Alfred Caldwell Lilly Pool (Lincoln Park-Chicago, IL)

I found a door to a garden on Fullerton Ave. and discovered an intimate beauty. 
The Alfred Caldwell Lilly Pool is an interesting space.  In the entirity of the space is the lily pond and so the pathway is along the perimeter forcing your experience to be along the boundaries of the space, creating a dramatic scenic device, you are asked focus on the pond and what is across the pond.  There are several oppurtunities to "discover" the picturesque designs of the landscape.  I found a spot at the south end of the pond that employs several framing compositions, giving view to a marvelous beauty of space in the layering of foreground, middleground, and distant-ground-- plus the sky as a background, while the pond reflects it all as an additional plane in the area.

I am not, by practice, a landscape painter, so I was intrigued by the complexity of the layers to simulate the sense of the Lilly Pools parts and as a whole.  I was also interested in finding and representing an intimate experience with Nature and the design of Nature.  I wanted each leaf to have its presence known as they waved to be seen; the legacy of the stones to have its place; the winds and breezes and even the stillness whispering among the lily pads across the surface of the water.  The light and shadows played hide and seek with Colour and revealing a majestic "Hurrrah!!!" at 4:30 every afternoon.  And I'd like to say that there were several pleasant people that stopped to say hello and that it was an overall charming experience that I am grateful to have had.