Friday, April 5, 2019

Trees, ancient, towering, majestic and awesome!

Entwined - Charleston's Angel Tree 12 X 24, Colored Pencil on Ampersand Pastelboard
For some time now I have had a fascination with trees. My first son even works for the Dept. of Forestry.  I live on a wooded lot in rural VA surrounded by some amazing specimens. And that doesn't always mean towering giants, twisting branches can be full of artistry and character even in the smallest of Japanese Thread Leaf Maples.  The image above "Entwined" is a partial section of the upper carriage of The Angel Oak Tree, near Charleston SC.  

"Angel Oak is a Southern live oak located in Angel Oak Park on Johns Island near Charleston, South Carolina. The tree is estimated to be 400-500 years old. It stands 66.5 ft tall, measures 28 ft in circumference, and produces shade that covers 17,200 square feet. Its longest branch distance is 187 ft in length. Wikipedia"

I have been on a personal mission to visit with and witness as many of the truly historic, amazingly large and unique trees on our planet.  Click the Wikipedia link above to read more about this wondrous tree.  I have photo references for many here in VA that are in my "Must Paint" file.  And during my Pacific Northwest & Canada trip last Sept. I photographed some really amazing trees.

When I decide to draw the Angel Oak I decided to focus on the entwined branches and the resurrection ferns that grew on the branches - instead of the leaves. Per one of my favorite  blogs that just happens to be in Charleston: Art Food Home: "Resurrection ferns when dry turn brown and appear to be dead. When it rains they’re rehydrated and turn a lush green without a speck of brown. Apparently there is a special protein the resurrection fern has called DEHYDRIN which allows it to become lush and green only hours after receiving rain/water! These ferns last up to 100 years!" You can read more on her blog.
One of the many reference photos I used.
Concentrating on the branches of this tree was easy because I had so many photos from our trip back to Charleston just to find this majestic beauty.  With all the other trees in Angel Oak Park and their greenery which isn't the prettiest in early March, kind of dull/sparce, BUT the sky colors reminded me of the humid dusky air present the day we were there. This inspired me to do the background in warm dusky colors of the late afternoon.  A little Greyed Lavender, Dusty mauves/pinks/peach and warmed blues moving across the background.  The light that played on the branches I kept warm but still hinting at the greenish Spanish moss and green cast of other mosses on the branches.

Although I often live up to the "Crazy Artist" reputation in my family - the day we were at the Angel Oak I felt a kind of "hum" or lets call it an energy that seemed to surge from the ground into my body.  Something I have felt in the presence of 2 other Majestic Trees since then.  I'm not sure what it is but it leaves you knowing you have been in the company of nature's time aged wisdom.  



Can you feel it? Next time you're in the presence of a natural wonder take time to feel the energy. After all who doesn't need more energy?


Look for more of my tree series to come, but now there's a still life on my drawing board.

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Travels, Art Journaling and Plein Air Colored Pencil Paintings

Slocan Lake View, BC, CA- 6" X 12" Plein Air,  Colored Pencil on Ampersand Pastelboard
Available For Sale

As life gets back to normal after traveling for almost a month in September.  I'm playing catch up on all things art related and business related.  But BOY! did I have fun! For an artist who gets recharged by traveling and being on the road, seeing the Pacific Northwest (specifically the Oregon Coast and up to British Columbia, Canada) made the top of my list for my 2018 travels.  I'm an east coast girl so I know it pretty well, north south and mid Atlantic.  Although I've enjoyed previous trips to Washington State and Montana, getting to enjoy the PNW for 3+ weeks as an artist and spend time with my sister was a joy.

I travel journaled for most of the trip and those images will come in another post, stay tuned.  I still need to put a few finishing touches to a couple pages :))  Journaling is always a great way to get the feel of a place for me art wise.  Observe the lighting, atmosphere and vibes of a place. (And the afore mentioned are so different than here in VA.)  Travel journaling kind of gives my head time to adjust to actually making art on a trip. It also gives this "name challenged" brain of mine a place to write location names, places and people I see along the way.  The dates on photos correlate to the dates in my journal so I know where I was on each day.

The scene above was of Slocan Lake's south slip, where ferry boats would come into Silverton in the early part of the 20th Century bringing supplies and miners families to town.  My sister has a lake house there and her view of Slocan Lake is beautiful also.  So many photos to paint from so little time! My reference photo taken for a few tweaks after I returned to Oregon is below.  While the photo is close to what I saw, the camera greatly changes the tones on the far mountain range I observed.  They were not the very blue as seen below.  While pretty I wanted to capture the actual view.
Photo of Slocan Lake View for reference

You see the human eye can see so many more values and colors than the camera. Which clones major darks and cannot see the subtle tones our eyes can.  Plus for this morning out it was really about the fog that still settled in the highest mountain ranges and the lightly dusted glacier of Idaho Peak seen in the distant right.  With some editing of the scene, (removing a couple small trees that interfere with the distance focal point) I hope I can give just a little of my experience of a moist, foggy day to the viewer.  The dew in the grass and shear quiet of the location.  While it was only mid September the tourist season was ending in Silverton.  The campgrounds nearby emptied in the few days we were there and brisk high 30 degree temps hit in the mornings at lake level.

I took so many photos while in British Columbia of the scenery, mountains, rivers and lakes  I will have no shortage of landscape images to work from.  If anyone is from that area who stumbles upon my blog I hope you feel I did it justice.

Of course the piece is for sale and you can contact me at my email: gloria@gloriacallahan.com if your interested.  All of my Colored Pencil works on Ampersand board are created using artist grade lightfast pigmented colors, and are protected with fixative and 6 light layers of archival UV Acrylic Varnish.  

Now off to frame this little guy!


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