River of life that flows on,’ Troels said, looking at this painting. My husband, the geometer Troels Jorgensen, often saw the patterns that connect water, sand, and change.
The body of water depicted here is called North Bar Lake, within the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. At the moment, it is flowing into Lake Michigan, which has caused its water level to drop by about a yard, widening the curve of the sandy beach — now covered in snow. Most of the time, the outflow is buried under sand — an example of the ever-changing patterns of our sand dunes.
Decades ago, North Bar Lake was featured in a 24-hour unnamed film project of quiet, remarkable places in the world — intentionally left unnamed to preserve their solitude.
This is my first snow painting, using as its motif one of those quietly memorable places in the world. Another snow painting shows a single crow flying along the ice hills of Lake Michigan. Yet another winter painting depicts the crashing waves that will eventually form those ice hills.
This is the same lake in summer—its waters calmer, the light warmer, seen here from a different vantage point.
In spring and early summer, people swim in North Bar Lake, waiting for the waters of Lake Michigan to warm. Lake Michigan is visible here in the far left of the image, beyond the curve where the two bodies of water nearly meet.
Fishing in North Bar Lake is also a favorite pastime, shown here by a boy fishing at sunset.
North Bar Lake is a special place, whether in winter or summer, and we are always happy to share it with visitors hungry for nature.
In every season, I see what Troels saw: the river of life flowing on, shaping North Bar Lake and reminding me how change makes this place endlessly new.
it truly is a life renewing source that is seasonless and you captured it’s essence beautifully.
Thank you, Cindy. A special place!
The man-made barrier adds to this piece. The snow with vegetation peeking out of the snow as well as the trees against the snowy background to the left adds great contrast and content to this piece. Nice painting.
Barb, there is nothing man-made in the Sleeping Bear Dunes. The topology is continuously sculpted by nature. In my painting, the bright elongated shape in front of the trees hides the channel that connects this little lake to Lake Michigan. the horizontal elevation sticks out more since the channel opened to the big lake lowering the water level. When the channel briefly opened last year, I ask DNR people whether they had bull-dozed the opening of the channel. The answer was no, no human intervention – Wind and Waves are at work. – A more mysterious phenomena is the moving dune that Troels and I had studied a decade ago. It moved south to north quite at a distance to the water. What moved it?
The contrast that you mentioned may have helped to finish this painting more quickly. Now thinking about it, it actually is not the first but the second snow painting. Last year’s deers in the snow were the first. That too was done more quickly. More quickly means several weeks rather than months. I am a slow.
So quiet and beautiful is this. And Troel’s words too…
Thank you, Janny. In the winter, it is very quiet. In the summer, little kids play in the channel in front of the trees that now connects the little lake with the big lake.
tranquil , beautiful, deep.
really love it.
Thank you, Jonathan. I often think of you looking at your gifts from China many, many years ago