nature art exhibit

Upcoming Exhibit: Seasons on the Panhandle Trail, August 27 and 28

nature art exhibit

Seventh annual Seasons on the Panhandle Trail exhibit.

Seventh Annual Exhibit

SUN SHADOW ICE & SNOW
seasons along the panhandle trail

featured artwork

“Emerging Spring”

featuring art, photography and poetry of and about the Panhandle Trail

plus paintings & sketches from prior exhibits
prints of paintings and photos
handmade gift items inspired by the trail

Opening Friday August 27, 2021 5:00 P.M.
through Saturday August 28 11:00 P.M.

Panhandle Trail Quarry Area as part of Rock The Quarry

For more information about the event please visit www.panhandletrail.org.

It’s so good to be back! We had to cancel last year because of Covid, and the year before I had a smaller exhibit with no new artwork because of my hip replacement. But this year, we still have to be careful, but the whole event will be up and running.

I have two new paintings to include this year, many photos, and more from the trail itself, and some images from the surrounding area. In addition I’ll have paintings and sketches from previous exhibits, prints of photos and paintings, and new handmade gift items featuring my art and photography of the trail: keepsake boxes, decorative trays, cabochon pendants, suncatchers, votives, garden flags, gift bags and coasters, and who knows what else.

Paintings

Emerging Spring, pastel on pastelmat, 13.5 x 19.5

I painted “Emerging Spring” this year after many years of trying to get the best reference photos in a difficult spot, one where I could have never set up an easel to paint. Click the image below to read more about this painting and how I prepared for painting it.

Emerging Spring, pastel on pastelmat, 13.5 x 19.5, 2021 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Emerging Spring, pastel on pastelmat, 13.5 x 19.5, 2021 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Social Isolation, pastel, 7 x 9, 2020

I painted “Social Isolation” in the woods in April 2020, the first painting I’d done in a couple of years while my hip was out of commission, and looking at that favorite spot, and feeling the beginning of the Covid shutdown, something about the light and the wandering path, and the trees, usually commingling, seemed isolated from each other, distanced across the path from each other singly or in their own groups, the uncertain destination, as we were at that time. Click the image to see the painting and read more.

pastel painting of trees in spring woods

“Social Isolation”, pastel, 7 x 9 © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Photography

I have some interesting views on common scenes, including a walk through the spring woods, typically full of emergent color and shape, in black and white film. My DSLR needed a repair but I couldn’t get it done right then. I pulled out my old Pentax K1000 fully manual film camera and a roll of black and white someone had given me. I saw completely different things in the flora than I’ve ever seen before, and the feeling was completely different.

black and white photo of persian violets

Persian violets

Poetry and Prose

I’ll also have my folio of poetry, all of which was inspired by, and much written on the trail. Here are a few lines of the featured poem as an example:

Wild Apples

At a bend in the trail,
The scent of wild apples greets me.
A tree abandoned from an old orchard
Or sprung up on its own from old stock, wild and uncultivated,
Stands trailside,
Heavy with small round burnished apples.
The late summer heat releases their scent,
Sweet and tart, that the world may know they have reached their prime;
The wild perfume of the coming season.

From another tree one single leaf lets go
And falls, papery, dry and curled, slipping through branches
Clattering to the summer-hardened clay of the trail,
Loud in the silent heat of the August afternoon.
Months before,
Winter lost her grip, and, one by one,
The wildflowers of spring began to bloom,…

You can read the rest of this poem on my writing website www.PathsIHaveWalked.com, or just wait until the exhibit!

Time spent in nature gives the the freedom to expand my thoughts, touching all my senses and leading me to a greater, deeper, even new understanding of myself and my world. Poetry is a perfect way to express that.

Published Articles

Also, each of my paintings and photos have a story of how they came to be. I found a magazine that was happy to publish not only the essay about “The Rope Swing”, but to publish the art as well, in 2019, then in 2020 they published an essay about “Running Through the Woods”. I’ll have that with me, and several copies you can purchase.

 

I’ve been visiting the Panhandle Trail since 2002 with my bike and on foot, for exercise and inspiration, more inspiration than exercise, packing in with backpacks of camera equipment and art supplies. I’ve taken thousands of photos along the trail and off in the woods, but I’ve also done a number of sketches while there in pencil, charcoal, pastel and watercolor, and arriving home in my studio to do more from photos. I’ve collected a number of these for an exhibit, but not in a gallery—right on the trail, where I’ve spent so much time and found these inspirations. It’s the place where I found the scene of one of my favorite paintings, “Dusk in the Woods”.

From the very first show it’s been one of my best and one of my favorites. Most of all I love to get the chance to talk to others who love their trail and share with them both the familiar places and the extraordinary moments.

I will still offer all my handmade goods along with prints…

Nature gifts

Nature gifts

Gift items

My tent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photography from Previous Exhibits

The following five photos were features in this year’s exhibit, all taken on the morning of March 10, 2017. To visit the page to purchase a photo, click the image.

Dramatic Light

Dramatic Light

Dramatic Light

When I reached the trail that day the sun was just beginning to break through small holes in the the clouds that cast beams of sunlight like spotlights. I knew I wanted a photo of an icy, snowy tree completely alight against the deep gray clouds of the storm as they left the area. The photo above was from the very beginning, as soon as I arrived at the trail and I saw the sun moving over the trees, changing every moment. I just began photographing, zooming in and out, capturing different lighting. Everyone who saw the photo recognized the bridge as the very first one on the trail and knew exactly where I’d taken the photo.

Though “Dramatic Light” was my first love from that magical morning, there was another photo I wanted to capture just as much. As I drove to the trail I looked at all the tree-covered hills that looked as if they were frosted with powdered sugar. I did photograph a few of the hills, but I knew that the steep hills surrounding the valley where the trail and Robinson Run were would be even more dramatic, and when I arrived, as soon as I’d photographed “Dramatic Light”, I turned to the hill on the left and it did not disappoint. The sun moved like a spotlight over the hill and I did capture several where one treetop of many was highlighted. But it was when a quick flash of hazy sun through thinning clouds touched the hillside that I saw what I’d envisioned: treetops frosted with white to fill the frame. As I organized my exhibit “Frosted” quickly captured me and I decided to use that photo as my feature at the front of my tent.

Frosted

"Frosted", matted and framed. Framed size is 20 x 30.

“Frosted”, matted and framed. Framed size is 20 x 30.

And here is the photo.

Frosted

Frosted

Both “Dramatic Light” and “Frosted” are matted with black core mats and framed with a 2.25″ matte black wood frame.

Photos always included in the exhibit

Clicking on any image in the gallery will bring up a full-size image, and you can also see the images in a slideshow. I know that some are missing from here because I decided at the last minute to include them.

Only a few of the images below are available on this site. Now that I know which ones are more popular at exhibits I will add them.

Original paintings

Paths I Have Walked
22” x 28”, pastel, $650

"Paths I Have Walked", pastel, 16" x 28" © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

“Paths I Have Walked”, pastel, 16″ x 28″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Running Through the Woods
16” x22”, pastel, $500

"Running Through the Woods", pastel, 20" x 14" © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

“Running Through the Woods”, pastel, 20″ x 14″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Other paintings and prints of paintings included in the exhibit

I’ll be previewing new works over the next few weeks. Clicking on any image in the gallery will bring up a full-size image, and you can also see the images in a slideshow (photos are below).

. . . . . . .

What’s the quarry? The Panhandle rail line, which was removed to built the trail in the old rail bed, runs right through a century-old limestone quarry, a portion of which is still actively quarried. The quarry ponds are there and that and the woods around make a natural gathering place.

I use this trail all the time, and part of my giveback is to maintain their website and the little bit of social networking that we do, along with photographing things. I use to volunteer during the event, usually in the kitchen dishing out easy food, but this is much more fun.

For more information on the trail please visit www.panhandletrail.org.

Other pages for Sun Shadow Ice and Snow exhibits:

2014 Exhibit

2015 Exhibit

2016 Exhibit

2017 Exhibit

2018 Exhibit

2019 Exhibit

Seasons Along the Panhandle Trail, All Photos

Seasons Along the Panhandle Trail, All Paintings

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.

Flourish-darkgray-100Don’t miss any new items or opportunities!

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