Winter Sunset from Lake Shore Drive
Capturing Connections
Winter Sunset at Newnans Lake (Originally Known as Lake Pithlachocco) from Lake Shore Drive
Oil on Canvas by Allison A. Stevens
82 in. wide by 54 in. high and 70 in. wide by 54 in. high
Installed at Miller Elder Law Firm in Gainesville, Florida
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What drives an artist to create? For Allison Stevens, the primary motivation is to capture intriguing visual moments and share those impressions with others. Through her work, she attempts to illustrate her observations of scenes, objects, landscapes, characters, and relationships — to express her notions and feelings about what makes these things unique, beautiful, or worthy of further reflection.
The Lake Shore Drive paintings endeavor to capture a moment of connection. It’s a connection between the artist and loved ones and the concurrence of traveling through this specific setting, along Lake Shore Drive in Gainesville, while trying to hold tightly to memories of visits and conversations with all of her aging loved ones amidst the rapid movement of time in the outside world. The serenity of this trip along Lake Shore Drive before and after visits to see her friends provided time and space to imprint some of those memories. Captured and recorded like the still frames of a flickering film reel, or like this fleeting moment of a winter afternoon sunset which will now provide a persistent association with those memories.
The main “characters” pictured in this scene, are a collection of bald cypress trees in varying stages of their lifespan. Like many species of trees, cypress trees get more unique and full of character as they age. They develop angled twists and knots and “knees” and collect tangles of grey moss that catch the glowing, fiery light of the setting sun.
Their “knees” provide sunning spots for turtles and alligators, the network of roots provide shelter for spawning fish, and the branches provide a safe space for nesting birds. A full cycle of life in one tree. The ever-present sable palms keep them company along the shoreline providing berries and nuts and nesting materials. And of course, there’s the lake itself, sustaining generations past and present.
It’s all here, nourishment, safety, security, shade, sun, water, life. Together they exemplify a uniquely quintessential North Florida landscape. The emotional symbolic associations are equally significant: nourishment, love, support, sharing, and life.
Click on the thumbnails to see full image.
Interesting bit of serendipity…
I almost didn’t bring the watercolor sketch of this scene when I met with Shannon and Elyse Ostland of NorthSouth Studios (Elyse is the designer for the office space) to present concepts for these paintings. I packed up several other sketches I’d made for them to review and decided at the last minute to bring this one. I was worried it would be a challenge to keep the scene from looking cheesy and that the transparent Payne’s Grey in the watercolor would come across as just black in oil paint. But on my last trip out of the studio loading up the car, I decided to bring it with.
Thinking about that now, I find it interesting that this ended up being the scene that spoke to them. This sketch I almost didn’t bring, the law firm’s daily work supporting people as they age, the way that mission overlaps with the memories I connect with this location over the past few years, and a focus on my aging loved ones that’s interconnected with those moments. It all seems very serendipitous. Perhaps they picked up on that subconscious connection and that’s what drew them to it.
Shannon Miller invited me to talk a little about the paintings and the connection to their law firm’s mission and you can find portions of that chat in the Artistry Instagram reels.