Friday, February 8, 2013

Branch Creek - Ruth Andre


"Branch Creek"
18x12x1.5 inches oil-wax on panels
by Ruth Andre

When I was a girl my family would visit my mother's family. We would go to my grandparents two room log cabin back in a Kentucky holler. The best way to describe the holler is to say it was down a long dirt road and far from the main road to town. The house had no electricity and food was kept in a root cellar or in a bucket deep in the well to stay cool. Needless to say it was an experience to visit the wilds of Kentucky after living in California my entire life. That summer was hot and humid and we all took a walk down the red dirt road to the creek to swim. As I was resting on the shore enjoying all of the activity a Water Moccasin snake swam by. I decided right then it was just too wild for me.This painting, "Branch Creek" reminds me of that hot summer day and the all so foreign life I had stepped into for a few summer days. Memories have made for, 
"A Painting Day".



6 comments:

Sue Marrazzo Fine Art said...

I ENLARGED THIS TO LOOK AT IT...IT'S AWESOME!

Ruth Andre said...

Thank-you, Sue, for your comment. So happy you like the painting.

shirley fachilla said...

Your painting is luminous on my screen; I'm sure it's much more so when seen "in the paint."
As a resident of Tennessee, I know just what you mean about the life abounding in the creeks and hollows including those water moccasins!

Theresa Paden said...

Another beautiful painting! You seriously should write a book about the adventures you have had. Growing up in a rural part of CA, representing famous illustrators in the 80's, moving to a flower farm in Missouri, living in Baja, and northern CA, and your life with horses. You have such a way with words, too, and your experiences come to life when we read them.

Ruth Andre said...

Theresa, I do appreciate your comment very much. It seems we all have stories to share if we just take the time to remember them. Painting and the blog have given me a place to show my paintings and write about my life's adventures..

Diana Moses Botkin said...

Thanks for the interesting story for this one. It's lovely.

We lived in Kentucky for 3 years when my kids were little, and I sure remember how hot and humid the summers could be.

I grew up in Oklahoma without air conditioning, so I was no stranger to those kinds of conditions. But Kentucky was worse.

Good idea to stay away from water moccasins! They are mean and aggressive, and deadly.