Most of my days begin with my young dog Maddie staring at me. She is not-so-patiently waiting for me to load her into the car and head to the Barton Creek Greenbelt for our morning hike. Over the course of a month of these morning walks I took photos of parts of the trail I found interesting in some way. I would then make a painting based on these reference photos when I returned home.
Central Texas is a land of dense Oak and Cedar forests. I have learned this is a rare combination, which makes the flora and fauna of the area totally unique from many other parts of the country.
Baby oaks in spring.
There are also cliffs that go up the sides of the trail. They expose the layers of limestone that were created when Central Texas was covered by warm shallow seas during the Cretaceaous Period. The colors, shapes, and textures of the rocks are beautiful.
The sounds of the highway are not my favorite part of the walk, but they create some great lines for compositions
I am always impressed when I see a tree growing out of a crack in a rock. How do they do it?!?
Spring season in Austin did not involve many sunny days. On the rare day that the sun made an appearance, I made sure to get a picture of my silhouette shadow on the forest floor.
Between photos Maddie demands fetch and playtime.
An example of wintery/early spring on the trail in Austin
Some tropical looking plants
Reds and yellows always jumped out from the greyish surroundings.
After fifteen days of hiking and collecting photos, I made fifteen small watercolor paintings and hung them all together on my wall in order to view the paintings as a whole. I can easily say it was the most satisfying sketchbook collection I have ever done! I feel more confident in my use of colors and landscape paintings as a result. Very worth the effort!
An additional bonus to these artistically motivating hikes through the forest is a sleepy puppy at the end of the day.
I definitely encourage taking the time to get outside and immerse in the unique nature that can be found right in your back yard. It is a wellspring of inspiration. Happy trails!
