Western North Carolina

Arguably my favorite area of the country is western North Carolina.  In early November of 2008 we took a trip to see the waterfalls.   It is amazing how much we saw in just an eight hour period, but I know we only scratched the surface of all there is to see.

We started the trip by visiting Looking Glass Falls. In January of 2009, I painted a 36x72” work of the falls.  This was the first time I really experimented with making paint a “liquid” to create a waterfall effect.  The end result came out spectacular and was later accepted into the Radius 250 show in Richmond, VA and subsequently achieved an Honorable Mention for this show.

So far I have painted about a dozen pictures from this trip, but my personal favorite is Whitewater Falls #3 (pictured). I was fortunate enough to capture this magnificent setting in peak autumn foliage.  Again I used some liquid detail to create an interesting effect for the waterfall, but the array of reds, oranges and other autumn colors really make this artwork pop right off the canvas.

Dupont Forest is an area where many of these waterfalls are located.  When I painted Dupont Forest my goal was to really experiment with the variety of trees, rocks and how they interacted with the brilliant cobalt blues of the river.  This piece was later accepted into the National Juried Art Show at the Rocky Mount Art’s Center.  When I attended the opening in June, I was thrilled to find out that this work won first prize for the show.  It is currently on display at the museum through September 2009.