I had planned to oil paint with my plein air group at Mountain View Cemetery but there were just too many interesting sights to explore to plant myself in one spot with an easel. I switched to ink and watercolor which is so much more portable. I wonder what the statue above is supposed to be pointing towards?
The entrance and central plaza is planted with thousands (?) of tulips. I hoped they would be in bloom but I only spotted one early bird. This cemetery is such a beautiful and historic place (as you can see in this photo slide show).
This pond and little waterfall beneath a gigantic weeping willow tree (above) is one of my favorite spots in the cemetery, hidden just behind the entrance gate. I’ve tried to paint it before and have yet to get it right. Maybe next time.
After the group left I stayed behind to draw a couple more of the statues. The life-sized angel on the left was bunching up her robes, looking off into the distance. The one on the right is yet another female statue pointing at something in the distance.
I’m curious about how people chose or designed their statues in the 1800s. Were they built to order or were there standard designs they could buy? Why are they almost all women? I suppose in death, like birth, a mother watching over us is comforting, even if she’s looking or pointing at something else.
Jana Bouc, Artist 