I painted this scene from photgraphs I had taken in Maryland at Cunningham Park when we visited there. 
My sister-in-law took me to this park and I took photos of it so I would have reference material to do the painting.  All the autumn colors was just breathtaking to put on canvas.

This is an original oil painting by Ruth Housley.

I visited this old bridge in Pennsylvania 2003 when it was autumn. This bridge is not driveable anymore but interesting so I wanted to capture it on canvas.
This is an original oil painting by Ruth Housley.
I did not paint the bridge the actual color it was when I photographed it. It was a dull dark brown and I chose to paint it a more pleasing to the eye.

I visited Spruce Knob Lake in West Virginia with family when I was a teenager.
This is an original oil painting by Ruth Housley.

Spruce Knob is the highest point in the state of West Virginia, in Pendleton County and the Monongahela National Forest.  It is 4,864 feet above sea level.  Spruce Knob is West Virginia's highest peak.  From the rugged peak you can view grassy openings and pastures or look down on forested ridges as far as you can see.  Fishing is another attraction at nearby Spruce Knob Lake and it provides the angler with a 25 acre impoundment regularly stocked with trout by the West Virginia Department of Natural Resourses.

I wanted to paint the autumn time of the year and put the ducks on the lake for added  interest.

This painting is framed with a wood rustic frame.

This is an original oil painting by Ruth Housley.  Seneca Rocks is a park in Eastern West Virginia. These rocks are famous for mountain climbers as well as the scenic attraction. Seneca Rocks was purchased by the federal government in 1969. It is one of the best-known landmarks in West Virginia. It is unknown who the first person was to climb Seneca Rocks. It is in the Monongahela National Forest.

The photo's I worked from had an old house near Seneca Rocks but I wanted to put a cabin in the scene instead of the house. I have visited this place several times with family in my youth. 

I took several photo's of the Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Texas several years ago when we visited the canyon.  This is an original oil painting by Ruth Housley. 

I wanted to capture on canvas the canyon as well as the river with all the trees. The orange color of the mountain compliments the blue in the water.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park contains 18,438 acres of scenic, northern most portion of the Palo Duro Canyon. The canyon is 120 miles long, as much as 20 miles, wide, and has a maximum depth of more than 800 feet. Its elevation at the rim is 3,500 feet above sea level. It is often claimed that Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the United States. The largest is Grand Canyon.

This  is framed with a reddish brown wood frame.

I have visited Harpers Ferry in West Virginia in the summer a couple of times, once with parents and then later with one of my brothers. 

This is an original oil painting by Ruth Housley. 

I enjoyed walking around the old town and seeing the John Brown Fort which is still standing in Harpers Ferry. It is 247 feet above sea level at Potomoc River level and 484 feet above sea level. It is the lowest point in the state of West Virginia. It is an 18th century town and John Brown's raid was in 1859.

Harper's Ferry was founded by Robert Harper in 1734.  He built a cabin, planted a garden and established a ferry concession across the Potomac River.  In 1796 Congress ordered an arsenal established at Harpers Ferry and the sleepy village became a busy community of 3,000 people.

John Brown arrived on the scene during the summer of 1859.  He established a headquarters for himself and his men at the Kenney farm on the Maryland side of the Potomac River.  He marched into Harpers Ferry while the town slept, captured and imprisoned two watchmen, and took possession of the government arsenal companies of militia from Charles Town, Martinsburg, Shepherdstown, and Winchester and other communities converged upon the town and surrounded the arsenal.

Colonel Robert E. Lee and Lieutenant, J.E.B. Stuart arrived from Washington with 90 marines.  At daybreak, Brown refused to surrender, the marines stormed the arsenal.  During the raid 10 of Brown's command were killed, 4 townsmen and 1 marine.

John Brown was indicted for murder, treason against Virginia and was tried and hanged at Charles Town, West Virginia. 

Many severe battles raged at Harpers Ferry throughtout the war and the railroad bridge was destroyed and rebuilt many times and by the end of the war the town was in ruins.  The town has since developed as a fashionable gathering place for those attracted by the natural beauty of the setting and for the curious who wish to see the scene of John Brown's raid.

I took several photos of Rocky Mountains when we visited the National Park in Colorado.
 
This scene of the mountains with fog, a deer coming to the stream for a drink of water and the early morning was inspiring to capture on canvas.  Mountains are always inspiring for me to paint and have enjoyed painting them as well as wildlife.  We have visited the Rocky Mountains a couple of times.  
I enjoy painting the mountains of Colorado and its beauty. 

This is an original oil painting by Ruth Housley.  It is framed with a dark wood frame with some gold in the frame.

My husband and I visited Turner Falls in Oklahoma a few years ago.

This is an original oil painting by Ruth Housley.

I took several photos of this beautiful falls and wanted to capture it on canvas painting the falls with the greenery as well as the rock formations and the cave in the hills.
 
This painting is framed with a bronze-brown and gold wood frame.

I have taken several photo's of the natural bridge in Virginia.   I enjoyed visiting this natural rock bridge when I was a teenager a couple of times.
 
This is God's work of art and is one of the seven wonders of the world. I wanted to paint it in the autumn season so the shades of the leaves would be against the bridge. 

This is an orignial oil painting by Ruth Housley and framed with a brown wood frame.

This is an original oil painting by Ruth Housley.  I visited the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with family when I was a teenager.  Also visited relatives that lived near Richmond, Virginia.  We visited the relatives each summer.

I remember one time we were on the Blue Ridge Parkway and we had car trouble and my aunt and uncle were with us and we had someone to come by and help us.  Praise the Lord!

I wanted to paint the autumn season of the year with the changing of the leaves on the trees against the blue of the mountains and put a deer in the painting to add interest.

This painting is framed with a gold trim wood frame.  

This is an original oil painting by Ruth Housley.  My husband and I took a trip through the Caprock Canyon area.  We traveled on Route 207 from Chrildress  where we stayed, then went to Memphis, Silverton and Claude which was a very pretty scenic drive.  We did see some bison in the Caprock Canyon State Park but with the high fences, we could not get close enough to take photos.  The scenic drive between Silverton and Claude crosses both Tule and Palo Duro Canyon area.  this dramatic change in scenery marks the eastern edge of the Great Plains and the Prarie Dog Twin Fork If The Red River.  It threads among the jumbled, broken remants of the plains of the United States.  From Memphis on Route 256 West traverses rolling country often cut by tributaries, plains, and then ascends the Caprock in a spectacular drive and colorful cliffs and canyons.  Cayrock Canyon is near Turkey and Quitaque which is pronounced (Kitty Quay) which is an Indian name.  On Route 256 we seen wild turkeys standing on the road and I did get a photo of them.  Caprock Canyon State Park covers 13,950 acres and is one of the state's  most scenic regions.  The erosion  has carved spectacular landscapes at the edge of the Caprock with colorful cliffs and canyons as well as abundant wildlife in the park.  Some of the canyons are rugged and the Caprock escarpment winds down into the famous Red River Valley. 

I took photos of Caprock Canyon, Texas and the ruggedness of the canyon and plains were interesting to paint.  The sun shining on the canyon rocks was very inspiring to put on canvas.  I also wanted to put some wildflowers in the painting for added interest. 

This was done on a 16x20 linen canvas.

My husband and I went to see the wildflowers and bluebonnets in Burnet, Texas a couple weeks ago.  The bluebonnets and  wildflowers were so thick in some places and they were so close to the road that you could not pull off the highway to take pictures.  The Indian Blanket was just a big patch of red and you could view it for miles. 

We saw the Blackfoot Daisies, Sleepy Daisies, Indian Paintbrush, Pink Evening Primrose, Winecup, Huisache Daisy, White Prickly Poppy, and also Yucca but it wasn't in bloom.  We saw lots of cactus and they were not in bloom either.  

On the way home we stopped near Clifton, TX  to see George Boutwell's gallery.  He was not there but had been traveling and painting.  
I like to paint wildflowers and bluebonnets and put them in a landscape so we took the trip to see them.