The Story behind the Art: Sunset at Summer Lake

"Sunset at Summer Lake" oil on canvas by Hilary J. England

My inspiration behind this painting is similar to what inspires me as a whole -- the beauty of the moment and the happiness behind watching the fading, warm summer evening, the warmth on my face, the sight of the colorful wildflowers on the banks of the lake as the sun cast it's fading rays in hues of pinks and purples and yellows...I am a big fan of Mother Nature!

I love these "mundane" moments in life - the simple pleasures of a beautiful evening, laughing with people you love, the sound of a favorite song you recollect from the past, the taste of a dish of food made with care -- all of these happy simplicities stir my soul and inform my choices for artworks that move me.  I love to share those moments -- to capture and keep them, they are interesting and beautiful, and they speak of the times we live in. Things around us can be chaotic, but we can choose to exist in a universe of beauty and serenity.

 

The Marker

"The marker" by Hilary J. England
oil on canvas, 8" x 10" 2016

It's been a long few weeks, packed with excellent things, and the not-so-good, and the downright sad. All of this whirlwind of activity has left me a bit disoriented, as if I was rolled by a wave on the beach.  I am trying to get back to some semblance of normalcy again, now that the babies have all arrived, memorial plans are established, and my own health has been stabilized (hurt my bad knee) and I can just take a moment to breath. 

I was able to get outdoors for a little while and just settle and think.  I saw this scene, on the outskirts of the local memorial park, and it was peaceful and reflective and appropriate given that it was Veteran's day, and all that has ensued in the last few days with the Presidential election, etc.

It just felt good to be back to plein air working.  I have been pretty tied up with inside work, including working away on my Master's degree coursework, so things are pretty busy, and a moment to reflect is always lovely.

~Enjoy!

New vines

"New vines" by Hilary J. England
8" x 16" oil on canvas

It's been a pretty productive week, although I have been feeling a bit tired since I've been working out extra hard, and once you hit middle age, well, recovery just isn't what it used to be.  But, extra sleep helps.

I have been working around town, and my particular focus is all the interesting little mundane things that people seem to miss in their mad rush of living life.  Spring is such a lovely time to notice these little things, like the blooming of new flowers, and the renewal of everything.  I notice these new vines shooting off an old tree, creeping up onto the lattice of an old basement, and it was very eye-catching to me.  Yes, the beauty of these things always catches my eye, and I think of the grand design and what an artist God is.  Truly incredible to me.

~Enjoy!

Recovery

"Ominous" by Hilary J. England, 11" x 14" oil on canvas, 2016

It's been a long and horrible month.  I'm going to get very personal here since this is a very personal painting.  I suppose I could just let you all "wonder" at the story behind it, or where it originated from.  Did I go scope out some strange little child alone and naked on a lakeshore, and start painting her?. LOL, no.  This painting is just my personal "story" of the situation I am dealing with. My Dad nearly died after a bout of pneumonia this month, and the toll of that episode wiped me out more than I realized or anticipated.  I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't relax or concentrate, and the days just slipped by with me not realizing anything at all, just feeling like crap, and there being zero I could do to correct it, or move through it. Dad's still fighting to recover, and for that I am grateful, but the anguish of watching his suffering had really left me in a deep depression.

I painted this little painting today, to try and move through this funk I'm in.  I realized that Dad's illness stripped away everything in my life, to when I was a little child, and I was terrified of the unknown. I remember standing on the age of a lake, looking at the water, feeling anxious and afraid, not knowing what was in there and if it would swallow me up.

So, here was my psychological therapy for the day.  I don't usually do paintings "from my head", but this one was different, because I really needed to try and work out all of the struggles I was dealing with, and this helped me.  Didn't "fix" everything, but it helped.

~Enjoy.

Barren birch in the autumn field

"Barren birch in the autumn field" by Hilary J. England
8" x 14", oil on canvas, 2015

It's been a busy week with Christmas approaching...putting up the tree and decorations, and all the other preps we usually make.  I have been working steadily on my writing as well, and this takes alot of time in itself.  I have three different articles going, while I also have my short story for the Travel Anthologie to clean up, so very busy indeed.

I can never NOT make time for my love though...which is plein air painting.  It just clears away all the wreckage, and helps to bring my soul back to balance.

This painting of a really beautiful, bare birch tree was a bit nail-biting in that it really looked like it was going to rain, and being that it had rained on and off for days now, I was racing the clock to not get soaked.  The weather held until I was done, and I was able to finish up, happy, warm, and with no wet feet.

~Enjoy!

Study of farm field at approaching dusk

"Study of farm field at approaching dusk" by Hilary J. England
8" x 11" oil on canvas, 2014

Here is another little plein air study I didn't get a chance to photo or upload from a little while ago.  I am playing a bit of catch up, and the holidays can certainly slow that process down a somewhat!  I am working on several other pieces, for upcoming shows, so I have remained quite busy these last few months.  Throw in a few other annoyances and situations that life never fails to complicate with, and it's easy to fall a little behind, but no matter.  I always catch up ;-)

I am really looking forward to doing some more figure work with a local model coming up, we have worked with her for years, and she is an amazing figure model.  I like getting together with the other local artists and just having informal drawing sessions, so this should be like old times! 

Keep your eyes peeled for some new stuff!!! Enjoy~

Strange twisted tree by the river

"Strange twisted tree by the river" by Hilary J. England
8" x 10" oil on canvas, 2014

I have been at work, working on some new paintings for the Dacia show in February, 2015, but I still always have time to paint something very beautiful in nature.  This strange, twisted tree, by the river in Weissport, fascinated me almost immediately, and I could not resist but to do a fast study of it, even while the wind was forcefully encouraging me to go home, haha.

So, after one belly flop into the dirt after my easel went down for the count, and a complete scraping to the canvas, I still managed to capture the unique tree in all its splendor!  Creation and the beauty of it never ceases to amaze me, and wonder at it like a child....

Stormy sky



"Stormy sky study" by Hilary J England 8" x 10" oil on canvas

I am looking forward to my road trip to Montreal for the opening reception of our group exhibition at the Gallery Gora.  It should be fun, and road trips are always a good time for me.  I love the scenery and stopping off in different parts of the country and taking in the local "culture."  I am definitely looking forward to the next few weeks.

This little study above was done in a field of some kind of wheat, I'm not really sure what type, but the sky was starting to get really stormy looking and the clay earth had this red tone, so, I pushed it a bit, and had some fun with it.  That's why it's fun to be an artist...you get to make it your way!! 

So, with summer upon us, I was thinking of ways to incorporate that season and the accompanying heat into the series I'm working on, and I've gotten some pretty good ones, so I'm going to start on that limb of the series in the next few days.

All in all, life is good!  Hope it's the same for you♥

Painting Series

"The meadows of Winter Mountain" by Hilary J England, 9" x 12" oil on canvas

Today's painting was not too far from home, but I had a bit of difficulty due to two of my brushes falling apart...so I was forced to work with on brush only, which, hey, when you're tossed lemons, make lemonade!   Plus, half way through the painting, I got stung by a bee...

Anyway, these are the obstacles you have to deal with when you paint outside...enjoyable nonetheless.