Tennessee Valley

Signed Limited Edition Giclee Print

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©2020 Susan Grabowski

Original oil painting was done onsite in 2002.

“Tennessee Valley in Mill Valley, CA is one of those special places where you can take a long walk in a beautiful valley and end up at the coast, where the crashing surf dazzles with its energy and beauty, rewarding you for the effort. The valley got its name from a ship that was wrecked there — the Tennessee. 

I was drawn to the valley from an artistic viewpoint as soon as I saw it. The walk is relatively flat, which is great when you are carrying your painting gear. The valley is surrounded on both sides by the Marin headlands, which are somewhat bare rolling hills that extend to the ocean.

I often go out there a couple hours before sunset, my favorite time to paint. The shadows are long and filled with color, unlike mid-day, when they tend to be flat and colorless. I especially like backlit trees as they take on the glow of the setting sun. The eucalyptus foliage becomes glimmering jewel-like flashes of bright, warm shades of orange, yellow, salmon and red, and the colors intensify as the sun sinks lower. I like the long shadows that set off these bright notes, and they also assist in creating a dynamic composition of lights and darks, to move the eye through the painting. The hills begin to melt into an almost transparent orange glow. 

This piece was painted not far from the parking lot, looking westward. I painted it almost entirely on-site.”