The original Lyric of Place

The phrase Lyric of Place was used as an exhibit title for which this painting "Coastal Poppies" was the centerpiece. I like to paint for a show so that each individual painting stands on it's own but also is an intergral part of the whole. This particular show had a number of medium sized canvases painted in pleine air as well as a series of 11 x 14" works. The challenge I set for myself in this painting was to take everything that pleine air painting teaches me and transfer it to a studio piece that literally stretched my reach since it is 72 x 48". And what a delight it was! The sheer size required that I dance with the canvas in order to paint it. This was actually one of those landscapes that I was driving through on the way home from a beach vacation. Lucky I had the digital camera at the ready this time. The dramatic size and bold colors though presented it's own challenge when it came to finding it a home. We did several horizontal works using a similar theme as commissions - I'm actually painting another presently. But I received a call from Bill Hester Fine Art in Chapel Hill,NC that it has just been placed. Thank you Bill!