Musings About Art, Horses, Life and Writing

It was a gray drizzly sorta morning when we drove through the Smoky Mountains on a family vacation some years ago. I was fascinated by the rugged mountains and how the fog hung low in the valleys as we whizzed up and down the Interstate. My artist's eye studied the shapes, colors and light effects and stored them in memory.

Later that night in the motel room I painted this watercolor and colored pencil painting from those memories in a watercolor sketch book I'd brought along. When we got home it was put away with the other art supplies and forgotten. Forgotten until I unearthed it recently while photographing artwork for posterity.

Now this little painting doesn't have the grandeur of a Hudson River School painting, but it's pretty good for what it is; a sketch made from memory. And it reminds me of an enjoyable family vacation with our youngsters exploring our great country long ago.

Karen Baker Thumm