I have been making some drawings at my home studio of scenes from the Virginia countryside. I used pencils and pastels because they are different from my usual watercolors. After a while, I yearned to get to the woods, so that I could feel the experience freshly.
I know that a winter palette is out there, and I needed to see it first hand before returning to the studio to mix paint.
The great thing about living in Arlington Virginia is access to so many trails and parks. My favorite is Potomac Overlook because it was the site of Native Americans since 500 B.C. The old Donaldson farm site is there too. You can get a real workout as the terrain is up and down.
Trees continue to fall in the park resulting from an onslaught of weather during the past 10 years. I saw a large tree had fallen and the park rangers had to cut through the trunk to open the trail.
When I see fallen trees like this, I always check the roots for artifacts. Things show up there sometimes because people often sit at the base of trees to eat or to relax. They sometimes drop items that eventually end up sinking into the roots. I know that many shards have been found here, and so I look for them.
Today, I was lucky and found a piece of pottery. I took it to the nature center for analysis as they will follow up. I took pictures of the woods and today I will paint the scenes.
Shown here are some pencil and pastel drawings, and pictures of the shard.
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