Here is a preview of a drawing I have been working on for a future painting. I still have some things to work out before moving on to the painting stage. I haven’t decided if I want to have that lantern lit or not on the front of the canoe. Having a lit lantern can bring up some complicated reflection challenges. Initially, I planned on a foggy scene with the bear “barely” visible and put more emphases on the mountain man. Either way I decide to do it, there will be a big difference in the overall color scheme.
I’m not sure if you can see it or not but I drew the mountain man and canoe on a separate piece of paper. This way it allows me to move it around to find the best placement for the composition. I haven’t decided to paint it on canvas or hardboard panel.
Just a couple of blocks from where we live in Vilnius is a very old cemetery. I frequently walk through it because of the abundance of birds and old seasoned trees as well as having the feeling of peacefulness.
One of the things I have noticed is the many forms of art at the resting places. Some markers are carved from wood. Some are iron works and others are stone or marble. A large percentage of these creations seem to have been influenced by folk art designs.
Each plot is like a personal garden that is a personal reflection of the deceased person or their families. People spend many hours meticulously maintaining their loved ones area, raking, pruning and some keep the continuous burning of lit candles. I’m sure that this maintenance ritual is not only a form of therapy but a time to really reflect on their loved ones. It is unfortunate that cemeteries in the USA are strictly structured with rules and regulations and don’t have the flexibility for the personal touches as they have in Lithuania.
I usually carry my small sketch book with me and over time I have recorded some of the scenes from my walks through this cemetery.
If you have ever seen the classic western movie, “Paint your Wagon”, then you probably remember one of the songs Clint Eastwood sang in the movie entitled, “I talk to the trees”. As the first lyrics go; “I talk to the trees but they don’t listen to me”. Well, that may be the case in reality, but we don’t know. Maybe they do listen in some way? Could you imagine for a moment if they could hear as well as have vision? Wow, the stories they could tell, the history and the wisdom they could enrich us with!
Today it was rainy, cold and gray. But it didn’t stop me from hiking into the forest to visit some of my favorite trees. I couldn’t help but think how trees in a small way are similar to people. They all have different physical aspects just like us, as far as vanity goes. And you could say that they all have their own personality…well, maybe personality is not the right word. Having “Character” might be the more appropriate word. One tree in particular that I always stop and marvel at is a very tall, large Oak tree. The circumference of the trunk of this oak is 241 inches. Its bark is thick and with deep crevices that from the perspective of an insect, would be their equivalent of our Grand Canyon. One of this oaks massive limbs that reaches out almost horizontal next to a meadow where it stands, finally gave way to its weight and snapped off during a recent storm. As I looked in aw at that massive limb now lying on the ground, it would seem as if it was an individual tree that once stood on its own.
I’m familiar with a lot of the trees in this forest and I have seen them in their dress of all the four seasons. As silly as this might sound, I get a feeling of comfort when I see them. It’s almost like the feeling of meeting up with a family member or a good friend.
When I was living in the foothills of California, Oak trees are the most dominant trees in that area and many of the oaks I became familiar with were part of paintings I did at that time. Some are still very clear in my memory. I was once commissioned to paint the portrait of a huge oak tree that was growing on the peak of a hill that watched over an avenue in a suburb of Sacramento California. That tree unfortunately was sacrificed for a housing development and is no longer there.
I guess I’m feeling inspired to give tribute to the Oak tree through my paint brush…..we will see.
pen & ink sketch 2014
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