Last week I went with my brother Alexis, who is a photographer (Alexis Thompson Fine Art Landscape Photography), to Ricketts Glen State Park in Pennsylvania. There are 22 named waterfalls and countless unnamed smaller falls along a steep gorge. We stayed in a cabin and hiked for two and a half days, going up and down the rugged steps and rocks of the gorge, as Alexis photographed and I sketched to my heart’s content. The first morning we left the cabin over an hour before sunrise and hiked by the light from our headlamps (red light, so as not to affect our night vision). I have always loved being in the woods at night, so that was a special treat!
The final evening we had the amazing gift of a clear view of the Aurora Borealis over Lake Jean in the park. What an awesome sight that I will not forget, as the sky turned red and green with lighter streaks and spires, at one point looking almost like a giant crown in the heavens. I was singing “Crown Him with Many Crowns” to myself for a long time afterwards as I marveled on God’s magnificent artistry in the sky.
I am planning to touch up some of the sketches, but at this point they are just as I did them in the park. Waterfalls are hard to sketch, so I decided from the outset that I was going to focus on learning and experimenting with different approaches and mediums, rather than trying to produce any kind of masterpieces. That took the pressure off, and I had a great time sketching, in addition to having a really wonderful time with my brother. I hope he and and will share more adventures of this sort!
