Texas spring is all about color. It is an impressionist’s dream come true, the fields are just a beautiful blur of pure color.
Thank You Lady Bird
My studies and thumbnails from Hawaii outlasted my trip, and although I still have a dozen or so more to complete, spring in Texas is just too hard to ignore. I hope you enjoyed the tropics; you might want to trade your flip flops for boots, we are headed deep into the heart of the lone star state!
“When I was a little girl, I grew up listening to the wind in the pine trees of the East Texas woods.
My heart found its home long ago in the beauty, mystery, order and disorder of the flowering earth.
My special cause, the one that alerts my interest and quickens the pace of my life, is to preserve the wildflowers and native plants that define the regions of our land—to encourage and promote their use in appropriate areas, and thus help pass on to generation in waiting the quiet jobs and satisfactions I have known since my childhood.” – Lady Bird Johnson, in her own words
Thank you Lady Bird for leaving such a beautiful legacy. May we all find our special cause that alerts our interest and quickens our pace.
Orange Dawn
Quick analogous color study. I Ike the energy of the square edges give.
Na Pali
Na Pali, meaning “The Cliffs” in Hawaiian, is a 17-mile stretch of rugged coastline located on the northwest side of Kauai. It is this beautiful stretch of earth that my dear husband I went backpacking on. Here the dramatic colors are muted by clouds, the whole scene was greyed down.
Sunset on Niihau
Niihau Island is located 18 miles from the island of Kauai across the often-times rough Kaulakahi Channel. The oldest of the inhabited Hawaiian islands, Niihau is also the least changed by modern progress. The Niihauans fish and hunt for their main staples of food, with their diet supplemented by supplies brought in by air and sea by the owners of the island. The residents of Niihau still hunt with ropes and knives and fish with spears and nets. Niihau is called the forbidden Island, and the place where time stands still. Niihau was clearly visible along the horizon as I painted this sunset.
Banyan Town
This is the perfect town for those who are willing to imagine it. There are many paths into the interior, and plenty of nooks and crannies to assign purposes to. It is the kind of place gnome and fairy legends are made from.
HANAKAPI’AI SUNSET
I managed to paint only one of the many cairns on this beach. This is the first beach on the Kalalau trail, it is very rocky and the surf is rough…so the rocks are wonderfully smooth. Previous hikers have stacked many, many rock cairns on this beach. If you are a hiker you know that a stack of rocks on a trail is called a cairn, and it symbolizes that you are to head that direction on a trail. To find many of them together, is not only impressive, given a tremendous surf, but inspiring and encouraging.
Black Sand Sunset
There are many different kinds of beaches…they all have their perks. The gulf coast of Texas might not win a beauty contest, but the sand builds the best castles. The beaches of Cuba have meters and meters of shallow water after the waves break, which make them perfect for kiddie swimming. Rocky beaches can have the most wonderful water because the sand doesn’t mix in the tide and muddy the colors. In my opinion, black sand beaches have the most wonderful sunsets. The water rests on the beach after the tide comes in like a mirror, reflecting whatever is happening in the sky. You reach this particular beach by walking through an Ironwood Pine forest. The Ironwood pine is unique in my experience, it’s needles droop downward in the most beautiful, dream like way, and its cones are teeny tiny, about the size of a marble rolled into more of a pine cone shape.
As an artist, the forest and the black sand make for an easy dark to make an interesting composition this time of day. I love sunsets, you have to work fast or light changes, so it allows for a quick, energetic study. I almost missed this sunset, the more dramatic colors were before I set up.
Middle Tide
I photographed this painting in its micro plein air setting. I lift out the tin of paints and use the empty box bottom as a palette, and water cup. The bottom corner holding my water, and then then I use the upper part to mix my colors. The tiny system works great, I encourage any artist out there to make there own, mine is made of mint tins and half pallets of water colors.
I painted this on a break from snorkeling. The ocean was composed of many blues and greens which made it fun to paint. The multicolored fish under the water, the seal napping to my left, and the turtles popping up their heads you will just have to imagine.
Campsite in Paradise
That little tiny yellow green triangle is a tent. The thin white lines are a waterfall. It is facing one of the most beautiful beaches in the world – but you have to earn the view…getting there requires crossing several mountains and valleys on foot. This is perhaps the tiniest painting I have ever done, it is 3″x 2″ and the paint set is about the size of a pink pearl eraser (we were backpacking).
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