Fred and I went camping last week at Laurel Hill State park. It’s up in the mountains east of Pittsburgh, a great place to get away from it all. (Translation: there was no cell service.)
When I talk about camping, I really mean “glamping” – we aren’t exactly roughing it when we camp. Right before the pandemic began, we bought a camper trailer big enough to take our daughter, son-in-law and all four grandkids along. It’s a 31-footer with a master bedroom, dining area, couch, a good-sized kitchen, and a bunkhouse in the back. It sleeps eight comfortably, and when it’s just Fred and I camping, without the rest of the family, it feels downright cavernous!
During our three days at Laurel Hill, we rode bikes…
read a few books, kayaked…
sat around the campfire, made s’mores…
and went hiking. We meandered through the woods on the Pumphouse Trail…
and then, to our surprise, we suddenly came upon a beautiful mirror-like pond and a waterfall.
The dam was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s during the Great Depression to create a water supply for the CCC crews who built roads, buildings, trails, and more in what eventually became the state park.
I was wishing I had brought my sketch kit along – I would have really enjoyed sketching while listening to the rushing water and looking out at that peaceful scene. Instead, I snapped some pictures, and worked on this later back at the campsite…
I liked the way the trees were backlit in my photo, with the scenery illuminated behind them, so I decided to use the trees as a decorative element and make them completely black in my sketch instead of painting them more realistically. Even though they’re in the foreground, your attention is drawn to what’s beyond.
I designed the lettering to be bold and fat, so there would be plenty of open space in each letter for the watercolor washes. It almost looks as if they are cut out of a black overlay.
I’m so glad we’ve had a chance to spend some time this summer seeing new places that are close to home yet far enough away to feel like we’re on vacation.
Being in nature changes me. I find myself spending a lot of time looking rather than doing. I take it all in, absorbing the beauty, reveling in light, color, texture, and sounds. Life can be so simple when I let it.
10 Comments
A beautiful getaway! Love your journal page…back lit and perfectly depicting the scene at the dam! It is restorative and fun to see nature from others areas of the country. I imagine you are packing up back at home….and getting away was a treat!
Creeks are my favorite places. Also my favorites to paint. Your painting is wonderful!
How fun! What a beautiful place to camp!! Beautiful painting.
Your photos are lovely, but the painting with the tree silhouettes and lettering is breathtaking. I am inspired by your posts. Thank you.
One of our favorite things is camping. We prefer primitive style. There are several lakes nearly in our back yard so no need to travel far. In fact the first tutorial in you mid and distant tree rendering reminded me very much of one of our favorite, South Fork on Leesville Lake.
So glad you were able to get away for a while and commune with nature. Thanks for the photos and the watercolor interpretation.
Now that is my idea of “camping” ! Didn’t realize your trailer was so big and fancy …so happy you are taking time to relax! It looks beautiful there, and your page is wonderful as always 🙂
We have been camping since we got married 45 years ago. Our first camping exposition was our honeymoon. We went to the beach and someone stole all our money so we came back home borrowed an old army tent and went to a nearby lake and camped out the rest of the week. Great memories then and now days with our grandchildren. Camping is the life for me.
What a wonderful vehicle to own – allowing the ability to ‘get away from it all’ and to be more spontaneous about it. No hotel reservations to make, no plane to catch, no itinerary imposed by outside sources. And how fun! I was surprised to read that you hadn’t brought your sketching kit with you, as I picture you with it ‘attached at the hip’ so to speak! But then I understood better when I realized it was simply back at the campsite.
You’ve captured the backlighting beautifully, and I plan to use your lettering idea – it is so striking. Thanks for sharing this idyllic sketch!
Leslie, one of the things I enjoy about your paintings is that they are even better than the “real life” photo! You have such a great sense of color and harmony. Your paintings make me wish that I were there 🙂
That sketch of the trees in the foreground made me feel as if I were there! It was breath-taking and so comforting! What a wonderful detour from my daily life.