Vacations Remembered

Misty Morning at Ghost Lake

9 x 12 Pastel on Sanded Paper

You know how some vacations just stick in your memory?? Years ago we stayed at a resort on Ghost Lake in northern Wisconsin, in a cabin with a screened porch just a few feet from the lake. One morning, we woke early and went out on the porch with a cup of coffee, and saw this wonderful view of the lake with a mist hanging in the distance, softening the trees on the opposite shore.

You know how sometimes you go back and it's not the same? We did that...we went back many years later and the resort had new owners and they had let the property fall into disrepair. We stayed the week, but it simply wasn't the same. Even so, the sadness we felt at the neglect could not erase the memory of the earlier time, and this little painting depicts our memory of a very special vacation.

P.S. I hear that the resort now has new owners once again who are working on refurbishing the cabins. I hope so....the location and the lake are marvelous.

Autumn in the Ozarks

Autumn in the Ozarks

9 x 12 pastel on sanded paper

In Missouri, the leaves turn magnificent colors in autumn, usually mid- to late-October. This year, leaves are turning a little bit earlier than usual, as they are in many parts of the country. We noticed during our recent trip to northern Wisconsin, that the leaves there are already turning colors because of the stress of the summer's drought.

There are so many wonders to see in nature. Every time I see a cloud, or a tree, or even the rabbits that eat our plants, I am reminded that no man could make these things.

Back Home Again

Autumn at Busch's Wildlife Conservation Area

9 x 12 Pastel on Sanded Paper

After two weeks away -- it's good to be home again. Today's painting is of a small lake at Busch's Wildlife Conservation Area, near Saint Louis. Years ago, the Busch family (yes, the brewery folks) purchased and donated to the state a tract of land of nearly 1500 acres, land that during World War II was a munitions storage area. Some of the bunkers still are there, locked and covered in undergrowth so they are hard to find. Now the area is preserved for wildlife and the many manmade lakes are popular with the fishermen (and women) in the vicinity. This is a view of one of the lakes, just as autumn is about to work its magic on the foliage