The Gallery: Landscape 2
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Beth E Peterson
Text and Artwork:
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Autumn Sun Photograph 8" x 10" There are days in the late autumn, when the woodland has all become various shades of browns and tans, when the sun...when it comes out...strikes gold from every surface its light touches. The contrasting coolness of the shadows seems to spark up the golden syrup of light even more, and nature begins to sing a visual song of glory and peace. Add to this, the harmony and silver of the woodland streams, and it is a symphony, indeed. Lovely. In my youth, autumn days like this would see me out in the woods near my house for hours on end... I had a favorite boulder (dropped there by a passing glacier) that was perfect for sitting on and thinking, or simply observing the world around me. There was a stream, much like this one, that ran through the woods. Its unceasing music melded with the wind in the tree tops and the occasional rustle of leaves as someone -- usually a squirrel or woodchuck -- scurried about on their own business. Don't ask me how peace and ceaseless motion can coexist. I only know that they do. 
Gateway Watercolor 18" x 24" I am, by first nature, a bit of a hider. That is to say, I often prefer to meld in with the shadows and observe the world around me without being seen myself. I think, perhaps, I picked up this habit from the deer in the woods around my childhood home. Certainly, never get the impression that this is a fear response...lol...I really have almost nothing in the way of fear in my makeup...a bit of a glitch over heights, but not much else. This painting is a result of my own propensities for looking outward from shadowed areas. It is, however, also a visual metaphor for transition...for moving from the shadows and into the light, were one can be seen, as well as see. (Not that I have ever had problems with being on stage... *snort* Rather the reverse! I highly enjoy stagecraft and performing both as an actor and as a singer, and please do note... I am a professional speaker! rofl) 
Raccoon Creek Watercolor 18" x 24" Some streams are active and spritely. Some are quiet and contemplative. This particular stream, Raccoon Creek, is a very quiet one at this particular place along its course. The day I was there painting, it was truly a study in bright sun versus dense shadow, and I tried to capture that here. I also sought to catch the depth of the water as well as the shaded areas, and the way the light both pierced and diffused through those separate depths. I hope to get out there again this summer.
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