Today is my 19th wedding anniversary and Ken and I are going to plan our day. The weather is frigid and the wind is gusting…hmm dinner by a fire maybe? We’ll see.
Recently Leslie and Stephen have both posted paintings about Sentinels that offer a view of nature’s sentinels. I have always seen trees – usually large, old ones – and associated them with human strength and fortitude, kind of the best of human characteristics. I have done two works over the last few years called The Sentinel so I thought I would share them.
The Sentinel 12" X 16" Transparent Watercolor 140# Arches
This painting was done in 2007 shortly after I started painting. It is a sycamore that stands at the bottom of the sledding hill at Ft Benjamin Harrison State Park in Indianapolis. It has always struck me as a tree that is watchful and protective. This is my third attempt to paint the tree in order to capture its strength and grandeur. You don’t want to see the others!
The Sentinel #2 15" X 22" Watercolor and Charcoal on Rive Paper
Sentinel #2 is a work I started in a workshop given by Peggy Brown in 2008. We soaked Rive Printmaking paper in water and then shaved vine charcoal onto the wet paper. When you let the paper dry, the charcoal acts like watercolor and doesn’t rub off the paper. You then look at your gray design and decide what to do next. I drew what I hoped was a strong, bold tree limb from an ancient tree. I wanted to communicate a feeling of history, strength and watchfulness. After I rapidly drew the limb using charcoal, I used watercolor to add interest and texture.
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