A Miniature Oil of mine has received the Ampersand Sponsor Award for Landscape at the Parklane Miniature & Small Works 2020 show ... very pleasantly surprised!
“The Long Shadows of Evening”
(Oregon High Desert)
Miniature Oil on Richeson Gesso Panel
Image: 3” x 5”
Outside Frame: 5” x 7”
$600
Visit Awards Page at Parklane Gallery here.
There are certain campsites that are not particularly spectacular of themselves, but which will reward you, if you keep an eye out through the hours of the day. This was one such place, where the rewards came in the various lightings of the landscape that occurred, such as here as afternoon showers give way to the long shadows of evening.
The sponsor Ampersand is a manufacturer of Artist Panels with various surfaces for use with a variety of mediums. I have used them and have some in stock at present, although I generally tend towards panels with a linen or cotton canvas surface. I am happy with the fact that I painted this on a rival company's panel, and that did not prejudice the award. Funnily enough, I just remembered that the panel I painted this on was part of an award I received in a Parklane Miniature Show, some years ago!
I grew quite familiar with this landscape, as I camped here a lot this past Spring, Summer and Autumn, and was able to see this view in various seasons, lightings, and times of the day. This is where the male Western Tanager sat on my knee, and the Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel, "the Big Fella," and his relatives would enjoy the strawberry and avacado remnants that I left out for them. To remain in one spot for awhile and become part of the landscape, offers you the opportunity to experience things you otherwise would not, if you were to only stay a night or two. This is why I never seriously contemplated any of the long distance footpaths, in times past ... thought about them as a challenge, on occasion, but knew that they would not be in any way satisfying as an "in the wild" experience. I'm all for as many people as possible to experience the long distance trails, as that means I'm less likely to run into anyone in the wild places I camp. I do wonder how much a person remembers of any particular place, when hiking day after day. I suppose my year long journey from Minnesota to Oregon in 2017/18, is kind of similar, but I rarely camped only one night in any one spot, and mostly three or four days at a minimum. Thus I remember every one of them, and even the one-nighters, because they were so few.
So ... had I stayed only one night, or even two or three, in this spot, I may have never experienced the lighting effects depicted here in the above little painting.
