Thursday, May 10, 2012

Beautiful Spring ... and back to Painting!

I was able to get out on the first day of trout season here in Pennsylvania and snap some photos of the crowded creeks while the fishermen were taking their first catch of the season. One guy even called out to me to hurry and take a picture before his buddy fell in! Gave me a smile!
"First Day - Trout Season"
12 x 16 Oil on canvas
This was the scene at Sugar Creek on Sleepy Hollow road near Franklin. There were about 7-8 fishing in this one spot but I thought 3 were enough to tell my story. I tried to use what I have been learning over the last 1 1/2 yrs; to create distance or depth, to move the viewer into and through the painting, and to have a surprise near the end. It doesn't nessessarily follow in every painting, however I tried to do that with this particular one. The fisherman sitting on the log looks discouraged as he looks on downstream at the farther man with a large catch. The first fisherman is just concentrating on the business at hand.
I am dedicating this painting to my brother who passed on 12 years ago today. He was an avid fisherman, and fly-tyer. He used to get feathers from my chickens to use in his craft. I miss him and will never forget what he meant to all our family.