This image was created in my home town and would be recognized by anyone in the area. Why I have never before painted this panoramic view I do not know. Many other artists and photographers stop by here all the time. Sometimes we become jaded about things we see almost every day. Maybe I thought the scenery was too pretty or touristy for me to capture in a serious art piece. If I did that I apologize to all the other artists and photographers. There are no off limits subjects for art. Sometimes the reputation of a scene or the baggage of history makes it harder to see the scene with a fresh perspective or unbiased thought. If you have seen one light house painting you have seen them all. Well I have seen a lot of paintings of this scene and I wasn't sure I would have anything to add to the pool of art. In the end the scene drew me to it. I just responded to what I saw on a windy fall day with clouds zipping by and the sun reflecting on the water and through the fall colors. You can feel the curvature of the Earth and the expanse of the landscape as you look. It's a soulful healing process just to sit there whether you are doing a painting or not. The clouds were the first thing to grab my attention since they were large and animated, moving quickly. The backlit effect was strong and required a dry edge of color and strong contrast between the white and gray, very different to what I do more often which has a softer wetter look. The backlit leaf colors are brilliant to the point of being almost unbelievable, but when I am done I don't think there is not much of an exaggeration to be seen. I worked to let the colors have some hard edges and some soft flowing areas. I like the look of suggestion without banging the viewer on the head with too much exact description. So I have added a drop of water to the pool of images.