Painting the cabins at Cheaha State Park gives me cabin fever. Several years ago, I gave myself the gift of a week in one of these cabins, cabin six, if I'm not mistaken. I chose a time when rates are lower which is Feb-March. I spent a week by myself, which sounds lonesome, but IT WASN'T. I painted myself into exhaustion everyday and walked when I wasn't painting. It was an extremely productive week on so many levels. I think I am due another one of those week. During the workshop at Cheaha with Julee Hutchison, we spent the morning painting cabins one and two. Each has a glorious view, but I decided on cabin two after much deliberation, so MANY possibilities. I think the difficulty in painting these buildings is they blend in with surroundings so well that making them distinct is difficult. I struggled with focusing on the main idea (cabin and most important surrounding details) because there are so many distracting details. This view has a wonderful view of distant mountains, and I spent some time trying to capture that sense of distance beyond the cabin. Rather than paint individual stones in the cabin, I wanted to offer a suggestion of rocks. I will always consider Cheaha a treasure because it's an uncomplicated haven that forces one to cut off the internet and pocket the phone. We are forced to confront ourselves, a tall order for some.
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