Fishing Lake at Barnwell State Park
12×12 inches
Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas
©2016 Lucinda Howe

I painted this view of a lake at Barnwell State Park when I was an Artist in Residence in October. I wrote an earlier post about my experience with Hurricane Matthew later in the week, but the mid-week weather was sunny with a light breeze making ripples in the water. The park has a fishing pier and allows non-motorized boats on the lakes. According to the park’s website, people catch largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish. For this painting, I was interested in the way the light shone on the trees on the far shore and backlit the closer trees. Doesn’t this look like a cool shady spot for a picnic?

After visiting several of our state parks with the plein air painting group and for two residencies, I’m a fan. The parks are great places to encounter nature and history in a comfortable, family-friendly way.

When I looked at the South Carolina State Parks website this week, I noticed that the parks are offering 12 Days of Deals starting tomorrow (Wednesday), December 14, 2016. If you are starting to plan vacations for next year, get discounts on cabins and camping by making reservations now.   Another good thing I noticed is that there is free admission at all the state parks December 24 and 25.   That’s a good deal! For a family of two adults and two children over age 6, that’s a savings of $16. How about a walk and some fresh air after a big meal and all those cookies?  What State Park deal looks good to you?