I find it interesting to analyze what makes an area so alluring to paint that I keep coming back many times a year. In some cases, it's one specific scene. In the case of Iona Island, it's many areas of the sanctuary. What especially intrigues me are the variety of textures, the varied yet subtle colors and the many watery paths throughout the area with mountainous hills bringing up the rear. Lots for the eye to enjoy.

Wild reeds and grasses, bushes, trees and wild flowers line the banks of the marsh. Sometimes the watery paths are wide and sometimes narrow as the tide from the nearby Hudson influences the water level. The atmosphere is often highly saturated with moisture which causes foggy, moody conditions and because the Island is in the Hudson Highlands and right along the river, one can count on lots of dramatic skies.

The scene I've chosen here is right at the entrance road to the Island. If I turn a little to the North, I'm looking at the Bear Mountain Bridge. Here, the focus was on the many layers of wild growth in varying shades of green and earth tones that march in angled paths of Nature's own making and the bright blue reflection of the sky in the water.