Michigan Dune

Somewhat of a prosaic title, but to me, dunes in Michigan seem a strange idea, although I think Michigan does have the most coastline of any state in the union. The lakes surrounding this state are a gorgeous turquoise blue and trees grow quite close to all of them. We spent some time on a peninsula where cherry orchards and vinyards flowed over gentle hills right down to the sand and water. Absolutely beautiful!


This scene is at a park. I have not painted Lake Superior which is only a few yards from the right edge, but I concentrated on the looming trees that are starting to cast a shadow on the sand dune.

forest for the trees

My husband and I stayed at a beautiful French Tudor mansion hotel on Mackinac Island in Michigan this summer. Down at the coast level of Mackinac Island are beautiful homes and tourist attractions, but if you hike or bike or take a horse drawn cab (no cars allowed on the island) up the hill, through the woods, and down some trails, you will come across this "home" once owned by a meat-packer industrialist.

This is a view of part of the front lawn, a wonderful grassy expanse with tall trees. I loved the way the sunlight made interesting striation patterns from the tree shadows. This was one of our best vacation trips ever and we hope to go back to this place again.

As for the painting - I did this quickly, in less than a day. It is a 10 x 10 inch canvas. Square formats can be difficult, and again, only 4 trees are featured (even number of objects are also tricky to handle). But I like this little painting and may not offer it for sale at my upcoming "show", the annual St. Nicholas Day sale at a local Episcopal Church. I will be showing my paintings there along with another painter, Jean Beckham. Email me for details if you are interested in attending!