At the far park's edge along the Merrimack River, I found a mound of wind blown pine boughs. A curious display of numerous neophyte pine cones covered the fallen branches. What a unique find. So instead of focusing my painting on a panoramic of the Merrimack River with ice flows traveling up the river, this gathering of winter green would be the painting's subject. Organizing such a jumble on canvas would be quite the challenge for a three hour session.
Since it's illegal to take anything from the park, I snapped a few close ups pics of those petite pine cones. In the studio for further study, I drew with charcoal the pine needle clusters and the pine cones from the photos.
While researching white pine, I came across information about the pineal gland. The shape of the gland is that of a small pine cone and is known as the third eye. It regulates the circadian rhythms, that internal clock that affects actions such as when we sleep and wake.
