Kelly Hill

This view looking east into Brown County State Park has been photographed, painted and simply enjoyed by tourists, locals, and artists—for over 100 years. Each change of season brings artful possibilities. Redbud and Dogwood blossoms in the spring, freshly baled hay in summer, amazing fall color, and bare hillsides blanketed with snow.

It was a rare day this October when I didn’t see someone stopped to capture this scene as I crested Kelly Hill on my drive home from work. I’ve done the same, although in winter, when a light snow had dusted the fields with white. I snapped a picture to use as a reference for a future painting.

This was one intention that I actually followed through with—twice. This past spring, I took a very enjoyable class from Corrine Hull and recreated my photo using soft pastels.  Here’s the result—my first try with this type of pastel.



Later in the year I took a mini-tapestry workshop at Yarns Unlimited, a local fiber store. I wrote about the beginning of that project in August, but as projects often go, this one was put on hold for a while. It’s finally complete, although late as a birthday gift.

Neither of my attempts really captures the depth of this scene. How the pasture falls, rolls and flows downward to the edge of the woods. How the forest rises up from the valley, and extends on until hills become haze . . . Picture perfect.