Lone Pine - Cape Cod

Lone Pine -Cape Cod  Acrylic 12" by 16"

(Doodle Bug)

Art is about discovery and the journey, for me at least.  Last week I went down to work on a subject for my next painting, and I ended up going in a completely different direction.  But that's a different story for a different day.  

This particular painting was done from studies completed on location last year as well as preliminary sketches done from those studies and blogged about previously.

I was captivated by the light and the dunes on the Cape.  The patterns of light on the dunes, the surf, as well as the shapes of the dunes themselves were such that one could paint them every day and have a different painting result every time.

With this painting I also really wanted to experiment a bit with the sky and even though the initial subject of interest to me was the pine, I actually came to enjoy working on the surf - a small but important part of this composition.  

To me, the pine had a story to tell.  How it it survived and thrived here when no others had?  It was bent and twisted by the elements, but it continued to grow and persevere.  It appeared to me to be cautiously looking over the dunes toward the horizon to what was coming next.  

As I completed the painting, I was overcome by a feeling of melancholy and I couldn't really identify why.  Then it hit me.  I'd actually completed a portrait of my buddy - Doodle Bug.

This was Doodle Bug's last trip with us.  She too was holding on so that we could get ready for her journey beyond the dunes.  She is missed every day.