As agreed the night before I stole away in the dark and headed to Oxbow Bend. At one point as the sky just gave a hint of light a herd of elk was crossing the highway. I turned off my headlights and engine to watch their shadowed bodies, leap, lope, dance and mosey from one pasture to the other. The energy exploding in the darkness was glorious and frightening. I felt as if I was witnessing a secret ceremony. Finally, the show of shadows ended and I drove on to Oxbow Bend. The day before we had passed the point I wanted to paint after rafting the Snake River. Little did I know that photographers favored this spot. I found a notch in the road away from the foot long lenses and set up to paint. It was 5:30 A.M., 35 degrees, within minutes my fingers were numb, the oil paint became stiff and sticky. Remembering the morning I was miserable physically, mentally I was soaring! Daylight tickled the Tetons, the very tips lit up pink, birds calls echoed across the Snake River beside me. I was truly in awe of our amazing planet and so grateful that the land had been preserved. That morning was priceless and will remain in my mind forever. I have painted three paintings inspired by that morning, the original 9” X 12” sketch, a 20” X 30” studio painting and finally the tiny piece, my daily painting for October 27th.Oil on Canvas Board, 5" X 7"
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3 comments:
Nice painting and writing too. I could really feel how it must have been on your painting adventure. The way I imagined it is, getting up way too early, going out when it is way too cold, doing the painting. Then, you come back home and get some sleep and warmth. When you wake up and look at your painting it is like a dream that it happened.
Very nice, your story brings it alive. I can hear the cameras in the backgroud clicking.
Just WOW!
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