The area of southwestern Pennsylvania and western Maryland where I grew up is home to a Maple Syrup industry. (Yes, there are sugar bushes in western Pennsylvania.) I found this old snag of a sugar maple somewhere between Granstville, MD and Springs, PA and really liked it's character -- beauty even in death.

Wolf Swamp

orig. 6"x12" acrylic on canvas paper

This is a recently completed small painting of Wolf Swamp, as seen near Interstate 68 not far from Grantsville, Maryland. I do a lot of autumn scenes and I think the reasons are: the air is more clear, the colors appear more vivid, and the colors are more varied. For those reasons an autumn scene is often more interesting to me.

Autumn Road

16x20 acrylic on board

Another long overdue painting. This one is an autumn scene along a dirt road near where I grew up in southwestern Pennsylvania. The area is higher in elevation, and not far from the highest elevation in Pennsylvania (3,213 ft). Consequently the forests in this area are similar to those in western New England -- a mixed hardwood forest. There are enough sugar maples to support a local maple syrup industry.

Ferry Landing Trail

On the Ferry Landing Trail
Wye Island, Maryland

(orig. 16x20 acrylic on board)

I enjoyed the one point perspective on this painting and the sunlight splashing down over the scene. The depiction of light plays a key role in establishing a sense of depth, particularly in the lower left foreground.

Enjoy!

Casselman River - Late November

Here is another view of the Casselman River just short distance downstream of the bridge. The time of year is early November.

Completed Bridge Painting

I guess I jumped the gun and then never followed through. For those of you who have been looking at the unfinished painting (see posting from June), here's the painting in final form. I have had this painting prepared for giclee prints (12-1/2" x 12-1/2" image with a 1-3/4" collar and title). If you're interested in purchasing a print the price would be $84 unframed, plus shipping and handling. Eventually I will set up a PayPal for this but right now I just don't have time.

For folks out there who may be unfamiliar with this particular bridge here's a bit of its history taken from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources:

"The Casselman River Bridge (built in 1813), with its 80 foot span, was the longest single span stone arch bridge in the world during the era of the National Road. The bridge crosses an area named Little Crossings. In 1755 George Washington, then a young military aide, was on the staff of British General Edward Braddock. Braddock led an army against a French fort near what is now known as Pittsburgh. Braddock's army forded the river at Little Crossings and also retreated back over the same spot after being defeated soundly by the French."

I appreciate the nice comments! This painting was a fair amount of work. ;-)

Jumpstarting the Blog....

Yes, I know it's been a looong time since the last posting, but hey, I've been a busy person. I am happy to report that I have made significant progress on my painting of the Casselman Bridge, and that the progress has been steady -- no major missteps, all forward progress.

I'm in one of the harder parts of the painting now, the foreground water. Glazing medium works quite well, giving the acrylics an even smoother application. This helps when blending colors on canvas in long strokes.

I can't really think of anything more to say really. Except, I suppose I would call this painting, compositionally, a circle in a square or an arc in a square.

Enjoy the painting!

Casselman River Bridge (in progress)
18 x18 acrylic on stretched canvas

Note: See the posting from November 2007 if you're curious about what the painting looked like in the early stages.