Landscapes

There is nothing like spending the day on and in an active volcano. Kate and I were at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which is a phenomenal experience. We hiked the Kiauea Iki trail, which first skirts around the rim and then through the floor of a crater full of steam vents. We ate lunch at the Volcano House which features a buffet and a view of the main Kilauea caldera.

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Even though Maui is spectacular, The Big Island is more my type of place. Rugged, open, and paniolo country. Paniolo is Hawaiian for cowboy. Yes, The Big Island is the Texas of the Pacific islands. The island of Hawaii is twice as big as the other islands combined, yet only has 170,000 inhabitants. So it has a much more rural and local feel to it, at least when you venture outside the resort areas. But even the resort areas have a different overall tone, much more laid back and casual than Maui.

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Earlier this week I was in beautiful Hilton Head, SC for a work conference. So when the conference ended at noon on Tuesday, I did a quick painting on the beach before I left. It was really nice to stand barefoot in the sand, enjoy the ocean breeze and paint away. An interesting thing is that in the painting you'll see that in the distance, the sand perfectly started reflecting the sky and trees. It really looked like there was a pool of water left as the tide went out, but I wasn't sure and it was too far to walk down and check it out. I committed to painting it as I saw it.

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Okay, ready for another challenge to plein air painting? The weather forecast. No, not the actual weather itself, but rather the predictions of what it will be. Granted, forecasting the weather in Georgia appears to be more difficult that in Texas. I went back to Madison today. This is despite a forecast of rain and thunderstorms all week. Luckily, I've learned to go anyway. And it rained just a minuscule amount at the end. A better effort than two weeks ago. I learned a lot about the colors and structure of the property.

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Mother Nature really doesn't think much about painters. It is as if her astounding beauty is worth all the crap she can throw at you as you try to enjoy it. As I've written in several posts, she likes to present all kind of obstacles to you when you paint. As if painting wasn't challenging enough. Well, I got the best of her this week. I'm getting married in June at really cool antebellum mansion turned B&B called Madison Oaks in Madison, GA. In conjunction with the event, I'm going to do several paintings of the place.

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I had a busy weekend, but managed to squeeze out a digital painting based on a photo I took in the Shenandoah Valley. One awesome thing about the digital painting is that you can focus and learn a lot of lessons valuable in any medium. Naturally, many of these come to mind after you finish the painting.

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Right now I'm in the Big Easy and I spent the last day of 2008 painting at the Barataria Preserve. The preserve is part of the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park, just south of New Orleans. I started the day with a serene and peaceful hike through the swamp and finished it with this painting of a very interesting old tree on a mound called a midden. If you have been reading my posts for a while, you will sometimes read about the challenges of plein air painting. Unlike the studio, painting outdoors often makes demands of the artist beyond just the painting itself.

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When I first visited Boston for work, some of the Bostonians would sarcastically remark that people from New Hampshire were bumpkins and mock their slogan "Live Free or Die". When I heard this, I immediately felt a warm connection with the Granite State since I'm from the country and have a strong independent streak. This was connection was validated during two wonderful visits to Manchester this this year. NH is a beautiful place and has a tremendous amount of pride in its role in the American Revolution.

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Ho, ho, ho! For the second year in a row, I spent the day painting in the cold plein air. It felt just like a holiday from the movies as I was painting the Merrimac River in Manchester, NH. I was standing in the back of The Millyard, a converted old factory. Standing alongside the main river in southern New Hampshire, I was able to soak in the prototypical New England town. I got to hear a lot of the local accent, as my easel was set up in a smoking area for those that work at businesses in The Millyard.

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Last Sunday wrapped up the TFAS 2008 (www.thetelephonefactoryartshow.com). Many thanks to Judge, Grant and Michelle for their hard work making it happen. Also thanks to the Fireball Collective (www.fireballcollective.com) for participating in the show with us. Also thanks to Kate for the wonderful food and to all my friends that stopped in to support the show. We had a blast and I sold several pieces.

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