My husband and I both LOVE waterfalls, and we try to visit them whenever we can find them on our adventures. This beautiful cascade turned out to
be right in my husband’s backyard where he grew up. We were in New York
visiting his hometown, and having grown up in a city, I couldn’t
believe this gorgeous spectacle was right outside his door! Not far from
Niagara falls, this massive water flow crashed and glided along the
intricate rock formations rushing into the river far below. The sound of
water rushing was so energetic and peaceful at the same time, and I
wanted to capture that invigorating feeling in my painting. Setting up
my easel at its base, I set out to recreate the energy and flow of the
cascades while showing some of the lush vegetation surrounding them.
Creating strokes in diagonal sweeping shapes to enhance that feeling of
movement and rhythm, I hope you, too, can hear the flowing water’s music
and feel the gentle spray from its mist.
Continuing
our journey along the west coast of Iceland, I was taken by their
simplistic architecture, often topped with bright red roofs to add a pop
of color to the natural landscape. In the next several paintings,
you’ll see I chose a different house or barn each day and set out to
capture its shape, the colors and light hitting the structure, and the
picturesque, idyllic, quiet scenery surrounding the building in all
directions. Here is my last one, where we got up to capture sunrise. The
setting had such a beautiful glow to it that I wanted to recreate that
warmth in the foreground and sky contrasted against the cool distant
mountains. Created with palette knife and oil paint, this piece is full
of surprising pops of color, texture, energy and joy.
Today we continued our counterclockwise adventure around Iceland to arrive in the north, near the massive, impressive Godafoss waterfall. Unfortunately, our weather turned for the worse, and it was way too wet to paint the falls. However, just over the mountain, 20 minutes away at our b and b, the skies were fairly clear with even occasional glimpses of sunshine. I loved these birch trees all over their property, leading you down to the gorgeous view of the mountains in the distance. Sprinkled with summer wildflowers, I set out to capture the light casting long shadows from the trunks and causing the grasses to glow in the foreground, leading to a feeling of joy and serenity in this beautiful spot.
To view more of my textured oil paintings at Brandon Jacobs Gallery in Kansas City, MO, check out BrandonJacobsGallery.com.
For more information on upcoming Treks, please visit http://www.ArtTreks.org.
