Painting in the Mountains

We packed a lot into our two week vacation in the mountains. A lot of walking in beautiful places. I had less time for painting than I hoped, but I think I relaxed more deeply because it was more of a break from everything usual.

I did paint four pieces. These two were smaller, and faster. They were like warm-ups after not painting for several months. The other two are larger and each will have its own post.

Both began with random blind contour drawings and then "found" themselves. My surroundings affected all four paintings - certainly for content.

The first is watercolor on cold press paper (not my favorite - I don't care for the texture) = about 7 by 10 inches.

The second (with the bird) is watercolor with a little white charcoal, on hot press - about 10 by 14 inches. One of the things I "eat up" while in the Blue Ridge Mountains is the way the wild and the tame (woods and field) are arranged over the land, and the feeling of being up over everything. This latter piece captures a little of that - and my longing to break free and soar out over it instead of being earth bound beside the trees.

Neither of these pieces are as free as I want. I wasn't as engaged as I wanted to be. But what do I expect after neglecting my brushes for several months...