Maritime Forest
12×48″
Ink, graphite, and fluid acrylics on cradled panel
©2013 Lucinda Howe

ArtFields in Lake City, SC opens this Friday, April 25.  Please look for my painting Maritime Forest at Southern Distributing, 111 N. Church Street.  The painting was inspired by the landscape at Hunting Island, SC.

At Hunting Island State Park, a short path from the lighthouse to the beach traverses a drastic change in the landscape.  Lush semi-tropical palmettos and pines thin out and tilt oceanward as tides erode their root systems.  The boneyard disintegrates in the sun, returning to earth.

Walking this path, I felt it represented the ancient life/death/life cycle.  I was inspired to create this painting in an exaggerated horizontal format as a walking meditation on the life cycle.

I began by combining two gessoed panels to depict the linear left-to-right progression of the path.  Using a combination of ink, graphite, and watercolor pencils, I made a black drawing with visual texture. I brushed on matte medium to soften the watercolor pencil and added color with transparent acrylic glazes.  Finally, I applied a wooden cradle to the back of the panel, painted the edges black, and finished with two coats of acrylic varnish.

If you like my painting, please vote for #909587 for the People’s Choice Award.  Thanks for your support!