“Crevice”, oil on aluminum, 40″ x 52″, $6900

To celebrate a milestone birthday a few years ago, my daughter and I took our first ride in a hot air balloon! I absolutely loved the sensation of gently floating way up high, looking out at the mountains and directly down to the ground. I took a hundred or so photos of the experience and was inspired to try to capture the sensations I felt while in the basket of the balloon. This is how my love of painting aerial landscapes took hold of my heart and progresses with each new painting.

In one of the first paintings I did from my collection of photos from that very first ride, I captured the feeling of falling, kind of into the painting. I titled that piece “Vertigo”. I wanted to capture a bit of vertigo in this piece as well. The viewer can look to the horizon or down into the deep “Crevice” at the same time. The clouds in between the ridgelines help to create more space and distance. The effect is a happy accident.
cynthia mcloughlin © 2018