By C. F. Lawrenson

18" x 38"

In the summer of 2010 we went for a hike with our daughter Kristin and her husband Stewart on a section of the Appalachian Trail in the Smoky Mountains. This part of the trail follows closely the Tennessee-North Carolina border and leads to this huge rock outcropping known as Charlie's Bunion. 

By C. F. Lawrenson

22.5"x32"

I love the Wild Places; the places you have to make an effort to see. One of those places is Abrams Falls in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Eastern Tennessee. Our daughter Kristin and her husband Stewart live approximately an hour from this area and Kristin took us on a 2 1/2 to 3 mile hike through the woods to this inspiring site. Once again I was awestruck by the sculpture of the landscape and kinetic sculptural quality of the water that carved it out.

By C. F. Lawrenson

The inspiration for this painting came from an old broken down bench located at the top of a hill overlooking Mansfield State College. I took several black and white pictures of it around 1970 and several years later I did a pen and ink drawing of it. It wasn't until 2003 that I decided to feature the old bench in a painting. The infamous water tower was located behind the viewer and part of the roof of Decker Gymnasium (which was under construction when the photos were taken) was visible from here, where the path goes down the hill. I replaced it with a barn roof off in the distance. As the campus grew and became known as Mansfield University, it gradually encroached on this Lover's Lane of the mid 20th century. Now, it is all but forgotten.

By C. F. Lawrenson

My sister and her husband live on a beautiful piece of property in northern Pennsylvania with a pond, woods and an open field. I love visiting there and every time I do, I’m able to observe many different species of birds. They were probably surprised when I was drawn to this pile of old railroad ties and rocks that my sister kept after her husband to clean up. I was excited by the light and dark patterns in this pile and the surrounding field. I immediately thought of a barred owl for this scene because it’s light and dark patterns seemed to echo the existing patterns in the landscape. 

By C. F. Lawrenson

The sound of water gently falling over rocks, in a brook or creek, has always been very soothing to me. I am sure it is soothing to a lot of other people as well, and that is probably why the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, designed the house over falling water for the Kaufmann family. I love to be in places like this spot, along Stony Fork Creek south of Wellsboro, PA, and just listen to the gurgling noise of steady but gentle white water as gravity pulls it over and around the rocks on its journey to the sea. I listen to the rhythmic music of the tumbling water while studying the patterns within it, and taking in the surrounding landscape that benefits from the water, while keeping it on its path.

By C. F. Lawrenson

This painting was inspired by a falls located along the turkey path, about halfway down the mountain from Leonard Harrison State Park in the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. Eventually this water will flow into the rocks where I painted The Last Hurdle and on into Pine Creek. I had to get off the path and climb down into the creek bed to get this view.

By C. F. Lawrenson

Although Canada Geese migrated through our area every year, they did not begin nesting here until the mid 1980's. In the spring of 1984 this pair flew into a small fire pond that was fenced around. Since Canada Geese need a running start to take flight, the fence had them trapped. I was able to spend a couple of days drawing and photographing them.

By C. F. Lawrenson

One of our favorite things to do on a nice day is to ride our bikes on the Rails to Trails that snake through the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon along Pine Creek. This particular day, we rode from Blackwell to Slate Run and ate our lunch on the deck of the Hotel Manor overlooking Pine Creek. We observed both Blue Heron and Green Heron on our ride south and got to watch an osprey for a while as we ate our lunch. Then we noticed an eagle feeding on a fish on top of a rock about 50 yards up stream. As we carefully walked up the edge of Pine Creek to get a closer look, the eagle took off and flew right past us. I decided to use a background inspired by these trees reflecting in the water about a mile up stream.

By C. F. Lawrenson

In the fall of 2007, I was walking along the Cowanesque River when I spotted a red fox up ahead. He didn't seem to mind me following him, but as I moved forward, so did he, always maintaining the same distance between us. I got to observe him for quite a while, until a dog from a nearby house began to bark, and he ran off into this swampy area. A few months later when portions of the swamp were frozen over, I took a walk down into these wetlands and found fox tracks in the snow. I decided to paint a winter scene depicting the fox trying to do the same thing I was doing; find a way around the yet unfrozen bogs. Of course, the fox being lighter, more athletic, and smarter about his environment than I am, would have no trouble getting around the thin ice.

By C. F. Lawrenson

 I was fascinated by the Great Blue’s prehistoric like grandeur, but as I would sneak along the water’s edge trying to photograph them or study them through binoculars, I would always manage to spook these ever alert birds into flight. I decided that this was the moment that I wanted to capture in my painting; that split second when this giant bird lifts out of the water.

By C. F. Lawrenson

In the early 1980's I was hiking a familiar trail up a mountain north of Westfield, Pennsylvania. I kept hopping over the same small stream and finally took some time to rest beside it and watch the chipmunks as they scurried around. The closer I got to the ground, the more I realized what a different view of the landscape some of our smaller creatures had. 

By C. F. Lawrenson

In the summer of 2004, we spent some time near Watauga Lake in Tennessee. This large lake has approximately 147 miles of wilderness shore land. We rented a pontoon boat one day and explored many of the coves and inlets. Part of the day we followed this egret and watched him as he balanced on this log. The title doesn't just refer to the egret. I was also fascinated with the balance of sunlight and shadow on the water, as the sun got lower in the sky.

By C. F. Lawrenson

On the eve of the Vernal Equinox in March of 2015, we got a small snowstorm. Thinking that this might be the last significant snow of the season, Holly and I headed for some state forestland where we could observe and photograph the phenomenon of fresh snow clinging to the hemlock trees. The inky, dark shape of the stream winding through this small snow covered canyon offered such a powerful contrast to the delicate snow covered branches that I had to do this painting.

By C. F. Lawrenson

Many of us have discovered special places in our lives that just seem to heal and renew our spirit. For me, it is a place where I have always felt immersed in God’s artistry. It is a place in the mountains of Northern Pennsylvania called The Asaph.  There are a couple of thousand acres of State Forest Land here and many of my paintings have featured bits and pieces of this beautiful place, such as Evening Watch, Dry Autumn, Tentacles and Mixed Marriage. However, in this painting, I didn’t try to record anything specific, but instead tried to capture the mood and essence of an “Asaph Morn”.

By C. F. Lawrenson

This painting was inspired by the exposed root system of a large hemlock. The seasonal rise and fall of the water eroded so much soil away from it over the years that this big evergreen began to sink into the creek until the bottom came to rest precariously on a large rock, like a horseman on a saddle.  Of course, as the tree sunk, more of the root system was pulled up and out of the stream bank. The intricate configuration fascinated me, and in some places, the smaller, sun bleached roots reminded me of the antlers on the white tail buck that roam this area.

By C. F. Lawrenson

While taking a walk around the swampy end of a lake in northern Pennsylvania, my wife Holly took a great picture of an osprey perched on this crooked stump that was poking out of the water. Ospreys will dive into the water to snag a fish rather than skimming them off the top with their talons like eagles do. This Osprey's breast feathers were matted together in small triangular clumps indicating that he had already been in the water at least once. In my mind I could see a different background from the one that existed, with a sunrise highlighting a new morning sky as last night's storm prepares to move on.

By C. F. Lawrenson

While exploring the shores along the coast of North Carolina near Beaufort, my wife and I found several places where cedar trees had been uprooted and toppled over by storms. The saltwater kills the vegetation quickly but the wood is almost preserved by it and the tree's skeleton can stay intact for many years. As we walked around the island we happened across this incredible configuration in cedar with a great egret roosting in it. The somewhat abstract radial design just jumped out at me and the egret was kind enough to model for over an hour.

By C. F. Lawrenson

This painting was inspired by a place on top of a mountain near our home. This field was left unused for several years and the old rusty gage seemed to be frozen to the ground in the open position. Red-tailed hawks abound in this area and are frequent hunters in abandoned fields like this one.

By C. F. Lawrenson

Several of my paintings feature the root systems of trees exposed by weathering or erosion. Their abstract sculptural quality fascinate me and I love exploring them in a pencil drawing. This scene of the roots of a white birch caught my eye because of the way in which these light colored roots split up the space and contrasted against their dark earthy background. I chose to include a nuthatch because I have seen so many of them along this stream, crawling head first down the trees and toward the roots which seem to spread out like tentacles in search of food and water.

By C. F. Lawrenson

Some friends of ours own a small camp along Stony Fork Creek south of Wellsboro in north central Pennsylvania. Their land slopes gently down to this beautiful spot where the waters have flowed between these rocks for thousands of years. I spent one peaceful day drawing this scene while sitting on a rock that juts out over this stream like a shelf.

By C. F. Lawrenson

The idea for this painting came from many early morning bike rides on a dirt road located on the outskirts of our small town. The open fields along the road were filled with chicory and wild carrot, often called Queen Anne's Lace. I was able to observe Eastern Bluebirds in this area nd their coors fit perfectly with the blue flowers, white lace, and the orange in the sunrise.

By C. F. Lawrenson

One beautiful autumn morning, I decided to hit the dusty trails in the mountains near the town we live in. I ended up on a road that led to a property owned by some friends of ours. I got out of the car to take in the view from the top of this hill and was awestruck by the panoramic scene laid before me. While I was breathing in the splendor, a northern harrier (sometimes called a marsh hawk) flew past me, low over the field, and circled back several times. This painting is a composite; just a slice of the beauty found along the road to Sugar Wood.

By C. F. Lawrenson

On a walk in the early 1980's I found this pile of rocks where a field had been cleared decades earlier. It was located on a century farm bordering state game lands just south of Sabinsville, Pennsylvania. The big maple had held up for years with the weight of these huge rocks against it. My original fascination was with the textures in the rocks and trees that contrasted against the softness of the snow, but it was almost impossible to take a walk on this property without getting a glimpse of at least one whitetail along the way.

By C. F. Lawrenson

An old, abandoned, apple orchard inspired this painting, and its title does not refer just to the storm clouds or the red winged blackbirds. It also refers to the hand of man. The decaying trees represent just a remnant of the old orchard that once thrived here. Several generations of people have probably worked this land and passed on. Now these trees are gradually becoming part of the cycle of life, as nature's pioneer plants are sprouting up to reclaim this field.

By C. F. Lawrenson

Screech owls are one of the smallest tufted owls. They can have gray  feathers or reddish-brown feathers like this one. Their color is unrelated to their sex, geographic location or the season. These birds are year-round residents of our area, which is abundant with the heavily wooded streams and waterways this owl prefers. This is one of the paintings that I have done that was inspired by a stream called  the "Asaph" that runs through a remote state forest land where we frequently spent time with our children on picnics and hikes as they were growing up.

By C. F. Lawrenson

The Water in winter can look like dark ink at times. This was one of those transition periods at the end of winter when the ice was receding and these dark, inky abstract shapes of water were contrasting against the snow. Within a couple of days of seeing this, mergansers and Canada geese arrived to use the open water. In this painting another early arrival, a kingfisher, is also watching the grand opening with keen interest.

By C. F. Lawrenson

The Tellico River has its origins in the Unicoi mountain range near the Tennessee - North Carolina border. Holly and I had stopped in several places along the river to walk among the rocks along the water's edge on a  beautiful autumn day. Suddenly, late in the afternoon, the sun was at the perfect angle to shoot these rays through the fall foilage and light up the water in the middle of the stream, in these warm fiery colors. At the same time, the color of the water in the shadows of the rocks remained a deep blue green. The contrast of the colors in the water was so stunning that I knew I had to paint it.

By C. F. Lawrenson

On one of our trips to Canada, we spent some time hiking in the Bay of Fundy National Park. The last trail we took there led to Laverty Falls, which inspired this painting. I loved the balance of the linear pine trees against the solid mass of intricate rock formations. To me, the most interesting places in nature are the ones that take an effort to get to. In my life, choosing to take the roads or paths less traveled, has made All the Difference.

By C. F. Lawrenson

This is a very small painting that was inspired by some hiking that we did on Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. The trails were very narrow and thick with growth. But every now and then there would be a rock outcropping we could climb on or an opening through the pines that would offer a window to a magnificent vista. Holly got a really nice picture of this Red Breasted Nuthatch there. We were surprised at how much brighter its colors seemed in comparison to the Nuthatches we had observed in Northern Pennsylvania. It was the perfect little gem to feature in this Appalachian Mountain environment.

By C. F. Lawrenson

In 2014 we spent several days exploring Prince Edward Island in the Canadian Maritimes. One day we happened upon this crow perched on a dead bush with a pine forest backdrop. He didn't seem to be a bit afraid of us and modeled for several pictures. I tried to create a little more atmospheric depth in the painting than was there at the time, and I deliberately eliminated some trees at the base of the closest hill to expose the red earth that was so prevalent all over the island.

By C. F. Lawrenson

This painting came from the same small farm as The Crossing. It appeared to be a storage shed at the back of the barn, probably housing many old relics like the jug that we see just inside the broken window. This was a play on our innate curiosity. I wanted the viewer to contemplate what other antiques might be in the shed, while at the same time, desiring to continue the walk over the hill out back.

By C. F. Lawrenson

One day, while driving through a very small village, just north of the Pennsylvania - New York border, I came across this old abandoned church. I found out from a local resident that the church had been moved from an even more rural location and it looked as if the belfry had fallen and crashed in the grass right next to it. It seemed to be telling the story of the demise of so many small American churches.

By C. F. Lawrenson

This painting was inspired by a place near the bottom of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon Turkey Path, known as Little Four Mile Run. My wife, Holly, and I have eaten our lunch there many times during bike rides on the trail through the canyon. The rocks are main players in this kinetic design, as they slow the decent of the water and force it to separate and seek paths over, under, and around them.

By C. F. Lawrenson

The greenest place I have ever seen is Prince Edward Island in Eastern Canada. The lily pads in this little pond were just a small slice of the island, but seemed to be a microcosm of the many shades of green found there. The challenge of sculpting them in paint as they curled up and around each other was more than I could resist and the pink flowers added the perfect accent.

By C. F. Lawrenson

The Winds of March bring many changes to the northeast, like the receding snow on the hummocks of last year's uncut fields and the little red buds that are beginning to appear on this thorn apple. But this time of year also brings changes to many wildlife species. These starlings are facing into the wind and fluffing their feathers to trap pockets of warm air as they did all winter to stay warm, but the white spots on their feathers are beginning to fade and their beaks are gradually changing from black to the yellow color they have in the summer. 

By C. F. Lawrenson

Occasionally on my hikes I have encountered trees whose roots are intertwined, but this was the first time I found two trees of such opposite species so permanently connected. One is a hemlock, which is a conifer, an evergreen with very dark, thick and rough bark. The other, a birch tree, is deciduous and has a very thin, light colored bark. The roots were intertwined in a way that made it appear as if they were holding hands.

By C. F. Lawrenson

In the spring of 2012 my friend, Jerry Hendrickson, and I were hiking along Stony Fork Creek south of where I did The Laughing Place when we discovered this mature hemlock with its intricate root system beneath a large rock outcropping. Although we didn't see a bobcat here, I had seen one a couple of miles from this spot, and it just looked like a perfect place for one, looking for the movement of prey in the morning mist.

By C. F. Lawrenson

Early one summer in the mid 1990's we spent a day at a camp near Germania, PA. On a hike near there, we found this huge hemlock on the edge of a field that looked as if it were comprised of two or more trees grown together. Hemlocks are the slowest growing of all the fir trees so we estimated this one to be around 150 years old. What fascinated me was that it appeared to have grown almost out of a burned out stump of a previous hemlock, which could have dated back another 100 years or more, placing it's beginnings around the time of the American Revolution.

By C. F. Lawrenson

I have had a special affinity for places like this along Stony Fork Creek, south of Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, where the landscape made me feel like I was in the middle of a large sculpture, carved by God, using his own elements as tools.

By C. F. Lawrenson

In the winter of 1981, I was exploring the same mountain where the painting Maple Ridge came from. I walked farther west, and then descended down the north side to some river flat land that was owned by friends of mine. I ran across this old rusty milk can frozen in what looked like a drainage ditch next to a fence line. Over the previous decade or so, farmers and the milk industry had changed over to bulk tanks, causing milk cans like this one to become relics of the past.

By C. F. Lawrenson

Spring is my favorite time of the year because of all of the activity in nature. There are signs of new life and new growth everywhere but nowhere on a greater scale than in our swamps and wetlands. For years I have watched the red-winged blackbirds squabble over territorial rights at this time of year. I was originally attracted to this idea because the reeds and grasses had a woven involvement that was very abstract, but with the real textures of our environment.

By C. F. Lawrenson

This painting was an experiment in color and mood starting with a sunrise I saw in early spring in North Carolina and continuing with a walk around the swampy end of a lake in Northern Pennsylvania, where I had seen two herons on a deadfall. I moved one to the background to help accentuate the depth. I sort of melded the two scenes together trying to develop the misty quality and color of an early spring morning when the leaves are not yet out and the water reflects the colors of the morning sky, and the red color of the new shoots and buds.

By C. F. Lawrenson

The idea for this painting came from an old pair of hockey skates that my neighbor had hanging in his shed. I borrowed them and took them on a walk around the edge of a nearby lake, looking for the right setting. This old wooden bridge that stretched across an inlet seemed perfect.  Dark eyed Junco’s are abundant in this area in winter because of the many different pioneer plants in the open areas that produce seeds. 

By C. F. Lawrenson

While taking a walk at the Tanglewood Nature Center near Elmira, NY, we passed this magnificent old tree that had obviously died and been stripped of its bark before it finally fell into this precarious position. Just as I was walking past this decaying sculpture, a young sharp shinned hawk flew right over my head. I loved the abstract configuration and spiral cracking in this giant edifice as it was slowly being reclaimed by nature, and I could just imagine the sharp shinned hawk touching down here to use it as a lookout perch.

By C. F. Lawrenson

There are probably thousands of small streams in the northern Pennsylvania and southern New York regions that eventually flow into the Susquehanna River System and on to the Chesapeake Bay. This painting was inspired by just one of these runoffs. My wife and I followed this one, known as Pinafore Run, halfway up a mountain until we came to this place where the water was twisting and turning its way over shelves of stone, under a thick canopy of overhanging hemlocks. The water here will join Pine Creek in a matter of minutes and eventually find its way into the Susquehanna River System, which makes this stream, and any like it, the origins of the Chesapeake.

By C. F. Lawrenson

The idea for this painting came from a small family farm near Austinburg, PA, along the Pennsylvania-New York border. The fence line ran right through a creek bed and due to the freezing, thawing, and constantly moving water against the fence post this fence line was in a continuous sag.

By C. F. Lawrenson

This pathway on Cadillac Mountain, in Acadia National Park, Maine, looked like it had been a flowing stream one time, that was suddenly frozen into granite. The subtle pink colors in the granite contrasted nicely with the green plants and trees that were trying to get a foothold in the rocky soil. Pathways like this one are all over Cadillac Mountain, and Holly and I have enjoyed exploring most of them.

By C. F. Lawrenson

Killdeer are quite plentiful in northern Pennsylvania in the spring. They will often lay their eggs in gravel or open fields. One day I got a call from a friend who had found a clutch of eggs in the stones along the edge of a creek bed. I got to observe the mother's activity around the nest for several days before they hatched. The stones were incredibly varied in color and texture, yet the eggs blended in so well that each day I had a difficult time spotting them, even though I knew where they were.

By C. F. Lawrenson

While shoveling snow one day after a storm, I began admiring the beauty of the snow clinging to the evergreens in our yard. There was a small opening like a window between two of the trees and suddenly a small brown bird flew through it so quickly that I couldn't identify the species.

By C. F. Lawrenson

This painting was inspired by a place along Pine Creek known as Rattlesnake rock. I took liberties with the background by creating the look of an older forest on the other side of the creek to better match the ancient quality of the rock and give the viewer the feeling of being able to walk back into it. I have seen blue herons here and they have such a prehistoric look to them that it was a perfect match for these ancient rocks.

By C. F. Lawrenson

There are many places along mountain streams in northern Pennsylvania, like this scene, where the water has carved out an abstract sculpture of tree roots and ancient rocks. I have visited the location, which inspired this painting several times over a 25-30 year period. This little cove is just one of the many places that I have enjoyed sketching on site over the years. This is truly a place for solitude and thinking.

By C. F. Lawrenson

In the spring of 2012 we spent a few days visiting the Chincoteague and Assateague Islands off the coast of the Delmarva Peninsula, where we saw many species of birds. We got a great picture of this egret flying very low, but I didn't like the background in the photo so I put the painting off for a while. My mind keep picturing a different setting, so I developed what I wanted from elements of the marshlands of Chincoteague Island.

By C. F. Lawrenson

While traveling one day on a back road near the Pennsylvania-New York border, I noticed a bunch of old rusted barbed wire rolled up next to a fence post in a field. The spiral configuration of it caught my eye and I wandered into the field to take a closer look. The fence line had never been completed and it was obvious that the wire had been left there to rust for many years.

By C. F. Lawrenson

One of our favorite places to visit is Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island in Maine. We've been there 3 times and have enjoyed exploring the rocky coast. The rocks appear to have generous quartz content which reflects the natural light. Sine that light changes, depending on the weather and sky color, the rocks can appear cooler or warmer, depending on the atmospheric conditions. On one early morning trek, we noticed that these rocks had much warmer tones where they faced the yellows and oranges of a sunrise. I also wanted to show how the horizon line is obscured and seems to disappear into the early morning mist.

By C. F. Lawrenson

In late winter/early spring of 1982, I was hiking around the crest of a mountain just west of Westfield, Pennsylvania, when this outcropping of dark sedimentary rock caught my eye. I saw a limited palette of cool, blue-grays contrasting against the white of the snow and the warmer colors of the fallen leaves.

By C. F. Lawrenson

This painting was inspired by a camping trip to Acadia National Park in Maine. What amazed me most about Acadia was the variety of ecosystems that existed on one island. From sandy beach to rocky coastline, pine forest, deciduous forest, and bald mountaintops, Mount Desert Island just seemed to have it all. To show the expansiveness of the landscape I decided to do a panoramic scene. The kind of view we would experience if we could have a window into Acadia.

By C. F. Lawrenson

23" x 32"

The northeastern region of the U. S. used to be cut up with many of these old stone walls. In recent years these old walls have been raided by builders looking for stone for projects such as fireplaces, chimneys, patios, and facades. This old wall is a remnant of the past, soon to disappear. There is also a remnant of the previous winter hanging on, yet the promise of renewal in the killdeer, one of the first birds to return in the spring.

In the spring of 2017 Holly and I were taking a walk along the Marsh Creed trail when I noticed a small group of willow trees rising out of the high spring waters in some interesting curves and angles. Their reflections in the water gave a sense of symmetry to an otherwise abstract asymmetrical design. Added to the battle between symmetrical and asymmetrical in this scene, was the battle going on between life and decay, which reminded me of the movie Epic. These elements fueled my original excitement for doing this painting, however, the background was so dense with brush that there was no depth to the scene. So I made major changes by removing the clutter, and creating pathways to the back of the painting for the viewer to travel in.