Edge of meadow trees and scrub
I took the opportunity to go on a photo shoot and capture some great reference for not only the pond, but the type of foliage that grows on the edge of pond and meadow and forest. You never realize how little you notice this stuff till you try to paint it! As I work my way toward the pond, I am trying to correctly size everything in relationship to other elements, such as the deer. I don’t want to finish everything and have the doe look too large or too small for her environment. In doing this, I face the same dilemma I have faced since the first strip of land under the clouds. That is, the illusion of real depth, distance to the landscape. I would like the foreground to meld into the 3-D greenery I will eventually add. I find the front greenery unrealistic and realize that it looks as though it were just “stuck” there and force myself to once again work from back to front, building the illusion. There are no shortcuts. I find myself repainting areas because I keep forgetting that. As badly as I want to be done with the painting of the mural, I will have to slow down and get it right.
On another note, we have a couple of side projects going. The Blair Craft show is coming up and I decided to try and raise some money for this project by making wreaths to sell. I’m about halfway thru the amount of wreaths I want to make (50) and am enjoying it a great deal. We have also launched the “500 Fascinating Facts Challenge” to come up with 500 interesting facts about the wild that I will have printed on clear labels and which will be permanently affixed to the glass of the case. Each “fact-finder” who comes up with one we can use will get his or her name on the thank you plaque. If you know an interesting fact about bird or beast, there are drop boxes and slips in 3 libraries: Blair-Taylor School, Blair Preston Public and Taylor. Anyone is welcome to submit a fact. In addition, we are pursuing grants to help pay for the glass surround. Busy days indeed.
11-14-16 - Here is a shot of all of the wreaths displayed during the craft show. We didn't sell many, but I have hopes for Craigslist!
I would like to thank the following people who made contributions to the Nature Case during the show: Chris Lejcher, Kathy Boe, David Smikrud, Cathy Robertson, Gaylord Peterson and Karla Hulne. Also, I want to thank Kathy Smikrud for generously allowing me to set up my display.
I will add your names to the thank you page!
