Pondering on a Pond

"Pondering a Pond", 12x24" oil on canvas

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There are always flowers for those who want to see them.
— Henri Matisse

I literally pause and let out an aah every time I pass by this watery oasis, which sits juxtaposed at the intersection of a major highway and a clover leaf exit off of a farm road, sandwiched between a business and railroad tracks. I've been driving past it for years, trying in vain to figure a way to gain access into this private sanctuary to paint it.

Swearing profusely that she never saw the "No Trespassing" sign until she was leaving, my friend Angela blatantly hopped a fence onto the property to photograph it after I casually mentioned my dilemma. A friend indeed, and to my total delight, the next thing I know she is sending me inside and close up photos of my masked refuge. This shot was earlier in the spring as the morning fog still blanketed the dried lingering remains of last years reeds and the barely visible new growth of water grasses softly emerging from its murky depths. 

How I wish I could live in a little cabin on the banks of this tiny haven and paint her ever-changing mirrored portrait over and over, day after day. I love the way the reeds, slumping over like exhausted guards, delineate the pond into channels of watery reflections of surrounding forest, sky and clouds. What a hidden gem coexisting side by side in the mundane of our busy lives...aah! 

Thanks for viewing my secret botanical garden. 
nancy 

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SOLD -Fog Along the Bend

"Fog Along the Bend" 6x6" Oil on canvas panel

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"Derive happiness in oneself from a good day's work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us."

                                        —Henri Matisse

It seems most of my life has been spent in the presence of fog. The unknown, muted and dim stands waiting behind a semitransparent veil just slightly out of reach, dangling like a carrot on the end of a stick, propelling me on like a light leading to the end of a long tunnel. 

This painting was another of my friend Angela's photos from along a bend of Longmire Road. She arrived early in the morning as the sun began rubbing sleep from its eye and shaking off the light cover of early fog stretched out ahead. 

I love the way everything in the photo including the fence, road, hay bales, stand of trees along the road all lead your eye directly to the lone solitary sentry of a tree standing guard at his post protecting the bounty of bales.

Landscapes seem to live a contemplative life trapped in the embrace of quiet, silent stillness of belonging and oneness.... echoing the eternal. 
  
Thanks for focusing in on my painting today. 
nancy
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