New Life for an Old Painting

Resurrected Landscape
by Mark Nesmith
Oil on Canvas
12" x 24"
2016

Click here to purchase this painting.

This painting is a resurrection of sorts. A little more than a year ago we used to live in Country Village Apartments on Fannett Road just outside Beaumont, TX. The apartments aren't much and they're pretty old, but they are situated on a lot of land which made them ideal for dogs. There are fields and woods and plenty of nice views, but what really stands out about the place is the little horseshoe shaped pond lined with pines. For some unknown reason they call it Cedar Lake. I'd often take walks there in the morning and evening and loved the unique combination of the shape of the pond, the ring of pines along the narrow bank, and the flickering reflections on the water.

I first started this painting while I was still living there. I had already painted a few small panels of Cedar Lake and fleshed out this 12" x 24" canvas pretty quickly one evening. Later I went back at it hoping to add some brushwork and push the color and ended up hating it, so the canvas was relegated to the closet. It somehow stuck around and survived the move to our house but has been out stuck in piles of junk in the garage ever since. A couple of days ago I was going through some boxes looking for guitar parts and I stumbled upon the dusty canvas in the corner. Suddenly I thought I saw a glimmer of life, so I put the canvas on the easel and spent the last couple of days painting it all over again. It's funny. This canvas sat unwanted and hidden from view for more than a year, only to find new life and vibrancy in a couple of days. Sometimes it just takes fresh eyes and a little faith to be resurrected.

This is a 12" x 24" oil painting on 1/2" deep gallery wrapped canvas. It's available and looking for a good home.