Louisiana Landscapes

A little over a year ago I created some studies for large landscape paintings from a single photo.  This was before I began traveling around Louisiana and collecting images. At the time I was not sure what sort of images I would end up with or if these possible images would work with the ideas that would emerge the following year after having gathered materials and developed ideas more in depth. 

Yesterday, I happened upon images of the five studies that I did over a year ago and am surprised to find that they are very much in line with what I am working on now.  I had almost forgotten about them.  4 of the 5 are sold and the remaining one is at French and Michigan Gallery.  I had not had the opportunity to come across them in my studio.  

I have been thinking of creating b/w or slightly tinted large landscapes with trees and shapes that are partical silouhettes. Today I went to a wetland area to take photos of something like this and to record the sounds of the birds there. Seeing the small paintings with encaustic in this blog make me think of these places whether they are wetlands or woodlands, at dawn, at dusk or in the middle of a still afternoon.  The sounds of insects, birds and sometimes larger animals in the dried grasses and leaves.  

My memories of childhood and the lush landscapes of Baton Rouge correspond beautifully with the places that I am visiting now as an adult 45 years later.  I must be moving in the right direction.