Christmas Meadows: Red Canoe

It was the golden hour. Shadows were falling fast, chasing away the remaining light, Meanwhile, everything around us glowed.

My sister Holly and I were away with our children at her cabin in Christmas Meadows,  Wyoming. Our picnic was finished, and we were walking the kids down to the river before bed. Over and over again we had to turn around and wait for Lexi, who kept stopping to catch butterflies in the waist-high field grass,

All of a sudden I heard bits of conversation and laughter, then the slip and whoosh of a canoe on the river.  It appeared right in front of us, as if from out of nowhere. We watched in amazement as another family floated by, out enjoying the last vestiges of daylight with their kids, just like we were. Kinship.

I loved the way the light caught their faces. I loved their red canoe and their matching life jackets. I loved the rich darkness of the riverbank, contrasted with the golden glow of the meadow all around us. This moment was pure magic.

I finished this painting last weekend, and I feel like I finally captured the moment.

This painting is a full-sheet watercolor, (22 x 30) and will be featured in the AmBank Invitational show in November.