Posted onSeptember 18, 2022|Comments Off on Water themes as a painting subject
Waterlilies at the Spillway, acrylic, 12 x 12
Many lists of the most popular painting subjects include landscapes and seascapes. I must admit that I’ve painted quite a few pieces with these subjects. Although I live in the Midwest, many of my landscapes include some water feature – streams, rivers, ponds, lakes. And my travels have taken me to the ocean in various places. There is something very primal and soothing about hearing ocean waves…most of the time.
Fishing at Patoka Lake, acrylic, 12 x 16
Recently I painted a couple of paintings based on the very large lake nearby. Lake Patoka is 8,800 acres and is a major water and recreation source for the area.
Leaving the Cove, Cape Breton, NS, acrylic, 9 x 12
But I also cruised through old photos of places we have visited, particularly Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and New England. Such beautiful scenery that it was difficult to choose. Many more subjects for future paintings.
White Wharf, Rockport, MA, acrylic, 12 x 16Fishing Shack (or Motif #1), Rockport, MA, acrylic, 8 x 10
And, of course, I did an entire series of beach paintings but those are mostly about people and children with the ocean being a common denominator for each painting.
Beach Readers, Intimate Spaces series, acrylic on linen, 24 x 30, Kit Miracle The whole attraction of this subject with the irony of the two young women who are reading and totally ignoring the beautiful day at the beach. I also love the way the red beach chairs draw the viewer’s eye into the scene.Wet Reflections, acrylic, acrylic, 24 x 30
This is not to say that painting water features is the only subject that I tackle, but it is one of my favorites. So many opportunities if I take my time to look for them.
I have mentioned several times over the history of this blog how rural and sparsely populated this area is. In fact, until just last year, we were the only county in the state that didn’t even have a stoplight…and we were proud of it.
But times change.
This was brought home to me last week as I pulled out of our driveway and drove down our short road. I noticed a new house being built. Well, I knew it was being built; it’s a former neighbor who is moving back to the area. We’re happy as they were good neighbors.
This set me to thinking about all the new houses that have cropped up since we moved here over 35 years ago. At that time there were only six houses on the whole two and a half mile road. Now there are twelve. Yeah, I know, not many but still doubled.
This led me to reflect upon which house was the oldest house. And…it’s OURS!
When we bought this house at auction (that is a lot of money to spend at the drop of a hammer), it was in the position where it could have been rented out and run into the ground in about ten years, or someone could put some money into it and fix it up. We chose to do the latter. We had been looking for a place such as this for over a year. We could either find a house in the country with no property, or property with no house. Despite what the Hallmark channel would have you believe, it’s difficult to find a nice old home in the country. Still a desirable goal but increasingly scarce.
The road out front was gravel (since paved). We do have city water but it had only been in for about three months which is probably why there wasn’t too much competition for the home (few people knew about the city water which would have made the property more valuable.) It’s also only a few miles from the state’s largest natural recreation area, a desirable place. But it’s the setting that everyone always comments on as they drive up. The house sits in the middle of the property. We found a cornerstone that dates it to 1883 but I think it’s probably about forty years older. Probably an original land grant, several of which we saw when we were in the market.
The front of the house is log with layers of clapboard, insulation, and siding on the outside, and lath and plaster, new drywall inside. The walls are about a foot thick which makes for a very quiet home. I’ll regale you with all our adventures in remodeling a house this old some other time.
I’ve often reflected on why someone would build a house in the middle of the property rather than on the road with easier access. The road used to kick up lots of dust but this was before automobiles. Probably because the house site is flat with several close water sources – creeks, dug wells, springs, etc. I have also noticed over the years that we found many pottery shards and Indian artifacts, chips, etc. This may have been a dwelling site long before the country was settled. The attraction of water sources, abundant wildlife, a large river a few miles away would have been the same for native Americans as they were for settlers.
This also led me to reflect on the house numbering system. (I had a lot of time to think on the drive that morning.) There are some places in Japan where the house numbering system is based on the age of the dwelling. The first house on the block is number 1, the second house on the block is number 2, etc. That is totally confusing for a person who was raised in the Midwest where roads are laid out in grids, usually of a mile. How does anyone find a house in the Japanese system? Do people go around and around the block until they spot the desired number?
I am not an historian but I do enjoy learning how a community or area got settled. It reminds me of Pete Hammill’s book Downtown: My Manhattan, Harriette Simpson Arnow’s Flowering of the Cumberland, and other similar stories. Who came first? What was it like then? Why was this area selected? I’m sure that your local library, county museum, or historical society can direct you to information on the settling of your own locale.
Anyway, these are some random thoughts I had on a little trip to town the other day.
I'm a professional artist, retired director of a performing arts center, bona fide book addict, and enjoy the quiet life...most of the time. I'd love to hear from you or get your ideas for future posts. Come back soon!
I'm a professional artist, retired director of a performing arts center, bona fide book addict, and enjoy the quiet life...most of the time. I'd love to hear from you or get your ideas for future posts. Come back soon!
my90acres 