The Beauty of the Earth/Lion's Den Gorge

The Beauty of the Earth is a watercolor painting of a scene in a nature preserve near my home.  Lion's Den Gorge, an Ozaukee County Park, has varied natural environments:  a steep gorge, wetlands, forests, wildflowers, and a Lake Michigan shoreline.  This scene is one of the gorge just as it empties into the lake at the bottom of the ravine.  The season is late summer in mid afternoon, just as the sunlight disappears behind the steep, forested gorge walls.  It was a season with much rainfall, filling the stone lined creek bed and catching the last rays of yellow sun.  All around it are cedar tree roots. with their snake-like roots grabbing the steep slopes.  It is always a challenge for me to paint in summer and spring because everything is green.  To differentiate between the  many shades of green, yet still create a harmonious scene, forces the artist to simplify, organize and emphasize shapes and action lines.  I tried to create an "s" shaped action line leading the viewers' eyes into the distance.

This painting won a merit Award in the Plymouth Arts Center's Holiday Members Exhibition, which is on display until January 25, 2019.  It is painted on rough 300 pound Arches paper, double matted and float mounted, framed with a cherry wood frame.