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Title: Out of the Twilight
Egg Tempera on true gesso panel
Size 16 x 20 inches
Completed Winter of 2019
Janie and I, along with friends and our children hiked this stretch of the Appalachian Trail at least a score of times from the early 70's through the mid 80's. In all seasons its a truely remarkable walk. About 12 miles from the road crossing at Rt 60 in Amherst County Virgina down to Pedlar lake. It follows a healthy cascading stream through a deep valley that broadens out about half way down. Along the path are the remnants of old 18th century mountain homesteads, stone walls, fireplaces and the tracings of an old over grown road.
As with many of these areas that have been hit with the Hemlock Tree blight an infestation of the wooly aldilgid insect, all the big stands of intense deep woods massive 100's year old hemlocks are gone, but when we were young, this was a true fairy land of deep dark quiet hemlock groves that opened up around a curve into a natural glade (as shown here) only to plunge you back into the twilight. Many rare orchids and other wildflowers I've not seen anywhere else in VA could be found along the path.
This painting is available for sale at Lindor Arts in Roanoke Virginia.