Art of the Watershed
A series of seasonal images of the Lower Chartiers Watershed
"I have travelled a good deal in Concord," said Henry David Thoreau in Walden, his paradox of exploring a small town and its surroundings teaching him as much about human life and the interactions of nature as if he had traveled rare and exotic places about the globe.
I'd love to paint faraway exotic places, but in the interests of time I stay close to home for my hiking, bicycling, canoeing, walking and painting excursions, that being the valley where the Lower Chartiers Creek flows.
I've seen some exquisite sights on my adventures, and committed them to various media. The most moving are the ones I've chosen to paint large and in detail so that I might convey at least a portion of the grandeur that moved me beyond awe to action, sharing the places right around us though most people would never see them. Thus was born the series offering an image indicative of the watershed in each season.
Click on any image to see an enlarged version. Scroll to the bottom for availability of prints and merchandise.
To see other landscapes, please visit my landscapes page.
Dusk in the Woods
Winter in the Watershed
Pastel; SIZE: 31" x 24"; 2006, original sold, prints and other items available
That "blue time of day"…a quick walk in the woods after a heavy snowfall as clouds parted and the sun set on the distant horizon, bare trees like sentinels. This time of day always carries a certain melancholy for me, as if a deep instinctive part of me realizes the sun is about to leave and may not come back. The moment stands in all its silent beauty along Robinson Run in Collier Township, on a trail in the woods running parallel to the Panhandle Trail.
I didn't have my art materials with me when I saw this, but planned to return to do at least a portion of it under similar conditions. That time of day the light changes so quickly, but I could set up and be prepared for the moment I wanted. Alas, we had no appreciable snow for two years and this image was really begging to be painted—I was visualizing it daily and even dreaming about it, which is how I know a painting really needs to be done. I began with my photos, then put them away and spent the hours remembering that moment, the sound, the smell, the cold...
Most important was the color of the snow at that time of day, difficult to achieve in a painting because so much of that color depends on the reflected light from the sky, difficult to reproduce in a two-dimensional painting. I also wanted to capture the stillness of the woods in the large expanse of unbroken snow at the bottom, as all the winter wildlife had taken cover before the snow and still stayed protected, leaving only the constant, comforting gurgling of the water as it flowed past, shallow water rippling over a rocky stream bed.
This piece was the signature painting at my first annual poetry reading and fine art show at Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall, Paths I Have Walked. The theme was, literally, the paths I've walked all over this valley since childhood, and the inspiration they've given me. Visit the page to see more artwork and read the poetry from that reading.
Morning on the Creek
Summer in the Watershed
Pastel; SIZE: 22" x 29"; 2008, $1,500.00 matted and framed, prints and other items available
A placid morning canoe trip on Chartiers Creek as the sun spills over the top of the hill, and a goose and goslings head upstream. Of course, I couldn't paint this while paddling, but I kept it in mind for later. I wear a small digital camera around my neck while canoeing and probably spend more time taking photos than paddling, and I've tipped the canoe more than once while swinging around trying to focus on a heron flying overhead. It' s a good thing Chartiers Creek averages about 1o inches deep most of the year.
This scene is in June somewhere near Peters Township and Upper St. Clair where the creek's channel was never modified by the Fulton Flood Control Project, completed in 1972, which, until 2004, prevented Chartiers Creek from flooding yearly. In this area the creek is still winding in its traditional channel of oxbows and hairpin turns with high banks and deeper pools and rocky ledges in many places, alive with the calls and flight of herons, wood thrushes and kingfishers as well as the more common cardinals, jays and sparrows, and the occasional fish jumping out of the water. It's difficult to believe you are paddling past back yards and the parking lots of industry, under the interstate and through a golf course.
I did a small study of the top section of this image several years ago in preparation for this painting, and still have that small sketch on my landscapes page. I have a series of photos from this canoe trip and many others, which are all worthy of artwork, but this spill of sunbeams broken by the tree trunks, touching the leaves with bright gold and shining a spotlight on the surface of the water is simply so descriptive of the summer creek, the one that I remember from my childhood when it was still fairly wild and overgrown all up and down its corridor, that I kept returning to it.
And even though Canada Geese are not native to the watershed, and are, in fact, invasive in some areas, they are such a common sight that I still welcome their entry on the scene.
This piece was the signature painting at my second annual poetry reading and fine art show at Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall, Winter Twilight; those long nights of midwinter can inspire some very deep thoughts. Even though this piece depicts summer, I painted it during a series of those longs nights, remembering the sweet and mild June morning, full of life and sound. Visit the page to see more artwork and read the poetry from that reading.
Honorable Mention in the Stifel Fine Arts Center's Crosscurrents 2008.
Autumn in the Valley
Autumn in the Watershed
Pastel; SIZE: 31 " x 27"; 2009, $2,500.00 matted and framed, prints and other items available
Sloping hills blaze with autumn color at a rocky, rippled bend in Chartiers Creek, yet on the horizon deep gray-purple clouds hover; although the day was sunny I remember it being distinctly chilly with a sharpness to the breeze, especially on the water in a canoe, and winter is literally on the horizon.
For two reasons the scene was reminiscent and inspiring: first, that I rounded the bend to see this natural splendor in all its detail, brilliant color, fluttering leaves, rippling water, changing clouds, happening all on its own with no help from me or any other human; and, second, it was an example of that "change of season" with the gray-purple clouds of winter arriving on the horizon, two seasons blending into one another. I needed to share this image, and it was so moving that the inspiration also became a poem, and the title for my third annual poetry reading and art show at Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall, Change of Season.
And again, no, I couldn't paint while paddling, and my little digital photos didn't do the scene justice, yet other than wading down the creek and setting up an easel in the middle of the water, there was no other way of painting this. To take the scene from the tiny digital image to the full-size painting took a good bit of memory and visualization; it's a good thing I'm very familiar with scenes like this.
In the mini-ecosystem in the valley along Chartiers Creek, the color show begins a little later and the trees keep their leaves a little longer, perhaps because of the extra humidity along the water through the dry heat of late summer. The diversity of species is generally much greater in both the trees and the understory brush and grasses, which encourages a greater diversity of foliage color and shape. When the show begins, it's absolutely breathtaking and it gets more stunning every day until a November storm rips the last of the leaves away.
This area of the creek is approximately below Rosslyn Farms, between Carnegie and Crafton. In this area, the creek's channel was widened and dredged deeper and the banks made more sloping through the Fulton Flood Control Project, allowing all the runoff from upstream communities to flow ever faster down the valley without overflowing the banks or backing up into Carnegie, as had happened prior to the Project. Also, many of the trees were removed from the banks up to a certain level. Still, even with that modification, the channel remains beautiful and inviting in this lovely and unseen area of Chartiers Creek.
Spring Comes to a Bend in the Creek
Spring Comes to a Bend in the Creek
Pastel; SIZE: 26 " x 22"; 2011, $1,000.00 matted and framed, prints and other items available
I didn't paint my inspirations of the seasons in any particular order, simply in the order they came to me, though I painted the sketch for this painting, "Spring Thaw", long before the idea of painting images of my local watershed ever occured to me.
So here is spring as the snowmelt rushes over rocks and gravel and around the bend right here in Carnegie, the sycamores reflecting white in the stark early morning sunlight, a little bit of mist wafting among the trees.
This site looks remote, but it's a bend in the creek I pass nearly daily in all seasons, especially if I'm on foot on my way to Main Street. Chartiers Creek bends so much, but at this one point it lines up with the morning sun as it rises over Library Hill and both touches the water, rippling over rocks in this area, and the trees, illuminating individual branches.
A hill behind this bend also reflects that light back onto the water at the bed, accounting for the interesting change in colors.
And the mist is rising as the sun warms the channel, as if sweeping it away.
This painting became the inspiration for my fourth annual poetry reading and art show at Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall, Coming Spring.
Ordering Information
ORIGINAL ART |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
MORNING-ORIG | Morning on the Creek |
$1,500.00 |
 |
AUTUMN-ORIG | Autumn in the Valley |
$2,500.00 |
FRAMED PRINTS |
|||
|
All prints are high-quality gicleés on heavy archival-quality acid-free art paper with a 2” white border around all edges, signed by the artist. Frame choices are 1.25” Valagio Cherry (top, at left) or 1.25” Matte Black (bottom, at left), with a single natural white mat and premium clear glass; all materials are archival quality and acid-free. Other frame choices are available by ordering custom framing, please e-mail to order. |
||
 |
DUSK-FR-F-C | Dusk in the Woods, full-size, 31”W x 23”H image size (39”W x 31”H framed size), cherry frame |
$700.00 |
| DUSK-FR-F-B | Dusk in the Woods, full-size, 31”W x 23”H (39”W x 31”H framed size), black frame |
$600.00 |
|
| DUSK-FR-H-C | Dusk in the Woods, half-size, 16”W x 12.5”H (22”W x 18.5”H framed size), cherry frame |
$350.00 |
|
| DUSK-FR-H-B | Dusk in the Woods, half-size, 16”W x 12.5”H (22”W x 18.5”H framed size), black frame |
$325.00 |
|
|
MORN-FR-F-C | Morning on the Creek, full-size, 22”W x 29”H (30”W x 37”H framed size), cherry frame |
$650.00 |
| MORN-FR-F-B | Morning on the Creek, full-size, 22”W x 29”H (30”W x 37”H framed size), black frame |
$550.00 |
|
| MORN-FR-H-C | Morning on the Creek, half-size, 11”W x 14.5”H (17”W x 20”H framed size), cherry frame |
$275.00 |
|
| MORN-FR-H-B | Morning on the Creek, half-size, 11”W x 14.5”H (17”W x 20”H framed size), black frame |
$250.00 |
|
|
AUTUMN-FR-F-C | Autumn in the Valley, full-size, 31”W x 27”H (39”W x 35”H framed size), cherry frame |
$750.00 |
| AUTUMN-FR-F-B | Autumn in the Valley, full-size, 31”W x 27”H (39”W x 35”H framed size), black frame |
$650.00 |
|
| AUTUMN-FR-H-C | Autumn in the Valley, half-size, 16”W x 14”H (22”W x 20”H framed size), cherry frame |
$300.00 |
|
| AUTUMN-FR-H-C | Autumn in the Valley, half-size, 16”W x 14”H (22”W x 20”H framed size), black frame |
$275.00 |
|
Sets of Three Framed Prints |
|||
| SET3-FR-F-C | Set of all three pieces, full-size, cherry frames |
$2,000.00 |
|
| SET3-FR-F-B | Set of all three pieces, full-size, black frames |
$1,750.00 |
|
| SET3-FR-H-C | Set of all three pieces, half-size, cherry frames |
$900.00 |
|
| SET3-FR-H-B | Set of all three pieces, half-size, black frames |
$750.00 |
|
UNFRAMED PRINTS |
|||
All prints are high-quality gicleés on heavy archival-quality acid-free art paper with a 2” white border around all edges, signed by the artist. Unframed prints are shipped rolled in a mailing tube. |
|||
|
DUSK-PT-F | Dusk in the Woods, full-size, 31”W x 23”H |
$150.00 |
| DUSK-PT-H | Dusk in the Woods, half-size, 16”W x 12.5”H |
$55.00 |
|
|
MORN-PT-F | Morning on the Creek, full-size, 22”W x 29”H |
$150.00 |
| MORN-PT-H | Morning on the Creek, half-size, 11”W x 14.5”H |
$55.00 |
|
|
AUTUMN-PT-F | Autumn in the Valley, full-size, 31”W x 27”H |
$175.00 |
| AUTUMN-PT-FRAMESIZE | Autumn in the Valley, frame size, 26”W x 23”H |
$150.00 |
|
| AUTUMN-PT-H | Autumn in the Valley, half-size, 16”W x 14”H |
$55.00 |
|
Sets of Prints |
|||
| SET3-PT-F | Set of all three pieces, full-size |
$450.00 |
|
| SET3-PT-F2 | Set of all three pieces, full-size except Autumn in the Valley is frame-size |
$400.00 |
|
| SET3-PT-H | Set of all three pieces, half-size |
$150.00 |
|
GREETING CARDS |
|||
Note: artwork may be cropped on one or more edges to proportionally fit the size of the notecard. All cards are blank inside, and the back of the card bears the name of the piece and its story. Matching envelopes are provided with each card |
|||
Dusk in the Woods |
|||
|
DUSK-GC-M | 5” x 7” Greeting Card |
$1.50 |
| DUSK-GC-NC | 5.5” x 4.25” Note Card, $7.50 per dozen |
$7.50 |
|
Morning on the Creek |
|||
|
MORN-GC-M | 5” x 7” Greeting Card |
$1.50 |
| MORN-GC-NC | 5.5” x 4.25” Note Card, $7.50 per dozen |
$7.50 |
|
Autumn in the Valley |
|||
|
AUTUMN-GC-M | 5” x 7” Greeting Card |
$1.50 |
| AUTUMN-GC-NC | 5.5” x 4.25” Note Card, $7.50 per dozen |
$7.50 |
|
| CUSTOM-IMPTG | Custom imprinting |
$2.50 |
|
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS |
|||
Woven Cotton Throw (Dusk in the Woods only) |
|||
I found a company that converts the artwork to a tapestry-style weaving, not an imprint, and I was sold. The blankets are made in the USA of 100% USA-grown cotton, and they are so soft and comfortable that I've been using some of my samples. All blankets are fringed with black and white fringe on the sides and multi-color fringe on the top and bottom. These blankets are 36" x 50", large enough to cover you on the couch. They come with a zippered bag for storage.
Read about "Dusk in the Woods". |
|||
Mousepad |
|||
Stain-resistant high-density foam, 8-1/4” x 9-1/8”, rounded corners, image bleeds off the edges. Note: artwork may be cropped on one or more edges to proportionally fit the size of the mousepad. Because Morning on the Creek is a vertical painting, and this mousepad is horizontal, I’m not offering the mousepad for this piece. |
|||
|
DUSK-MOUSE | Dusk in the Woods Mousepad |
$10.00 |
|
AUTUMN- MOUSE | Autumn in the Valley Mousepad |
$10.00 |
