August 2008

Anyone who has spent more than 10 minutes with me knows that I was raised in Alabama and spent most of my adult like (so far) in Texas. However, many people may not realize that I was actually born in Newport News, VA. I only spent the first year of my life there, and other than a trip in grade school to see where I was borned, Virginia really hasn't held any relevance for me.  However, that changed for me this past weekend, as I went out camping for a couple of nights at Shenandoah National Park. Just amazing scenery. Down in the valley, the farms are open, clean and accessible - perfect for the landscape painter. The main road of the park, Skyline Drive, is about 90 miles and has 154 scenic overlooks and twice as many trailheads. I was rained out of a couple of opportunities, but I managed to paint a scene from the Pinnacles Overlook, and then Sunday I went down to the Shenandoah River State Park  to paint from the Shenandoah Valley itself.  One reason that landscape painting is so rewarding in the West (in addition to the beautiful scenery), is has open it is. Many potentially great views here in Georgia are obscured by trees everywhere, as is the case in heavily forested areas. The fact that the bottomlands in Virginia are cultivated opens the landscape up. And the farmlands are beautiful, especially with the back drop of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is hard to be there and not feel at home.