The Rope Swing, pastel, 14" x 20", 2014 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Summers Years Ago, “The Rope Swing”

The Rope Swing, pastel, 14" x 20", 2014 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

The Rope Swing, pastel, 14″ x 20″, 2014 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

How did we kids lived through our childhoods with things like rope swings available to us? I was thrilled to find a rope swing the first time I went exploring off the trail years ago and took a few swings on it myself just for fun, and when my great nieces and nephews came to visit from Savannah, a visit to the trail and the rope swing were tops on the list.

In 2014 when I imagined organizing an exhibit of landscapes I’d sketched and painted on, and of, the Panhandle Trail, this image was the principal image I envisioned and became my symbol for the exhibit, “Sun Shadow Ice & Snow: Seasons of the Panhandle Trail”.

I hadn’t done this painting yet, but for years I’d planned a painting of this iconic rope swing, which everyone who’d grown up in the area knew about but I had only discovered about a decade before while exploring the Panhandle Trail, then new, and the woods around it. I took photos of it in each season, and the tall maple it hung from, the exposed roots of the tree, and the entire area around it. I envisioned the speckled shadows of the leaves on the dirt below at high noon on a hot summer day, and the sunny glow among the leaves themselves above my head.

For all the years I’d considered having an exhibit like this, on the trail, as part of the annual event, the decision to finally paint the rope swing also made me decide this was the year to do the exhibit. I usually volunteer a few hours in the kitchen and walk around to take photos (I also manage the website and design things) but this would be way more fun.

I pictured this painting to be in high summer, at noon when the sun is bright and hot overhead and the woods are dark and cool, and just coming upon the tree and the swing, the stream running past, standing in the deep darkness underneath looking at the lacy sunlight on the leaves of the tree and lacy shadows on the packed dirt beneath it and the swing itself silhouetted against the brightness beyond, in that moment when the potential is there, just before you decide to go for it.

The spot where this swing hangs is also one of my favorite places off the trail, and I visit there each time I use the trail, in all seasons—in mid-summer to have a dip into Robinson Run where there’s a nice pool there with water that’s always cool, and in winter to see the stream in winter, covered with ice and snow piled in the woods.

So there it is, the old rope swing, waiting for you off in the woods. Go and have an adventure!

PURCHASE A PRINT

The original of this painting was a pastel, 14″ x 20″ in soft pastel on Wallis pastel paper.

I framed it in a custom plain matte black moulding with a 4″ acid-free white mat. Framed size is 22″ x 28″. The original is sold but I also have giclee, digital and and canvas prints.

[ss_product id=’aa292764-e731-11e5-a9fd-0cc47a075d76′ ]Landscape, “The Rope Swing”[/ss_product]

 

SHIPPING AND CHARGES

Shipping within the US is included in the cost of each print.

Prints up to 16″ x 20″ are shipped flat in a rigid envelope. Larger prints are shipped rolled in a mailing tube unless otherwise requested; flat shipping is an extra cost because it’s oversized.

GICLEE PRINTS

The giclees are printed on acid-free hot press art paper for a smooth matte finish using archival inks. Giclee is the highest quality print available because the technique uses a dozen or more ink ports to capture all the nuances of the original painting, including details of the texture, far more sensitive than any other printing medium. Sometimes my giclees look so much like my originals that even I have a difficult time telling them apart when they are in frames.

I don’t keep giclee prints in stock for most of my works. Usually I have giclees printed as they are ordered unless I have an exhibit where I’ll be selling a particular print so there is a wait of up to two weeks before receipt of your print to allow for time to print and ship.

I offer giclees of this painting in two different sizes: the full size of 31″ x 23″, a half-size of 16″ x 12.5″. The giclees have 2″ of white around the outside edges. All are countersigned by me.

DIGITAL PRINTS

Digital prints are made on acid-free matte-finish natural white 100# cover using archival digital inks. While digital prints are not the quality of a giclee in capturing every nuance and detail of color, texture and shading, I am still very pleased with the outcome and usually only I as the artist, could tell where detail and color were not as sharp as the original. Digital prints are only available up to 11″ x 17″ and some of the prints are cropped to fit standard mat and frame sizes.

Digital prints have at least 1/2″ around the edges depending on the size of the print. All are countersigned by me.

CANVAS PRINTS

Because the standard size canvas prints are not proportional to the original painting, canvas prints of this painting will have a portion cropped off.

I usually have at least one of the smaller sizes of canvases on hand, but order larger ones as they are ordered because I have limited storage space. Smaller canvases are a 3/4″ in depth, Canvases 12 x 16 and larger are 1-1/2″ in depth. I set them up so the image runs from edge to edge, then the sides are black or white or sometimes I slip in a color that coordinates with the painting. This canvas mirrors the edges of the image around the sides.

FRAMED PRINTS

I do all my own framing and can custom frame a print for you. Please ask.

For more landscapes and art of the Panhandle Trail, visit:

Landscape Artwork Gallery

Sun Shadow Ice and Snow: Seasons Along the Panhandle Trail, All Paintings

Sun Shadow Ice and Snow: Seasons Along the Panhandle Trail, All Photos

2014: Sun Shadow Ice and Snow, Seasons Along the Panhandle Trail

2015: Sun Shadow Ice and Snow, Seasons of the Panhandle Trail

2016: Sun Shadow Ice and Snow, Seasons of the Panhandle Trail

Other items with the same art or design To find all items on this site with the same art or design, use the search box for the name of the artwork and you'll find all that's available.

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4 thoughts on “Summers Years Ago, “The Rope Swing”

  1. createwithjoy

    Thanks for sharing your lovely artwork at Inspire Me Monday Bernadette – this brings back many wonderful childhood memories – so happy to feature you this week! 🙂

    Reply
    1. Bernadette Post author

      Thank you so much, Ramona! I’m glad this painting brought back happy memories, and it also inspired me to have a new annual art exhibit!

      Reply
  2. Cathy Kennedy

    Beautiful artwork! I love seeing the talent of new-to-me artists. Although, I never had a rope swing, I do recall vividly swinging from grapevines as a kid. and like you I wonder how we survived childhood. Today’s parents would have a heart attack if their kids climbed onto something that’s not gone under a rigorous child-safety test. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Bernadette Post author

      I remember swinging from grapevines too, like Tarzan! We had a fair number of rope swings over streams too. This rope swing swung the parents and even some of the grandparents!

      Reply

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