Passing Storm

12 x 16 Oil on Panel

This is the original study for Sorrel's Knoll in the previous post. Well, not exactly. I kept that sketch around my studio for years thinking someday I'll rework it, give it some life. I would pull it out from time to time and set it on a shelf hoping it would speak to me. Well apparently it was quite angry with me because it just sat there and never said a word. I tried setting a mood with music, some Bach keyboard pieces, a Mozart serenade. Nothing. A Bartok string quartet came on the radio, but it wasn't interested in that either. Maybe it was time to put it back in the rack for awhile. I decided to take a walk. I went down the hill past my knoll then up the other side before turning and heading home. As I came back toward the knoll the wind picked up and storm clouds made a sudden appearance. They blew in fast and dark, I braced myself for a downpour. It was raining hard in the distance but I stayed dry. Then just as suddenly it was over, the sun came back out creating a magnificent rainbow over the valley. As I looked back to my knoll, a burst of sunlight splashed in front of the remaining storm clouds. Stunning. Gorgeous. Romantic. The knoll just laughed, "Schumann" it said softly. When I got back to the studio my sketch was ready, "Let's do it" it said. So we cheerfully spent the afternoon together listening to Schumann, the sketch getting a complete makeover.....