Smokehole Canyon West Virginia

October 14, 2019

Climbing and painting, that’s what we do.  My husband is a rock-climber, and I am a painter. We plan trips to destinations where we can easily do both. He had arranged to meet some other climbers and we had reserved a cabin. This was an extra special trip because we were able to bring Alfie our 10lb Malti-Poo.

I was inspired by the sharp contrast of the shadows and the many angles of the cabin roof. The value (lightness – darkness) of the cast shadows is the same, but the colors were different. Establishing the two colors of the roof and the two colors of the cabin, was my first challenge. In reality they are the same color. The scene had so much green, I knew that would be an additional challenge as well. Being solution oriented is what painting is about. Finding the best way to depict what I am seeing.

I was thinking about the cabin while I was painting and how it was built into the side of the hill. If that were my cabin, would I have my morning coffee on the front porch or the back? If I lived in such a rural area, what would I miss and what would be gained?