Louisiana Art- Woods and Weather

Spring came last Saturday, March 20, a balmy morning. By Sunday,tiny snow flakes peppered down as we attended church. Back to the 70's Monday afternoon, and today supposed to be 75. I've already walked this Tuesday morning, going through a creek bottom that's on our land,not too far from my house. The beavers damn up the creek occasionally, and turtles plunge off a log as I go by. I'm constantly comparing colors, planning the next painting for my art class. A red-tailed hawk that I see frequently is busy flying among the trees. The hunting must be good here. I feel in my pack to reassure myself that my small pistol is there. Cougars are spotted off and on in our neck of the woods. I nervously look around as birds stir the dry leaves. This morning, among rolling hills, there is the distant blue on far off trees. I understand this is caused from minute bits of moisture filtering the sunlight and splitting the light rays, which in turn alters the spectral colors in the light. I accomplish this in class by painting wet trees into a wet skyline, then adding graduating darks and lights. Time to get ready for my Tuesday class.

The Healing Side of Art

Long before I became a writer, I was, and still am, an artist. At the present time,I teach a weekly oil painting class and have for decades. Years ago,as I walked and checked my students work before mistakes were too far gone to correct, I suddenly realized how many tragic stories were represented in that room. But for these two hours, troubles were put on a back shelf. We laughed, and rejoiced over what I refer to as 'happy accidents'. We introduced ochre grass against gray wind blown skies, falling wooden fence posts, with an old barn in the background that brought back childhood memories of farm work.
If there is enough response to my posts on painting, my plans are to have a small booklet printed with simple starting tips on creating a work of art at home. I'd love to hear from you. My email: (francesbennett7@gmail.com). I'll never forget that magical feeling when I first began to paint and watched as the colors came to life on my canvas. If you've never experienced that, it's hard to explain. Anyone can learn to paint. True enough, some are better at it than others, but it's as unique to each person as their hand writing.
I painted the cover for my latest book, The Winds of September, which is set in the late 1800's, and is a story about homesteading in an Appalachian Valley of Tennessee. In my next post, I'll explain some steps involved in creating this image. View it at www.bookstandpublishing.com/book_details/The_Winds_of_September.