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Posted on 6/21/2011 8:42:03 PM
By Thomas Stotts
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England Countryside
30x40 Acrylic on canvas. Cindy and I celebrated our 20th anniversary in 2001 with a trip to England and France. This scene was one we saw near Oxford. We toured Oxford and the Cotswolds for a day and a half under the guidance of my cousin Jan and her husband Jonathan. Jan taught at Oxford and we got to see some of the most beautiful countryside on earth. We had a car tour and walking tour. The Cotswolds are just north of Oxford and Oxford is about an hour drive by "coach" or the American version "bus", from London. After standing in line at Victoria Station in London, to get a coach ticket, I found out we could just pay the driver 8 pounds as we boarded. We had a great time and I was inspired during that trip. I still paint from the photos I took. The English houses were very beautiful and the grounds around them were beautiful as well. I've heard the English work very hard on preparing their gardens to make them look wild and unprepared. Whatever the formula, I think it works.
Posted on 6/15/2011 8:45:40 PM
By Thomas Stotts
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Soft Light, acrylic on canvas.
This piece was inspired from a late evening drive to my parents house about 20 years ago. A mental snap shot of this has been with me all those years. I was driving down Choctaw Road as the sun was going down. There had been a rain and the fields were wet and a usually dry stream had swolen up with enough water to create a bright, glass like reflection in an otherwise dark setting. Dusk creates a soft light and it is a time for the sounds of silence.
