Camel Rock, oil on panel, 8x10
The Shawnee National Forest is one of my favorite places to hike and sketch.
If you travel into the Mid West a person is immediately struck by the vast flatness of the region, great for corn farmers, not very inspiring for artists. As you wind your way through Illinois ”The Prairie State”, to it’s southern tip, the landscape takes on some dramatic changes. Here eons ago, great glaciers stopped and deposited their debris, then add in some massive geological events and you find yourself inside an entirely different landscape called the Shawnee National Forest.The Shawnee is 284,000 acres of forest, wetlands, swamps, bluffs, and canyons with unique rock formations. A great destination for camper, backpackers, hikers, rock climbers, horse back riders and the adventuress Pochade Box Artist.
The park contains eight National Natural Landmarks, all worth seeing. However my favorite (and muse) has been The Garden of the Gods Wilderness Area, noted for its main canyon, spectacular views and towering rock formations with names like, Monkey Face, Anvil Rock, Devils Smokestack and Camel Rock.We have made many trips to hike and sketch the area. And the rock formation called Camel Rock has become an obsession of mine to paint. My intentions are that once I complete a series of Pochades, I will produce a large studio piece of this landscape.
Our last outing was late last summer and as usual we ran into other outdoor enthusiasts, hikers and photographers. Unknown to us one of the photographers was working on a project sponsored by a local University to document the Shawnee. Which published a book titled, “The Shawnee Forest – Illinois’ Hidden Gem” and set up a multi-media website journaling and documenting the beauty of this unique forest. We purchased a few books as holiday gifts for friends and to our surprise found ourselves inside its pages.I am working on this oil sketch of the Camel Rock and Linda snapping photos. A great giggle for us, considering how special this place is to us, and a nice way to end/start the year.
It’s also inspirational for me when my philosophy of synchronicity works.
Enjoy Jim.
For more information check out these links.
Shawnee National Forest
The Shawnee Forest - Illinois' Hidden Gem the multimedia website
Photographer Bobby Samart a must see... great work.
And for the backpacker/hiker
The Unofficial Shawnee Trail Guide
Jim, your paintings and charcoal works are fabulous. I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future. Thanks for joining my blog.
ReplyDeleteVery nice blog and painting of Garden of the Gods. It is one of the most spectacular places in Illinois. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gary, I am working on the studio painting from the sketches.
ReplyDeleteYou'll have to check back for those.
I was amazed and surprised by your site. Shawnee Hills Outdoors Fantastic! Really glad to see that,
this area has so much natural beauty, if you know where to look.
Thank you Jim. I have never ran into a painting artist on all my hikes in southern Illinois and I am always fascinated by the people I see painting when I go out West. I think that people like yourself are really seeing in detail how beautiful natural places can be. I try to photograph interesting places, but it is nothing compared to the time and detail that you must take to project your minds eye onto your medium. Thanks again for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGary,
ReplyDeleteAppreciate the comments.
I think it is about having a personal connection to the natural places you describe.
With out that no medium can express it.
Hope to see you on the trail.