June 22, 2007
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River no.1 Morning
12×36, oil/linen
The summer solstice this year was a perfect day!! To celebrate the longest day of the year, and metaphorically sol invictus, the victory of light over darkness, I went to a plein air paint out. This is a morning painting when the sun was just beginning to peek over the tops of the tallest trees chasing away the cool shadows and mist left over from the night. I was continuously serenaded by songbirds and cooled by a breeze coming off the river. I enjoyed some wonderful food provided by the gallery sponsering the event, the stimulating company of some fellow artists and the glories of the new summer season. I was really intrigued with the shape of this canvas and how it let me unfurl the expansiveness of the river. I ordered three more just like it and I’m planning to do a series of river paintings. The next one will be at sunset. Stay tuned!
Summer Sun
GREAT is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven without repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain he showers his rays.
Though closer still the blinds we pullTo keep the shady parlour cool,
Yet he will find a chink or two
To slip his golden fingers through.
The dusty attic, spider-clad,
He, through the keyhole, maketh glad; And through the broken edge of tiles
Into the laddered hay-loft smiles.
Meantime his golden face around
He bares to all the garden ground,
And sheds a warm and glittering lookAmong the ivy’s inmost nook.
Above the hills, along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes.
~Robert Louis Stevenson
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