I was recently notified that one of the paintings I submitted to the Art by the Foot exhibition at the Center for the Visual Arts (CVA) in Wausau, WI, won the People’s Choice award!
The third in an on-going series, Shades of Superior III is a color study of Lake Superior. I spend a lot of time adventuring and meditating near the greatest of the Great Lakes, and am always taken by the view. Whether I’m hiking the shoreline or out in the waves, the colors on display will never cease to both thrill and comfort me; it’s an impressive source of inspiration.
During the summer months, when the daylight lasts well into the evening hours (near 11:00 pm in July!), I like to paddle out in my kayak at sunset. When the water is calm and the sun is dipping below the horizon, the surface of the water reflects all the glory of the sunset. Out there, gently rocking in the waves I am surrounded by and truly immersed in a moment of pure color: soft silvers, rich rippling magentas, glowing yellows and oranges, violets from gentle lavender to deep nightshade. And the blues — all the blues. I simply love the blues.
But my favorite?
There is a moment when the sky and the water become the same color. It reminds me of mercury, a reflective and fluid silver gently undulating. There’s a butterfly, aptly named the Silvery Blue butterfly (aka Glaucopsyche lygdamus) whose color is the closest to this magical moment that I can think of. It is truly captivating.
