Kings Mountain State Park
Last September, Coleton and I decided to do some hiking after a client recommended hiking Crowders Mountain. Of course, every time we go somewhere, my first thought is to see what South Carolina state parks are around! Just 15 minutes away from the popular hiking destination of Crowders Mountain, was Kings Mountain State Park. It is right on the border of North Carolina, and is adjacent to the federal park, Kings Mountain National Military Park. Coleton and I decided to first go to the Military Park, since we only had 45 minutes before the park closed
Kings Mountain was the site of an important, pivotal battle in the Revolutionary war. Thomas Jefferson called the battle "The turn of the tide of success" for the patriots. At the Military Park, there is a paved path that weaves through the forest and around the battlefield. Monuments scatter the trail, marking the spots of certain fallen soldiers, and events during the battle. It was fascinating reading these tidbits of American history as we jogged the trail (we had to jog since it was almost closing time!).
On our way back from the Military Park, we stopped at Kings Mountain State Park. It was late in the evening, and the sun was getting low over the horizon. This is my absolute favorite time of day for taking pictures, so it was perfect for finding the reference spot for the next painting in my SC State Park collection!
We only had time to explore one section of the park, so we decided to walk around the living history farm. This farm consists of several buildings that gives a glimpse to what revolutionary era life was like in an upstate Carolina farmstead. We were the only people in the park, so we had the whole place to ourselves to wander around the old wooden buildings and read the placards that gave information to life on this farm.
I knew immediately that I wanted to paint one of these beautiful old structures, so I went from building to building, searching different angles. I finally settled on an old barn in the back of the farm. I was drawn to the timeless shape of the barn and the fence constructed of logs stacked on to one another in that classic, old fashioned way. As soon as I captured these photos, I was SO excited to start painting.
It took me a while to actually get to the painting, because of the upcoming holiday markets and commissions to get through. But, I finally painted the barn at the end of January, and I am so excited to share the finished painting and prints with my wonderful collectors!
