Karen Lynn Link Fine Art

The photographs for this painting were taken along South Foxton Road in Colorado, on the same day as those that inspired Passage. Although the two paintings came from nearly the same stretch of river, I wanted to approach the water differently this time. I was especially drawn to the sparkling light on its surface and the sense of movement it created.

I didn't have a particular plan for how I would paint the river. I began by building up transparent layers of color in the darker areas of the water, leaving the brightest reflections until later. Once those darker passages were established, I glazed transparent yellow over the areas where the light was catching the surface.

As the painting developed, I began adding more opaque yellows in short brushstrokes, particularly around a rock near the middle of the composition. Those marks brought a different kind of energy to the water. The reflections became brighter and more lively, and the brushwork began to take on a character of its own.

The foreground was especially interesting. Some of the brushstrokes were quite loose, and I made a conscious effort to leave them alone rather than continue refining them. I wanted to preserve the movement and spontaneity that had developed there. Throughout the painting, I tried to pay attention to what each area needed, sometimes adding more information and sometimes recognizing that an area was already working.

One of the things I find most interesting about the finished painting is the relationship between abstraction and realism. The water is most abstract in the foreground, becoming more recognizable as it moves farther into the scene. The land and rocks behave almost in reverse. They are more clearly defined in the foreground and become increasingly simplified in the distance.

I hadn't planned that relationship, but I like the way the two approaches work together. The landscape provides a sense of stability, while the river seems to rush through it. The saturated colors and lively brushwork add to that feeling, giving the painting an energy that is quite different from Passage.

When I look at Running Wild now, my eye goes first to the rock just above the brightest reflections in the river. There's something about that meeting of solid rock and moving water that holds my attention. The light seems to dance around it, while the surrounding landscape remains comparatively calm.

I think that's what I enjoy most about this painting. The river feels playful and a little unpredictable, but it belongs to a landscape that feels steady and grounded. There's room for both, and I like the energy that comes from having them together.

Running Wild

Acrylic on canvas

16" × 20"

2026

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