Painting Mountains June 7th-9th 2024

As near to Heaven as you can get on Earth, mountains are revered, sometimes feared, and regarded as sacred. They are challenging and mysterious. People built temples in the shape of mountains to represent the spiritual ascent of the soul. Climbing a mountain is likened to a spiritual journey. Looking back one sees all they have accomplished and all they have to do.

Once you begin to paint from life you quickly realize how much more you can see compared to a photograph. Distance is something that does not translate well in the average snapshot. Looking at mountains, looking at the sky on the horizon, looking deep into the forest, you can notice the changes. For color, things get bluer the further away from us they are. There is the atmosphere to consider. You can notice the change in value and intensity of color. The same trees have a different hue. Clouds cast shadows on the mountains and unless you remember where sun was, those shadows make no sense. This June 7th through 9th we are heading out to paint distance, to paint mountains.

One of the best places to paint mountains near Shrine Mont is in the tiny town of Jerome. Established in the early 1800s one of the first buildings stood on a hill overlooking the Appalachian Mountains. Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church was organized on this very hill in 1827. Services were held in a one-room log school house. This building, sometimes known as Miller's school after its owner Godfrey Miller, was built circa 1813 and was located on the site of the present church parking lot. It was later torn down and moved to a nearby farm. This church was replaced by a frame church in 1854 and then by the present church in 1891-1892. The building was greatly expanded in 1935. The rock wall encircling the adjoining cemetery was also built in 1935.

We have painted from this very hill and if all goes well we will be painting there this summer. There are views in every direction. There is a pavilion for those who need shade. There are mountains, and sky. There is beauty. Please come join us! The fresh air and mountain water are waiting for you. https://shrinemont.com/event/painting-creation-24/