Sunrise, June 23, 1983, Indian River Lagoon, Melbourne, Florida. The 2nd high rise span of the Melbourne Causeway was under construction. There are two construction cranes at the right end of the causeway arch. The image is centered on a full 8x5 x 11 sheet of paper, Southworth Parchment Deed paper, 100% cotton. This drawing has never been exhibited.

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Painted from life at Hanging Rock State Park in the Sauratown Mountains north of Winston Salem. The view is to the northwest. Smog lies over the Blue Ridge Mountains in the hazy distance. Mountains on the right are in Virginia. Hanging Rock is a popular state park, and visitors clamber among the rocks to enjoy the fabulous view. Partially hidden on the right, a pair of young lovers enjoy the view, and each other. In the rolling landscape below, a field of corn has recently been harvested, and fall colors are beginning to appear.

The Sauratown Mountains are named for Saura or "Saraw" tribe of native Americans who once lived in this area. The mountains are composed of ancient quartzite outcroppings said to be 250-500 million years old.

Almost all of the work on this painting was done on-location at the top of the mountain, which necessitated daily climbs up the steep (very steep!) slope for about two weeks, as I remember it. Mercifully, the climbs did get easier, and I timed my climbs to improve my pace as my legs got better conditioned.

Refinements on the painting were accomplished in my stepvan mobile studio while I camped in the region nearby. The following year more refinement work was done in Florida. Final work was done eight years later in Florida, in 1999.

Exhibited in 1995 at Halpert Biennial Exhibition, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. In NYC dealer Hal Katzen showed this painting and advised that a corporate collection buyer saw the painting and would have purchased it if only the pair of lovers had not been in the painting. - sg

Available, please inquire.