Ogletree Creek

I had to step away from the cornhusks today (!) and go out landscape painting. Or I’d just go nuts. But I haven’t been in the mood to paint the same-old, same-old stuff this year. I’ve painted the same views dozens of times. What could I possibly find that would actually be interesting? If not challenging? Could I find my “WOW!” factor? I stopped at Ogletree Creek, a gorgeous little stream emptying out of Toad Lake. It’s in the middle of nowhere, in thick woods, accessible only by a mud puddle-filled seasonal road, clogged in spots by fallen branches, but that’s a good thing. Keeps out the riff-raff. I’ve painted this creek a bunch of times, but never this particular view, looking down at the shoreline and boulders. That was a challenge! I loved the color of the bottom layer. Kind of a reddish-ochre, due to the iron content of the soil around here. The very edge of the boulders showed a wet, greenish tinge. Oh, it was fun! And challenging!

Oh yes — people always ask: did I see any fish? Just minnows today, but I’m sure there are some nice trout in the shadows.

The WOW factor: A scene has to have some kind of unusual, surprising, wonderful element to it, at least for me. When I see something that makes my heart go a-flutter, I know it’ll be a joy to paint. If it has no element of “wow”, then it’s plain old boring. Painting boring things is just too much like a job. OK — what was my “wow factor” in this view? It was the shapes and colors of the creek bottom and boulders in the foreground.

Here’s my setup. To the immediate left is a very steep dropoff. I was actually set up over a small bridge. I almost fell down when I’d stepped back. Yikes! But — whatta way to go!