In These Months as Winters Watch Unfold

I painted this piece as one of the several entries I need to have for a number of upcoming holiday themed art shows that I want to enter.  The last few pieces have been of cute little chickadee so this trio of white tail deer was a nice change.  I was so inspired that I even wrote a few lines of poetry to go along with it.

You know as a child, I remember snow being so much fun and I enjoyed many a day sledding, building snowmen and winning a snowball fight or two.  The best days were those when school was cancelled due to road conditions.

As an adult snow doesn't offer the same appeal to me.  I'm very happy to live in an area that snow is all but a non-issue and in 38 years I have only had to really contend with it once and for any seasoned winter driver, my stress I felt that on that day would be laughable.

It is beautiful however and painting it is enjoyable.  So I've been painting my share of snow scenes these past few weeks.  This particular piece I'm calling "Winters Watch" It is painted in acrylic on an 18 x 24 inch gallery wrapped canvas and will be making it's public debut hopefully at the gallery at Lake Las Vegas during December.  I will keep all my art show participation information current on my social media and website.

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Winters Watch

By

Julie Townsend

Dreams of coming spring are covered thickly

Under a sparkling blanket of fresh fallen snow

Pine needles glistening frosted and no longer prickly

Bowing to the ground in a white splended show

The trees are a cast robed for a part in the icy scene

The moonlight adds drama and suspense as the curtain begins to rise

Nothing but twinkle and glitter to fill each gully and ravine

Such beauty spread softly that you scarcely believe your eyes 

The sounds of the hooves breaking through the ice crust

Are muffled by the thickness of the surrounding bitter cold

Their each step is exaggerated by the added effort and thrust 

Life is full of drama and conflict in these months as winters watch unfold

My REALLY BIG Fish Story

"At the Rivers Bend"- 16 x 20 Original Acrylic

You reach a certain age in your life and you find it interesting how an activity that you did as a child maybe a handful of times becomes such an important part of you memories.  It's those good times that stand out among the mundane.  That is what this whole "Down Country Roads" collection has been for me.  A journey back to my country roots and it is this passion for a simpler life that drives me to keep painting this theme.

Back in the 60's and 70's there just wasn't the entertainment for small children that we have today.  No toys of every shape, size and color or videos, game systems, smart phones or tablets to pass the hours in overstimulated technological euphoria.  No, in my childhood, entertainment was something you had to create yourself with your own imagination and meager surroundings of sticks, leaves, rocks and acorns.  I can only recall one real family vacation that had actually had a destination that didn't end in Western Kansas and my granny's house.  So spending a day on the river once in a while with my family and particularly with my grandmother was something that very much stands out in my memory.

There was a particular spot that was a family favorite to fish on the Gasconade River and high above on the cliffs was a large cave that contained a great number of bats.  As the sun dropped down below the trees and the night creatures began to stir, the bats would begin to fly out of the cave to hunt the abundance of bugs that flew around the water.  They were aerial acrobats that would dive bomb the river and give quite a show with their athletic skills.  Their sonar abilities however weren't able to detect the fishing lines and often they would hit your line as they skimmed the surface of the river.  This was absolutely thrilling to me and was almost as exciting as catching that big fish

The activity of fishing has always held a special place in my life even if I haven't got to fish in years.  As a child, growing up in Missouri, fishing the river for catfish was one of my favorite things to do mostly because I associated it with my dear grandmother.  I was her fishing buddy from a very young age.  I could sit with her quietly for hours adoring all the special attention I received from her.  It was just the two of us and the river waiting to see who could catch the biggest fish.  I wish I had a picture of her and I sitting together and I would paint that right into my very next piece.


So this morning I put on my creative hat and started writing a verse about some of the highlights a true fisherman goes through when trying to "Hook the Big One".  Let me know if you can relate to my "fishing is the greatest therapy" comparison.  It is the one time that my mind shuts off to everything else and my FULL attention is given to the gentle flow of the water current and the possibility of all those fish hidden below the surface just getting ready to check out that fat juicy worm.  How about you?

"The Fishing Hole"- 11 x 14 Original Acrylic

The Fishing Hole

by

Julie Townsend

Here you sit at your favorite fishing hole

Most times it’s more like a giant wishing hole

You’ve known for years this is where the big one swims

If you could only hook him as the light fades and dims

You dream of the struggle it will take to reel him in

You can almost hear the slap on the water of tail and fin

Pulled down far on your brow is your lucky hat

Grooves in the ground from the years your folding chair has sat

Your hook is loaded with your favorite bait

There is nothing for you to do now but to sit and wait

The old tackle box is packed to the brim and ready

Your pole and reel are in your hand held steady

Time seems to stand still for just a moment

Nothing can come between you and your underwater opponent

The cares of the world all fade from sight

Everyone knows that fishing is therapy to get your head right

A folding chair is way cheaper than a therapist couch

And the few hours at the river bank will always straighten your slouch

Today everything is in that perfect place

After all catching fish is certainly no race

Covered from head to toe in sticky mosquito spray

Hoping it will keep those little blood suckers away

Swatting flies that insist on landing on the tip of your nose

While keeping a close eye on the ants crawling around your toes

These are the payments and dues you must pay

To sit here dreaming of the BIG ONE on such a perfect day

Someone Needs a Makeover

Have you ever watched the show, What Not to Wear on TLC where Stacy London takes some frumpy fashion failure and transform her into a dynamic dashing diva?  The show always ended with a revealing of the NEW look and they would give us a reminder of the past by presenting a BEFORE and AFTER comparison.  I kind of feel that this is what I'm trying to do here while writing this blog.

I call this piece "At the Rivers Bend" and I painted it originally as a study on water reflection using a snippet from artist Jerry Yarnell's and his online school resources.  There was a lot about the piece that I liked but over the next two years, as my skills improved, there was more and more about the piece that I didn't.  

In preparation of hanging my exhibit "Down Country Roads" at the Boulder City Art Gallery, I was going through my closet and came across this piece.  I knew that the time had come to give this piece a COMPLETE MAKEOVER.  And just like the TV show, I have included a before and after photo and I thought I would also provide for your reading pleasure a personal commentary on the changes.

Before 

"At the River's Bend"- 18x24 Acrylic painting

1.- I lightened the sky and water.  I'm not sure what shade of blue I used originally, but it appears too dark and purple to me.  I'm guessing we might be looking at cobalt blue.  I changed the whole tone by lightening and brightening with cerulean blue instead.  The water is simply a reflection of the sky so they have to be the same color but just a few shades darker.  I also added some fluffy summer clouds.

2.  Probably the most obvious edit is the adding of the canoe and the fisherman.  I felt the original painting lacked a story and by adding the fisherman I have added a focus to the piece that was absent before.  I personally love fishing and whenever I look at a beautiful river or lake, I always wish I could throw up a lawn chair and grab my rod and reel.  I'm not much of a boater but for the sake of the composition, I think a canoe has much more appeal over an old lawn chair sitting in the grass.

  

3.  The tall reeds that are growing at the edge of the far bank were too uniform.  They appeared to be cut straight across like a hired landscaper had recently come along with giant hedge clippers and had given them a good trimming.  I always fall into that trap and have to consistently remind myself that in nature everything is random. It must be my years spent as an accountant because I still struggle with this.   I also moved the little tree to be growing behind the reeds instead of almost floating in water.

4.  I finished off my edits by embellishing the foreground and the little area in front of the canoe by adding a few fallen logs jetting out of the water and some rocks.  Almost every element added has to cast a reflection on the water so you can see I have duplicated the impression of the shape in the water.

I hope you enjoyed this little before and after comparison.  The new and improved "At the Rivers Bend" is currently added to my exhibit and is on display at the Boulder City Art Gallery.  I will soon be making the image available on my website at JulieTownsendStudio.com.  Just contact me if you questions about this or any of my other works.  

Thank you for stopping by and spending a few minutes of your day with me and my blog.

Not Another Fishing Story

This week I painted two pieces really that took me down memory lane to my childhood growing up in Central Missouri.  My dear grandmother lived in a tiny community called Swedeborg that had a total population of about 300 I think and we lived there with her several times.  I would also visit and stay with her for weeks at a time.    As with many that lived there, fishing and hunting were a cheap source of entertainment and an activity that many of the residents enjoyed.  My grandmother adored fishing and since I adored my grandmother, fishing was a favorite activity for me growing up.  

"The Fishing Hole"  11x14 Acrylic

I decided to paint “The Fishing Hole” because the reference photo I was using had such great contrast between the sunny bank and the opposite shadowed river bank.  Partially through my painting I got excited when I decided to make my focal point and old forked stick left by some fisherman to hold his pole.   Now my grandmother would never prop up her pole because  part of the whole experience was to hold the rod in such a way that your right thumb had the fishing line resting across it as it came out of the reel.  This gave you the ability to "feel" the fish when they began to nibble at your bait rather than just watching the end of your pole.  If you felt that little tugging on the line you were to jerk your pole upward in hopes of hooking that fish before he discovered your hook.  

I have so many childhood memories connected to this simple activity.  Camping with my family where the Roubidoux joins the Gasconade River in Pulaski County near Waynesville, Missouri.  I can still hear my grandmother calling me her "little fishing buddy" as we sat on the shore for hours on end.  Come evening you could look up on the high ledge above the river and watch as the bats began to fly out of the *Roubidoux Cave.  They would dart around the river looking for their evening meal and I was amazed at their sonic radar abilities yet they often couldn't detect the fishing line and would fly into it. Having those bats flying into your fishing line was both thrilling and frightening at the same time.  My grandmother would tell me stories of men digging guano out of the cave.  Being scared of heights I would sit and stare up at that cave and wonder how anyone could be so brave as to try to climb up there; guano or no guano.

Most children can't sit still these days but if you wanted to be a good fisherman you had to be both still and quiet or you would be rebuked for "Scaring" the fish.  Needless to say that even at my young age I could sit there still as could be enjoying every minute spent whispering with my grandmother and imagining all the BIG ones".  I can't recall any particular birthday gifts I received in my childhood years with the exception of one.  My 9th birthday I was given my very own fishing pole.

My 9th Birthday and a Fishing Rod and Reel all my own!

"At the Rivers Bend"- 16x20 Acrylic

As it is with many of the painting I complete, I find that I make an emotional connection with it as I'm working on it.  Right away it became apparent that it was important for me to give this piece a story.    I could imagine this perfect little spot along this river to spend an afternoon with your favorite rod and a good book or in my case a sketch pad.  Both of these pieces will be available on my website at JulieTownsendStudio.com so be sure and use the link to check them out.

*ROUBIDOUX CAVE (19)

In a vertical bluff overlooking the junction of Roubidoux Creek and the Gasconade River is a cavern with a high, wide entrance giving access to a large chamber which has several smaller but well-lighted rooms opening into it. There was formerly a considerable depth of earth on the rock bottom, but most of it has been taken out for fertilizer. What is left is dry near the entrance, but wet farther in. Although it would make an ideal Indian home, being easy of access and within a few rods of the two streams, there could be found no indications of such habitation; and owing to the small amount of earth remaining, the presence of many large rocks, and the close proximity of a large club house on the public highway immediately in front, no excavation is possible.  A cairn on the point of the cliff over this cave has been completely demolished. (Fowke) (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18931/18931-h/18931-h.htm)