, and as an artist&mother, (did that make sense? you were already totally inspiring just as a self-taught, career-changing artist, but when you add mothering to the mix I am in awe of that balancing act too) and I would love to hear more from you on this blog again :D
Perfect!
ReplyDeleteAnd very pretty text!
As a previous fan, I was surprised when Lisa Call wrote about you in her recent newsletter, thought I would check back in, and am elated you are back to blogging. Your work is beautiful and inspiring. The way you handle and present yourself as an artist is admirable. Thanks for making it back to this venue.
ReplyDeleteI share many of your viewpoints and can easily grasp what you’re trying to say.
ReplyDeleteQuão preciosas são tuas paisagens! parabéns e saudações do Brasil. valeriasouza-telas.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post, but what made me want to leave a comment was the WATER in your painting - the ntire picture is beautiful, but that glass like water really stood out as my favorite part of the picture - and the way you softened the paint on the mountains - well, I can almost feel the cooler temperature in the tree line and near the water's edge!
ReplyDeleteYour article is very worthwhile Thank you for updating hello from GREECE
ReplyDeleteIs it really a painting? No one can figure out whether it is real or painted. Thanks for sharing this beautiful painting.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing
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