Still Waters Cottage

People often ask me where my inspiration comes from, well really most of my paintings are imaginary. I even have a little sketchbook I take with me to church so that I can jot an idea down when it comes. For my newest painting, the story is really kind of interesting. Stillwater Cottage is perhaps the most detailed of the cottage paintings I've ever done. Over the years I've done many cottage paintings. In fact, early on people really associated with work with cottages. I often heard the phrase Kincaid Cottage to suggest a cottage that is very cozy and inviting. One of my earliest cottage paintings also became one of the first of our sold out prints. It was called Chandler's Cottage and of course I did it to commemorate the birth of our second daughter, Chandler. Chandler's Cottage became a great success and introduced literally hundreds of thousands of people to my work at an early stage in my career. Many of my cottages feature pathways, open gates, and streams running beside them. But Stillwater Cottage I think brings together all my favorite elements from my cottage paintings of the past and really fuses those elements into a composition that is very pleasing to me. I really enjoyed creating the sense that there was so much to discover in this painting. If you look carefully you'll see geese and gazlings. You'll see streams that cascade from the distance. I enjoyed even painting the old brass bell that hangs in front of the doorway of the cottage. One of my favorite touches is the old stone bench that sits just outside the front door of Stillwater Cottage. And if you look carefully you'll see the family Bible laid open upon the bench perhaps having just been left by someone who was spending a few moments in quiet meditation. I really had fun creating the sense of two centers of interest. On the one hand we have the dramatic light of the cottage windows. And on the other hand you also find your eye carried down the pathway into the distance more on the left of the composition. The drama of the sunset is really accentuated when the lights are dim. I always encourage people to have the paintings presented with a light that can be dimmed so that when you bring the lights down they really have a sense of the special glow of that painting. People often say they feel I love the sense of a brook and a running stream and the sense of a small waterfall. Nothing could be more tranquil than to sit beside a stream and hear that water running by as it goes over the rocks. I think the effect of light as it pours out of the cottage windows and is caught by the stream below is such a romantic touch. I especially enjoy thinking about the activities that would go on inside the cottage. I think a painting Inside this cottage there is quiet and peacefulness and there's a lot of love between family members in a cottage I think the rosy glow in the sunset makes this painting have a special charm. I love to paint the softness of nature and I really created a soft edge romantic world when I was working on Stillwater Cottage. I view my paintings as messengers in the home bringing a simple life affirming message of family, faith, the beauty of nature and simpler ways of living. We all need a sense of peace in our life and this painting certainly helps provide that. Well, I hope you've enjoyed getting a sneak peek of a brand new work. Each painting tells a story and inspires a heart. That's what it's all about, sharing the light and touching lives every day. God bless.