Golden Drops of Rain
This one is dedicated to my friends and fellow instructors here at NCOBS. It has been one rainy summer! Kudos to everyone for pushing through and running awesome courses in the rain, thunder, and lightning. It has to stop sometime, right?
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Spring at Cedar Rock
Here’s another little one. Sorry this one is sold, but you can still look at it!
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Blue Ridge
I am currently working on a series of 8″ x 10″ paintings. I had a request from a friend who wanted to buy a smaller painting and it seemed like a fun little project. So here is the first one – there will be nine more to come. They are all $30, so let me know via e-mail if you want one! (pdetweiler@gmail.com)
This one is the view from a mountain that we hike over almost every course in the Cedar Rock area of Pisgah National Forest. I never get tired of the view and it is always a little more dramatic with clouds in the valleys below. I have even seen a couple sunrises from the summit. It will definitely be missed next summer!
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As Rivers to the Ocean
“The progress of rivers to the ocean is not so rapid as that of man to error.” -Voltaire
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Mother and Chihuahua
In February I had the joy of flying to Puerto Rico for a week of vacation. I went with a bunch of friends from work and had an amazing time! We happened to be there during Carnival and drove down to the city of Ponce to see a parade complete with crazy masks, stilt walkers, and sparkly sequined ladies. Among all of the glitz I was struck the most by another spectator. She was watching the parade with her dog. I still don’t know why it made such an impression, but it was a fun and different subject, and I enjoyed the process and wondering how it would turn out.
Everglades
This past summer I had the privilege of living in and exploring some prime skunk ape territory. I never did see the elusive creature, but I did enjoy some of the other aspects of the area. The Everglades in the summer is only slightly different from the same in the winter. One has to spend quite a bit of time there to truly appreciate the changing of seasons.
During my time there this summer I saw the clouds roll in each afternoon. I watched the pines around my house sway in the strengthening breeze. And then I watched as the rain came down, and the swamps filled up. And of course I fought off millions of mosquitoes in the process. But I am thankful for the chance to see this place in all of its watery glory.
As I drove north from Everglades City last week I noticed the first signs of spring. The cypress and willows were turning green again. Soon the grass will follow suit as the swamps fill up once again.
Calm Before the Storm
This was the scene before our paddle from Cape Ramano to Coon Key on day 5 of a 7 day sea kayak course in Florida. It was March and I was working with my good friend Bart Blankenship. There was a cold front coming in and we knew some big wind was on the way, but we decided to venture a mile out into the Gulf of Mexico to check out this beautiful sandbar that Bart wanted everyone to experience. It’s strange shape made for some great shell collecting walks, photographs, and subsequently a nice painting.
Looking back I’m really glad we had the experience of watching the storm come in and enjoying the beautiful walls of rain even with the knowledge that it would bring a big challenge. The paddle from the cape to the islands was the hardest one I have done. We were going almost straight into an 18-20 knot wind and against the waves. Everyone was giving it their all and eventually we made it, although not to our original destination. I was impressed with each person on our crew – 12 strangers who had become a team and struggled together. I wouldn’t trade experiences like this for anything.
Re-imagining the Rain
I’ve been spending a lot of time looking at the clouds lately. The truth is, I have always watched the sky. And you would think that as an artist, I would have enjoyed looking for shapes in the clouds. But for some reason I always just saw clouds as clouds. Looking for a deeper meaning never appealed to me.
Clouds have become a prominent theme in my paintings. The idea for this one came from a call to artists for an exhibition with the theme of heads. The first thing that I thought of was this painting.
Maybe it’s time for me to look a little closer. Time to find the hidden meanings.
Patsy Cooner Art 