Original Oil Painting of Nordhouse Dunes in Michigan. 20"x16"x1.5".
 
See this painting in person at my studio in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Contact me to set up an appointment. 
 
This was a backpacking trip to the Nordhouse Dunes. Witch is a wilderness area in the Huron-Manistee National Forest on the west coast of Michigan’s lower peninsula. We went with our family friends Rick and his son Gideon. It was late August and we had great weather.
 
I feel grateful to have the opportunities to go on trips like this with my son at the age of 11. The start of an age where he is becoming much more independent and needs less help from Dad. I was well aware this may be one of the few remaining times where Dad can teach him a few skills before he can do it all on his own or begins resourcing the skills else ware. On this trip, during the first couple weeks of 6th grade, I felt an overwhelming sense that this trip represented a transition period in our lives where Archer will begin handling his struggles increasingly, without the help of Dad.
 
As we hiked through the dunes, I found myself reflecting on how quickly time passes. Watching Archer carry his own pack and make decisions about the trail reminded me of the importance of letting go, even as I cherish these shared moments. The natural beauty of Nordhouse provided the perfect backdrop for these realizations, making the experience even more memorable.
 
This painting captures the essence of the day we spent on the shores of Lake Michigan, only a couple hundred yards away from our campsite up on the bluff. We came down to the beach in the morning to get water to filter from the lake. I was struck by the contrast between the bright blue August morning sky and the almost white sand near shore. It amazes me how the view out on to great Lake Michigan has infinite faces. Next, I noticed the clouds in the distance clustered together as a thin band on the horizon, being lit by the morning sun. There was almost a haze far out near the horizon that blended earth with the heavens.
 
Looking closely I began to notice the different heughs of colors I could read in the cloud shadows and highlights. Grayish blues, purples and greens. Looking at the water I was noticing the greens showing through as the clear water blended with the sand beneath it. Then my attention was brought to the pinkish tones in the sand near the waters edge.
 
As I sat on the beach, watching my fishing rod and the quiet rhythm of the waves, I kept noticing how the sandbar just offshore shimmered through the water—a golden yellow ochre beneath the surface. The scene before me felt like a living painting, a perfect reminder of nature’s quiet beauty and how effortlessly it translates to a painter’s canvas. I knew in that moment this memory would one day find its way onto one of mine.
 
Just as day fades gently into night, Remembering Nordhouse became a reflection of life’s transitions—how my son, Archer, is growing from a boy into a young man, how summer gives way to autumn, and how the sands of time flow ever onward.