There is one thing that upstate New York and Connecticut have in common; trees, trees and more trees!
Having grown up in the great “flat” plains of Nebraska, I have never shed an ingrained orientation of always wanting to see the horizon line.
However, since I have lived in the East for half my life I have stopped fighting it and found that if you climb to the top of these densely tree populated areas you get to see the horizon line; and if not, you get open spaces of sky breaking through.
This is where I found a spot to paint, almost at the top of a wooded hill where the beautiful cerulean blue of the fall sky was the backdrop of a dark bronze angel.
These are the grounds of Graymoor, home to Franciscan sisters and friars that serve the needs of people from all over the world with many ministries and services. I had the chance to stay here.
Before I left, I returned to this statue of the kneeling angel. It was shown to me the day before during a leisurely tour given by my good friend Amylynn. Out of all the beautiful little sanctuaries up and down this mini mountainside this caught my attention the most.
The fall season brings with it the tilting of the earth which gives us the low height of the sun in the sky. Since I was near the top of this wooded hill and above the horizon line, (the line where the earth meets the sky), I had plenty of time to paint before the sun went away.
I spent about two and a half hours painting. The sun was bright, the air was cool and the colors of the leaves were brilliant. Fall no doubt, is the most colorful time of the year.
In the words of Michelangelo, “The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection.”
Theresa Kasun 