“Eric’s Cabin” © D. Yael Bernhard
The year my youngest child was born, I painted this house portrait as a gift for her father. Eric built his cabin by hand from hemlocks he felled himself from the nearby forest. He stripped the bark and chiseled them by hand. When I met him, the cabin wasn’t completely finished in terms of plumbing and electricity, but aesthetically it was a work of art. The wrap-around porch looked across a forested slope toward the summit of Peekamoose Mountain, one of the highest peaks in the Catskills. The stone walkway, also built by hand, cut a zigzag path through the hillside from the road to the cabin door. The place was full of rustic charm and tranquility.
It was Eric’s dream to build this cabin in the midst of a spruce forest. Ever since childhood, he had loved the cathedral-like sanctuary of spruce trees. As these majestic conifers mature, their lower branches die and the higher branches create a tent-like space underneath. Birds love spruce trees, and their happy twittering only adds to the peaceful ambiance around and beneath them. At night, owls can be heard calling from the dark silhouettes of the taller trees. If you’ve ever walked in a spruce forest, you might be familiar with the special quality of the forest floor beneath them.
There were originally no spruce trees around the cabin, so Eric transplanted some young trees from a nearby spruce forest. At the time I did this painting, they were much smaller than shown here, as the baby trees had only been transplanted some ten or fifteen years before. I painted a future portrait, making the trees full-grown to represent the fruition of Eric’s vision. Now, 22 years later, both the trees and our daughter are full grown, and the view looks much like this.
Conifer trees are challenging to paint. They look easy, and we’ve all seen children’s drawings and stylized depictions that reduce them to triangles. But to capture the sweep of those branches with their fingerlike needles isn’t easy, trust me. Along with clouds, conifers have been a lifelong challenge for me as an artist. Their color, however, is easy. I love those dark shades of teal, and the sense of mystery they evoke.
To say Eric was attached to his cabin is an understatement. He described it as his own body, and could not live anywhere else. Eventually this tore us apart, as I couldn’t live full time in a mountaintop cabin with no running water, or raise my three children there. Connection to the land, and to a home built from the land, is powerful – and healing – and sometimes obstructive. Eric had a tough childhood. It took time for me to forgive him for his priorities that didn’t serve mine. But in my own way, I’m just as attached to the mountain valley where I’ve made my home, and the stream that flows through it.
If ever Eric has to leave his hemlock cabin, I hope this portrait will take him back there and give him comfort.
I enjoy painting house portraits. Please inquire for more information if you’re interested in commissioning one.
A good week to all!
D. Yael Bernhard
https://dyaelbernhard.com
Have you seen my other Substack, The Art of Health? In addition to being a visual artist, I’m also a certified integrative health & nutrition coach with a lifelong passion for natural food cooking and herbal medicine. Now in its second year, this illustrated newsletter explores cutting-edge concepts of nutrition. I strive to make relevant information clear and accessible, and to anchor essential health concepts in unique images. Check it out, and if you like it, please subscribe and help spread the word. Your support keeps my work going!