4th of July Festivities

The weather has been incredible and the town of Marblehead is in full swing as it celebrates the 4th of July with the annual four day Festival of Arts. I spent most of yesterday at the local bird sanctuary painting the pond and pathways in a more secluded area away from town rather than near the busy harbor and shopping district. I have always felt more connected to nature and it is my meditation to recapture solitude in my artwork. I know I have been focused on pathways for a year now but I was once taught that when it was time to move on to a new theme or series, I would just know it, and that it was important to trust my instincts ... and so I continue to paint pathways.

The downside to this subject matter was the "Painting the Town" theme is better defined with the buildings and landmarks that represent the summer holiday season. Nevertheless, I did with my artwork what I enjoy most. Today was the reception and there were over 30 artworks, every one was beautiful to me. Most of the themes were harbor scenes and a few street scenes ... several nature lovers (like myself).

"Greenery at the Pond", watercolor and ink, 30 x 23

This painting was my second attempt from yesterday and after having spent the morning working on an undesired "muddy mess", I welcomed the simplicity of details in lines with simple color washes in this version.

"Greenery at the Pond", encaustic image transfer, 8 x 8
I wanted to also use a photo from yesterday as an encaustic image transfer. I burnished the image into wax medium then highlighted with color details. I tried to find a balance between the black and white photographic details and the green and yellows that were the most striking colors of the day.