A High Perch

Earth Day Inspiration

Happy Earth Day Friends! I hope you are enjoying the beauty of nature in some form. Today, I’m sharing an inspirational post in honor of Mother Nature.

Plein Air Set up in Powell’s Point Provincial Park, Nova Scotia.

On this chilly, but beautiful sunny day, I’m feeling grateful for Nature’s beauty. She is essential to my art practice and fills me with awe on a daily basis. One activity I find both uplifting and grounding is to create while immersed in nature.

Treks with my plein air gear to local scenic areas provide an escape from everyday life. It forces one to live in the present with all senses engaged.

One activity I especially enjoy is both painting and writing while on location. After completing a painting while observing my subject, I often take time to write about my experience. Writing allows me to further process these moments, which often lead to insights about life in general. I find the whole experience meditative; one that soothes my soul.

My subject, a small piece of land that has offered continued inspiration over the years.

Work in progress

So on that note, I’m sharing a painting from my archives with its accompanying reflection that I painted from life in one of my favorite locations—Powell’s Point Park, Nova Scotia. I hope it uplifts and stirs a longing to experience the beauty of nature in your area!

Original 6x12in. Oil on linen/panel, Painted En Plein Air in Powell’s Point Park, Nova Scotia (Available)

A High Perch

After cooler days, it is a joy to welcome summer temperatures again. I have trudged through a rickety pathway with my painting gear to arrive at one of my favorite views in the park. The distance is muted with the morning's haze. While the rising sun flicks merrily along the ocean's surface; happily touching crests of water. Seagulls dart about enthused with nature's gentle day.

I have set life aside and entered nature's world and easy rhythm. Her ignorance of man made time is a welcome relief. I will follow her lead today and gracefully move from one moment to the next.

Debbie Lamey-MacDonald

(Painted and written in Powell’s Point Park, Nova Scotia on a peaceful morning.)

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Well used scribbler and messy, but useful notes.

Scribbler Notes:

In a coiled scribbler, I wrote not only my reflection, but notes about the weather, time of day and an unexpected visitor who popped up over the bank while I was writing.

Here are a few of my observations:

~I have earned this awesome perch today after trudging down a rickety and worn out pathway. Lifting my cart over fallen trees and stepping through overgrown brush proceeded my arrival. But oh, the reward is this beautiful view of one of my favorite pieces of land in the park.

~It is quiet and calm this morning. The rising sun has created a bit of a haze, muting background colors.

~As I set up, the ocean laps gently along the shoreline—perfect nature music to paint to.

~A person in a kayak quietly passed by as I painted, oblivious to my presence on the bank.

~While writing, a man climbed the bank where I was sitting and startled both of us! Definitely an unexpected visitor!

~ Painted/Written on July 21/12 at 9:20am-1:15pm

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Thanks for journeying along with me on this outdoor excursion! What do you love and seek in nature?

Warmly,

Debbie xx

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