PLEIN AIR OR STUDIO By Cecelia Lyden

SOLD

at the Camp Hill Plein Air Event

on a perfect early spring day

PINK HOUSE ON MARKET

Plein Air Oil on Linen

[ painted on a cloudy day]
8x10

http://www.cecelialyden.com/

I have been grousing about the weather this spring since we returned North in March. At first I know I was comparing my plein air outings here with those in Florida, which were rainfree, with beautiful skies and warm pleasant weather. But it is May now, and with temperatures below normal and endless rainy days and cloudy skies all March and April, my weekly plein air ventures have been most uncomfortable. My last straw occured this past Thursday, May 5th. I had arranged for a paintout at my neighbor's beautiful yard. The overnight rain had stopped and the sun was shining; and with clear blue skies, it looked like a perfect day for outdoor painting. Until you stepped outside. The wind was blustering and the temperature very cool. I stupidily chose a spot in the shade, thinking the sun might desert a warmer area and would start shinning down on me later in the morning. It never did.

The wind kept blowing. My hands got icy cold. I began to shiver--the kind of shivering that starts deep inside you and is hard to control. I put on gloves, trying to keep my arthritic hands warm. After three hours of this, I came to a momentous decision. As much as I love painting outdoors, I am, from now on, only attending paintouts in friendlier, more comfortable weather. Having turned 70 this past February, I am keenly aware of my physical limitations and of time rapidly slipping away. For that reason, I will not be "biting the bullet"for the sake of painting plein air. I will not spend another moment of my precious time on earth, being miserable while I am painting. I paint out only when there is no threat of rain and when the weather warms up, but not too hot. There are so many amazing benefits to painting up close, enjoying the feel and smells of your surroundings, seeing all the colors and values, the shapes and textures. But the comfort factor has now weighed heavily in my decision. And you can not beat the comforts of home.

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A TREE DIVIDED, OVERLOOKING THE BATTLEFIELD By Cecelia Lyden

oil on stretched canvas

http://www.cecelialyden.com/

lyden1819@comcast.net

The 150th anniversary of the Civil War has begun. A war that took 600,00 American lives, mostof them killed on American soil. Soon famous battle re-enactments will take place on battlefields such Gettysburg and Antietam , where 23,00 men were lost in a single day. Re-enactments, where men will pretend to be killed by fake cannon explosions and Civil War souvenirs will be hawked to the crowds.

Although I live close, it took me many years to finally get to the battlefield. It took only a few somber seconds of overlooking the battlefield to feel the misery suffered there. I have come to feel that the re-enactments and the commercial hoopla every year keep the resentment between many from the north and the south alive. Why should this horrid period in our history be relived year after year? For commercial reasons? For remembering? The Harrisburg Patriot in an editorial, echoing my sentiments on this very thing, asked,"..how do we make sure that we're not just watching a period costume drama, but instead remembering blood spilled and spilled and spilled again. How do we make sure that all the anniversary events over the next four years are not just about nostalgia, but about war?"

This was my first trip to the battlefield and will be my last. I will honor the lives lost by not visiting the monuments of past generals or reading plagues, describing who died where, by not marvelling at the re-enactments of men dying on the batllefield. I have only to read the daily newspaper or to watch a newscast to be reminded of people's pain and sacrifices in the here and now.

A fellow artist, Ron Donooughe, when he saw my painting and read my sentiments on the DPP blog said; "That's an interesting comment about not wanting to paint there. But something about this painting speaks to me. I wonder if that tree placed right in the middle is symbolic of the civil war. It is almost a mirror image, divided down the center. Maybe it's because I just visited the battlefield last summer for the first time and I was shocked by the effect. It appears you had a positively moving experience that is reflected in this painting. To me you captured how it felt. That is what makes this painting special."

I mulled over his words for a couple weeks and decided his observation expressed my feelings and was inspired to retitle this work.

LIVING WITNESSES, The COPSE OF TREES AT GETTYSBURG By Cecelia Lyden

oil on stretched canvas

16x20

http://www.cecelialyden.com/

lyden1819@comcast.net

I paid my first visit to the battlefield at Gettysburg this past Thursday. I had passed by it many times on my way to visit my cousin who lived nearby. I went there to paint with my fellow plein air painters, but I did not get much work done. Armed with my camera, I was just like the many tourists there that morning, snapping one photo after the other.

It was a cloudy, chilly morning, which lent itself well to the somber setting. Many have told me what a beautiful , serene landscape it is--how spiritual and peaceful it is, worthy of great reverence. I felt all of these things and yet I also felt profound sadness. The Civil War has always been, to me, the saddest of wars. Six hundred thousand Americans dead in battle, from poorly treated wounds or from disease. Americans fighting Americans and still the Civil War continues in today's politics and in the reenactments of the violence of the North against the South.

I finally settled on the Copse of Trees to paint, learning about its significance later. They are aged, but still standing, protected and revered as living witnesses of the violence that took place there. My depiction of the trees was determined upon learning of the fierce and bloody hand to hand combat that took place around them in July, 1863. Also my son, who was watching me begin the painting, commented that he had read of the great amount blood spilled there . My canvas had a red underpainting, which had bled through. I then decided not to surround the old trees in a peaceful , quiet setting but, to show them as writhing, twisting and agitated and to depict the violence by using more red in the sky and ground. I felt this rendering more closely expressed my feelings about the Civil War and all wars.

SPRING BEGINS IN FLORIDA By Cecelia Lyden

oil on stretched canvas

8x10

http://www.cecelialyden.com/

lyden1819@comcast.net

What a sight to see bright green foliage growing on bushes and trees in February. By the time we left Florida in early March, blossoms were on trees and flowers were blooming. I am remembering fondly those sights as I, and others, wait for winter to depart here in PA.

ALONG ALLIGATOR ALLEY By Cecelia Lyden

oil on canvas board

6x8

http://www.cecelialyden.com/

lyden1819@comcast.net

This is another FLA landscape, done from a photo, while I wait for the weather to warm up. It's nearly April and the temperatures are below freezing here in PA. Plein air painting for this 70 year old is not "on the table."

CATTLE RANCH ON FLORIDA TURNPIKE By Cecelia Lyden

oil on stretched canvas

16x20

http://www.cecelialyden.com/

lyden1819@comcast.net

I remember my mother saying that she did not like Florida--it was too hot, too flat-she would say-and not that interesting. I guess I grew up with that image of the state of Florida--hot, flat and boring. It took my getting old, getting sick of winter, and retirement to finally experience the state of Florida for more than a week or two.

For the past 2 winters, my husband and I have spent January and February on the ocean in Fort Pierce, Florida. I have discovered that Florida is warm, not hot, flat, and not boring. In traveling across the State, I have seen beautiful scenery, interesting tree formations, gorgeous colors of sunrises, sunsets and the ocean.

I have joined a group of Florida plein air painters and have been to many interesting locations to paint. Next year we hope to go to one of the many cattle ranches in the area. I'm looking forward to that.

This painting was not done plein air, but from one of several photos I took on the way to the University of Florida in Gainesville. Our granddaughter was playing in a lacrosse game that afternoon, 3 hours away from Fort Pierce, where we were staying. So we did not stop. I just kept clicking away, at 70 miles per hour, at all the potential paintings I saw in front of me. Happily, most of them came out unblurred. I will paint one or two more.

WILDWOOD, EARLY SPRING By Cecelia Lyden

acrylic

8x10

http://www.cecelialyden.com/

lyden1819@comcast.net

Back from Florida as of March 8, I'd been hibernating inside, my tan fading, waiting for some warm weather. Today we got it- beautiful sunshine, pleasant temperatures. So several of our plein air group happily took our paints to Wildwood Park. After some cheery hellos and conversation, I started my first PA outdoors painting of the year. I had packed several shades of green, but found I did not really need them. My eyes searched, but could not detect any new growth. I did add a touch of green oxide to the foreground grasses just for some hint of spring. For the most part, it felt good to be back painting in PA with friends.