The Old Bridge on the New River ~ I just finished this aceo/atc size acrylic painting on watercolor paper last night. I picked and picked and finally had to tell myself to stop and call it finished. I painted it from a photo I had taken when we went to the New River Gorge bridge back in July. We were thinking about going out again for official 'Bridge Day' on October 17, but there are going to be sooo many people there for that extreme sporting event. We may go the weekend before. I hope so, it's an amazing place! Haa, of course we were just going to watch the people parachuting and bungee jumping off the bridge, not join in! :o

Is it a hummingbird!? ~ Standing in the front door as dusk was coming, my husband called and said, "hurry up and come look at this and bring your camera!" It turned out I didn't need to hurry because this large hummingbird moth took it's time at all the flowers in front of the house. I used the flash on the camera to get these pictures.

Catching the Light ~ This is 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches acrylics on watercolor paper.


I did this little painting from a photo I took last weekend at the New River Gorge.

Ahhh it feels good to paint again! ~ The two paintings above are aceo/atc size and painted in acrylics. The top one is titled 'River Wilderness' and the second one is 'Chasing the Light'. I may enter these up for bid in the upcoming nfac art contests in ebay. The one below is 'Fishy Mutants' and it's 6 x 6 inches on a stretched canvas. This is one I just reworked some more but I'm still not sure I'm happy with the way it turned out.

From our trip last weekend ~ If you are wondering what it looks like to drive over the New River Gorge bridge, this is a photo I snapped as we were going across!

We went down countless steps (my legs were sore for days) to get these views of the bridge. Can you see the vehicles going across the top?

I've never been afraid of heights before, but I've changed my mind after seeing my husband and daughter standing on this rock last weekend! I refused to get on that last rock but did manage to lean over a little to get a picture of the huge dropoff right in front of where they were standing. My hands still sweat just looking at these pictures and seeing how close they were standing next to that edge!

Playful Otters...
A scene at Virginia Beach...a sparkly blue dolphin statue...

Oh boy, I knew sharks were fearsome creatures but to see one swimming so close through the glass, yikes!!

A big old sea turtle...

A restored mid 1800s West Virginia farm at Twin Falls State Park in West Virginia. A park ranger lives here. We stayed in one of the cabins for two nights.

Another picture of the old farmhouse. I read that the inside is fully modernized for the people living there.

I loved that old dinner bell!

Tire swing fun at the family reunion...see where I get inspiration for my paintings!

You can tell that lots of kids have enjoyed that swing!

Lucky number 13, this is the cabin that we stayed at for 2 nights at the Twin Falls State Park in WV. Saturday night we actually saw what we think was a small bear walking across the front of the cabin next door!

White water rafting at the New River in WV

Green West Virginia countryside

eek, what a drop! This is next to the New River Gorge Bridge.

This bridge is almost 800 feet above the river and it's famous for people bungee jumping and parachuting. They have a 'bridge day' every year and close the four lane bridge to traffic for the brave jumpers. No way, not in a million years would I bungee jump off that bridge, it's so high!

The New River in West Virginia...what a stunning view through the overlook window at the park!

From the ocean to the mountains, what an amazing and busy week! ~ Last weekend we drove to Virginia Beach to see the Virginia aquarium and science center, then this weekend we drove all the way to the mountains in West Virginia for Rob's family reunion. Lots of driving and traveling and we were so glad to get home last night! The Virginia aquarium and science center was definitely worth the drive, although it was so packed with people. We saw seals, otters, sharks, native birds and all kinds of critters native to Virginia. It was educational and we had so much fun! But, I have to say that the most awe-inspiring sight of all was when we drove to the New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia on our way back home from the family reunion. This bridge is most definitely not for those afraid of heights and it's famous for the bungee jumpers (eek, no way would I try that)! We drove across the bridge, which is almost 800 feet above the New River, then we drove all the way to the bottom, going though many, many hairpin turns with sheer dropoffs which would take your breath away! I've taken so many photos from these two trips, I had a heck of a hard time choosing which ones to post in my blog so I'll just put a buch of 'em in here. I haven't had a chance to paint anything this week but I'm sure feeling inspired after all the sights we saw this week.