River of Memory

River of Memory. Lisa McShane ©2012. Oil on Linen Panel. 24"x36".
This winter - and I write that believing that Spring is not yet here - I've spent time painting in the south Fork Nooksack Valley, near the very small town of Acme Washington.

This is the view to the east - the North Cascades. Specifically, the Twin Sisters. Yesterday my husband pointed out that one of the interesting features about the Twin Sisters is that no matter what angle you see them from, there are always 2 peaks visible.

Comments

Sonya Johnson said…
What a beautiful river valley and mountains! I can imagine how rewarding this painting was to create, both because of the view and the final result :).
May 2, 2012 at 3:43 PM
Deborah Paris said…
Looks wonderful! Worth the aggravation! :)
May 2, 2012 at 5:41 PM
Lisa McShane said…
Thanks Sonya and Deborah - I am very happy with it. Worth all the aggravation and of course, I learned a lot in painting this one.
May 2, 2012 at 8:00 PM
Nancy Downing said…
Interesting in that your newest work seems near photographic especially the foreground compared to the almost impressionistic style of your early work.
May 3, 2012 at 10:29 AM
Lisa McShane said…
Nancy, that's very interesting! I really appreciate your observation and it gives me much to think about and reflect on.

This January I stopped working with photographs. With this painting, I began from sketches after many visits to the site, then finished the mountains on-site. The foreground came about painfully and over time - I tried several different foregrounds, including one similar to what really exists at that spot, but they didn't work. This is based on study, imagination & memory.

By contrast, my earlier paintings used photographs as reference material. Very interesting.
May 3, 2012 at 12:05 PM
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