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Tim OBrien
Back in the Studio
posted:
My favorite photo this summer without a human in it.
All summer I drove 4 hours west of Brooklyn to Eagles Mere, PA. Up in the mountain in a range of mountains west of the Pocanos is a range called the Endless Mountains. In the middle is a small lake and a tiny town around it called Eagles Mere. Originally founded for a glass manufacturer (who's original site is the location of our family home), a train line went from Philadelphia to the lake. After the factory closed, the train line was a perfect way for busy Philadelphians to vacation in all the Victorian homes and hotels that sprung up in it's absence. Many years later the rail line closed and Eagles mere became a town that time forgot. We feel so fortunate to have it to go to. My son is getting to spend his summers in a cool lake, no television, and took to making things and inventing toys and making forts. I had a ton of work this summer and worked up there on several weekends.
Driving there can be relatively fast but more often some odd thing happens that adds an hour. This truck fire had JUST happened so I buzzed right by.
...soon the endless interstate 80 becomes smaller and smaller roads and I get to see spectacular barns. I love barns and thought about the fact that I never see anyone building NEW wooden barns. This may be their swan song.
The beach in Eagles Mere. It's run by an association that maintains the lake and forest around the lake. No motor boats allowed except for an old boat called the 'Hardly Able.' No houses are allowed to be build on it, but there are several little docks. It's quiet and cool.
At the height of the season it can get crowded but never too crazy.
I must compliment my brother-in-law who brings food every weekend and cooks for everyone. A doctor by trade, he shows his artistic flair in the kitchen. Here he is preparing pouches for a mountain clam bake.
When I was not in the studio I studied clouds; my favorite leisure activity. In the mountains, these thunderheads can grow massive.
Wild turkeys
At the top of one mountain are a bunch of huge rock formations called the 'Rock Garden.' Climbing around them is fun (especially for a kid) and fit perfectly as research for an assignment.
This was what I was looking for. I got a job to do the cover for the Last of the Mohicans. I love the N.C. Wyeth version so much. Action and location. I decided to sketch a version that harkened back to that.
An alternate. I liked it and sketched it on a napkin at a pizza parlor.
The final art. I sketched these white birds with little thought as to what kind of bird they were. I then had to find a bird that might be indigenous to the story's location. I loved working out the layering of the elements and the mirrored shapes; trees/clouds, birds/ferns and man/tree.
leaving the studio, I loved getting back to nature...my favorite photo with a human in it.
The next time I see this lake I may be skating on it. Summer 2007 was great.
I read Drawger quite a bit and commented when I could. My iPhone worked like a charm! I promise to come back to the fold and post a bit more and comment even more on all the great stuff everyone has put up here.
What to write about this one? I went to a great old amusement park called Knoebles. Going the week before Labor day meant multiple rides on the TWISTER and the PHOENIX. I highly recommend it.


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