Amaryllis By Mornin'

Amaryllis By Morning      6" x 6"     Pastel       ©Sheila Ashley Liston
Available $95

There's nothing like waiting for the morning to see the amaryllis spreading her wings to show her stunning scarlett petals! This time was no different, I brought the bulb home from Heinen's with some green foliage, and first thing each morning I could hardly wait to see the buds open to reveal her spectacular hues of red. What a lesson in patience!

Finally, the day arrived to begin the process of studying every tiny detail in wonderment!

And then the gleeful rush to the pastel box to find the perfect sticks of color that would shout "Amaryllis Scarlet"! To my disappointment, there was no magic amaryllis stick!  From then on, I had to give up on magic and select and test colors that would speak in amaryllis tones.

Ahh.....finally, I strike up a new relationship with the oranges and peach colors in the box and know that they will help me tell the story of how the light changes as it strikes the high points. On closer examination, for the first time, I found that there are tiny specks of shimmering light in each square inch of the petals. Fortunately, the folks at the Sennelier company know this, as they include a group of pastels that contain mica flakes that reflect those microscopic specks of light.

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 Here's the final culmination of alone time with an amaryllis. There's a tiny replica beside the original where I've tested colors on the way to tell the final story.

Everett Road Covered Bridge

Everett Road Covered Bridge     4" x 6"       Pastel      ©Sheila Ashley Liston
Available  $65

It's not unusual to find artists set up along the roadside in Cuyahoga Valley National Park in northeastern Ohio.  We are fortunate in that it's about a 30 minute drive to this area for us. The Park has beautiful waterfalls, hiking & bike trails, marshes, rock quarries, rivers, and the Ohio & Erie Canal. There's certainly no shortage of subject matter begging to be painted in any season. 

This covered bridge is the only remaining covered bridge in Summit County. Everett Road bridge was originally built in the 1870s.  It has been repaired and rebuilt due to major damage more than once. In 1975 a heavy spring storm weakened its supporting structure, causing the bridge to fall into the creek bed below. Funds were raised by school children, local citizens, private organizations and government agencies in 1986 to build this historically accurate reconstruction by the National Park Service.

We enjoy day trips to this area and continue to learn more about the park with each visit.